Greta Gerwig Breaks Box Office Record for Female Directors With 'Barbie'

“Barbie” didn’t just break the opening weekend record for 2023; it also shattered the first weekend record for a film directed by a woman.

With $162 million in ticket sales from North American theaters, according to studio totals Monday, “Barbie” catapulted past both “Captain Marvel,” which was co-directed by Anna Boden and opened to $153.4 million in 2019, and “Wonder Woman,” Patty Jenkins’ 2017 film that debuted to $103.3 million. Boasting a reported price tag of $145 million, “Barbie” also cost less to produce than “Captain Marvel” ($152 million) and “Wonder Woman” ($200 million).

Globally, it also far surpassed “Wonder Woman’s” debut with over $337 million versus $228.3 million, though “Captain Marvel’s” global launch was higher at $455 million.

“Barbie’s” debut is also significant because its audience was 65% women — not a surprise in and of itself, but as far as box office history is concerned, movies that open over $100 million often have a majority male audience (including both “Captain Marvel” and “Wonder Woman”). This, many have noted, is perhaps less a rule and more of a lack of big films that have been made and promoted with a blockbuster female audience in mind.

Gerwig co-wrote and directed “Barbie,” which is intended to be the first of many Mattel-inspired spinoffs. And in just one weekend it’s already surpassed the domestic grosses of her last two films, “Little Women,” which earned $108.1 million and “Lady Bird,” with $49 million.

Now it’s a question of how high “Barbie” can go and if it can outgross other top films directed by women. In North America, to get the No. 1 spot, “Barbie” will have to earn more than “Frozen II,” co-directed by Jennifer Lee, which tallied out with $477.4 million. “Captain Marvel” is in second place with $426.8 million.