'Barbie' had the biggest opening day of 2023 now, it might break records for the largest opening

Publish date: 2024-07-04
2023-07-23T02:16:50Z

Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" movie has already set records for the highest-grossing opening day of 2023. Now, it might be on track to set the record for the largest opening weekend ever by a woman-directed movie, Variety reports. 

Between Thursday selling the most preview tickets of 2023 — over $22 million — and Friday's sales of nearly $50 million, according to Variety, the movie quickly outpaced the opening day record of just over $51 million set by "Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse."

Previous estimates from Forbes suggest "Barbie" will make about $110 million on its opening weekend — a goal the movie is now more than halfway to reaching from Friday's sales alone. If "Barbie" does hit the $110 million mark, it will be the fifth largest release of the year, behind the opening weekends of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," which made $146 million; "Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse," which made $120.5 million; Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," which made $118.4 million; and Disney's "The Little Mermaid," which made about $118 million, over the long Memorial Day weekend, according to Forbes. 

But, more impressively, it will become the most lucrative weekend opening from a female director, a record previously held by Patty Jenkins' "Wonder Woman," which clocked in at $100.5 million in opening weekend earnings. 

The numbers will be a massive achievement for Gerwig, who, in an interview with The Guardian in early July, was full of anxious anticipation for the film's release.

"I'm just so nervous. I'm so nervous. I'm excited! But I'm so nervous," Gerwig said to the outlet. "I just can't believe, like, here it is… Let's go!"

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