The hype for the Barbie World is real. Barbie has broken a Monday record at the box office for Warner Bros. By earning $26 million, it has become the best Monday for the studio since 2008’s The Dark Knight ($24.6 million, which is not adjusted for inflation). This record break is quite an achievement, as Christopher Nolan released his latest highly praised film, Oppenheimer, on the same day as the Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie film.
Much of the success throughout its historic opening weekend and its breaking of a record on its first Monday should not be too much of a surprise for Barbie. It has been built heavily to succeed, despite movie theater attendance being lower than pre-COVID. The studio made smart, captivating marketing material, particularly on social media, as the film started to catch the attention of TikTok viewers. By releasing on the same day as Oppenheimer, it created an internet phenomenon known as “Barbenheimer” as people celebrated the different films and the beloved filmmakers behind them. Also, having the acclaimed director make a summer film to capture a larger audience and the inclusion of an A-list-filled cast set it up to make loads of cash.
Barbie Breaks Monday Box Office Record
The vibrant Margot Robbie film has made history multiple times since releasing last Friday. As pointed out by analyst Luiz Fernando, it is under Endgame ($36.9M) for the second-best non-holiday Monday for a movie. This Monday almost makes it the ninth-biggest first Monday in history. As of writing, the film is in the $400 million ballpark, making it likely to reach at least $500 million within the next two weeks.
Since March 2020, the box office has been down from what it was in a pre-COVID world. Even years away from everything shutting down, we have seen surprising and unsurprising successes and failures. A positive reception and the feeling of the theater experience have led movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick, and more to succeed. However, between a mix of competition, lackluster reception, and the option of streaming, plenty of films have bombed, like The Flash and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
This Monday record continues a train of wins for both Barbie and Gerwig. The opening weekend beat expectations and landed it on a colorfully pink pedestal. It landed the biggest opening weekend of 2023, beating out Super Mario Bros. with $162 million. It is the third-highest opening weekend for a Warner Bros. film. Also, it is the biggest opening for a woman director. The film is also in the top five best openings for a woman-led film, sitting behind Beauty and the Beast‘s $174 million.
By being in the top ten best Monday box office performances in the U.S., Barbie has broken a record few have. The list of the top ten is listed below:
- Black Panther (40.2M)
- The Force Awakens (40.1M)
- No Way Home (37.1M)
- Endgame (36.9M)
- Top Gun: Maverick (33.8M)
- The Rise of Skywalker (29.4M)
- Spider-Man 2 (27.7M)
- Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (26.8M)
- Barbie (26.2M)
- Jurassic World (25.3M)
