Greta Gerwig needs to be feeling closer to fantastic as of late. In only three weeks in theaters, “Barbie” is about to sail past $1 billion in global ticket sales, breaking a record for female directors that was previously held by Patty Jenkins, who helmed “Wonder Woman.”
“Barbie,” which Gerwig directed and co-wrote, added one other $53 million from 4,178 North American locations this weekend based on studio estimates on Sunday. The Margot Robbie-led and produced film has been comfortably seated in first place for 3 weeks and it’s hardly finished yet. Warner Bros. said the film will cross $1 billion before the tip of the day.
In modern box office history, just 53 movies have remodeled $1 billion, not accounting for inflation, and “Barbie” is now the largest to be directed by one woman, supplanting “Wonder Woman’s” $821.8 million global total.
Three movies that were co-directed by women are still ahead of “Barbie,” including “Frozen” ($1.3 billion) and “Frozen 2” ($1.45 billion) each co-directed by Jennifer Lee and “Captain Marvel” ($1.1 billion), co-directed by Anna Boden. But, “Barbie” has passed “Captain Marvel” domestically with $459.4 million (versus $426.8 million), thereby claiming the North American record for live-action movies directed by women.
Latest competition got here this weekend in the shape of the animated, PG-rated “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” and the Jason Statham shark sequel, “Meg 2: The Trench,” each of which were neck-in-neck with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” also in its third weekend, for the second-place spot.
![Greta Gerwig is now the first female director with a movie that's made more than $1 billion at the box office.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/AP23200839877849.jpg?w=1024)
“Meg 2” managed to sneak ahead and land in second place. It overcame its abysmal reviews to attain a $30 million opening weekend from 3,503 locations. The Warner Bros. release, directed by Ben Wheatley, currently has a 29% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a B- CinemaScore from audiences. The thriller was released in 3D, which accounted for 22% of its first weekend business.
Third place went to “Oppenheimer,” which added $28.7 million from 3,612 locations in North America, bringing its domestic total to $228.6 million. In only three weeks, the J. Robert Oppenheimer biopic starring Cillian Murphy has turn into the very best grossing R-rated film of the 12 months (ahead of “John Wick Chapter 4”) and the sixth-biggest of the 12 months overall, surpassing “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”
“Oppenheimer” also celebrated a landmark, crossing $500 million globally in three weeks. Its worldwide tally is currently $552.9 million, which puts it ahead of “Dunkirk,” which clocked out with $527 million in 2017, and has turn into Nolan’s fifth-biggest movie ever. It’s also now among the many 4 top grossing biographies ever (company includes “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “The Passion of the Christ” and “American Sniper”) and the largest World War II movie of all time.
Paramount’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” was close behind in fourth place with an estimated $28 million from 3,858 theaters in North America. Since opening on Wednesday, the film, which is riding on excellent reviews (96% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience scores, has earned $43.1 million.
![Margot Robbie](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/AP23191078642141.jpg?w=1024)
“That is one in all those movies that may be a multigenerational joy,” said Chris Aronson, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution. “I believe the enduring popularity of ‘Turtles’ is showing its true colours. And there hasn’t been an animated film in eight weeks and there won’t be one other for eight weeks which is great for us.”
“Turtles” cost $70 million to provide and incorporates a starry voice solid that features Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Paul Rudd, Ayo Edebiri and Seth Rogen, who produced and co-wrote the film, which leans into the “teenage” aspect of the turtles.
“Barbie,” “Oppenheimer” and even the surprise, anti-trafficking hit “Sound of Freedom” (now at $163.5 million and ahead of “Mission: Unattainable 7”) have helped fuel a boom on the box office, bringing in many tens of millions greater than was expected and helping to offset pains brought on by some summer disappointments.
“After ‘The Flash,’ ‘Indiana Jones’ and, to a certain extent, ‘Mission: Unattainable,’ people were saying the summer was a disappointment. But it surely’s not over yet,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “We’re going to have a summer that’s going to exit on a high note.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, based on Comscore. Final domestic figures can be released Monday.
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1. “Barbie,” $53 million.
2. “Meg 2: The Trench,” $30 million.
3. “Oppenheimer,” $28.7 million.
4. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” $28 million.
5. “Haunted Mansion,” $9 million.
6. “Sound of Freedom,” $7 million.
7. “Mission: Unattainable — Dead Reckoning Part I,” $6.5 million.
8. “Talk over with Me,” $6.3 million.
9. “Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani,” $1.5 million.
10. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” $1.5 million.