- Barbie Surpasses Super Mario Bros. as Box Office Leader
- Barbie’s Global Earnings Reach $1.38 Billion
- Barbie Contributes to Record-Breaking Summer Box Office
Barbie has officially become the year’s largest box office success after the doll’s big-screen earnings overtook the Super Mario Bros Movie’s total.
The Barbie film, in which Margot Robbie’s title character abandons her pink fantasy world for the real world, has now grossed $1.38 billion (£1.1 billion) worldwide.
This surpasses the $1.36 billion earned by the Super Mario Bros. film.
In addition, Barbie has helped the US summer box office surpass $4 billion (£3.2 billion) for the first time since the pandemic.
The success of Barbenheimer – Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, both of which were published on the same day in July – pushed box office receipts past last year’s total of $3.4 billion (£2.7 billion).
Experts in the film industry also predicted that The Super Mario Bros. Movie would be the most popular film of 2023. However, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie has proven them incorrect on this front as well.
This weekend’s release of The Equaliser 3, starring Denzel Washington, was another summer blockbuster, grossing $34.5 million (£27.3 million) in its first three days in North American theatres.
Concerns exist in Hollywood that the remainder of the year may experience a decline, as films such as Dune: Part II, Kraven the Hunter, and the Ghostbusters: Aftermath sequel have pushed back their release dates to 2024 due to the ongoing Hollywood strike, which prevents actors from promoting studio films.
