--- description: Why fall's superhero movies and sci-fi epics are unlikely to steal Barbie's crown, and what its success means for Hollywood. title: Why 'Barbie' Is–and Will Be–the Biggest Movie of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29f8cce7024e872c/698a3e5b09208f574141a7e8/rev-1-BAR-TT3-0104_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Barbie_ Is Officially the Biggest Movie of the Year—And It's Not Going Anywhere  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Aug 24, 2023 2:26 PM CUT  Ryan Gosling is just Ken Ryan Gosling is just KenCourtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures—© 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Aug 24, 2023 2:26 PM CUT _Barbie_ is on top of the world. Every week since its release on July 21, it's broken a record: The year's [biggest opening weekend](https://www.axios.com/2023/07/23/barbie-box-office-opening-sales "undefined"); the largest opening for a [female director ever](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/23/movies/barbie-oppenheimer-box-office-numbers.html "undefined"); [Warner Bros.' highest grossing domestic release in history](https://deadline.com/2023/08/box-office-barbie-warner-bros-record-1235520568/ "undefined"), surpassing Christopher Nolan's _The Dark Knight_. But now, it's breaking a big one: _Barbie_ has become the highest-growing movie of 2023 reaching $575.4 million domestically this week, according to [_Variety_](https://variety.com/2023/film/box-office/barbie-highest-grossing-movie-2023-1235700741/ "undefined"). It has already grossed $1.3 billion globally and will soon surpass _Super Mario Bros._ in its worldwide gross as well. It's a big number for any film, but it's especially significant for _Barbie_. When I wrote a [cover story about the film](https://time.com/6289864/barbie-time-cover-story/ "undefined") earlier this year, box office prognosticators initially predicted the [movie would make $55 million its opening weekend](https://www.boxofficepro.com/long-range-box-office-forecast-barbie-and-oppenheimer/ "undefined"). It nearly tripled that estimate with a $162 million haul in just those first few days after release. It's also the first time Warner Bros. has managed to snag the title of biggest release of the year since _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II._ Will _Barbie_ be topped this year? Probably not. Here's why and what it may mean for the future of Hollywood movies. **Read More:** [_Our Cover Story on_ Barbie](https://time.com/6289864/barbie-time-cover-story/ "undefined") ## _Barbie_ is Greta Gerwig's unique vision—which means its success isn't easily replicable  Writer/director/executive producer Greta Gerwig poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Barbie' in London on July 12, 2023. Scott Garfitt—Invision/AP Unfortunately, Hollywood tends to take away the wrong lessons from the success of idiosyncratic films. After _The Dark Knight_ became a blockbuster, Hollywood decided that gritty was always good—even if it didn't fit the material (think: _Snow White and the Huntsman,_ the body horror _Fantastic Four_ movie, and Zack Snyder's dark take on Superman, comics' most hopeful superhero). _Avatar's_ history-making numbers spawned a trend of films rendered in 3D for no particular reason. And the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe spawned dozens of imitation cinematic universes, like Universal's failed "Dark Universe" that ended as quickly as it began after Tom Cruise's (gritty) _The Mummy_ remake bombed. In this instance, the same logic would follow: a toy movie performed well, so toy movies will inevitably proliferate. Mattel executives told me that they had already planned to build the brand's own cinematic universe long before _Barbie_ was ever released, but now other studios are rushing to turn toys into films: Hasbro launched a new entertainment division in August. **Read More:**[ _Why It Took 64 Years to Make a Barbie Movie_](https://time.com/6289787/barbie-movie-history-mattel/ "undefined") It's difficult to imagine any other movie based on a toy ever reaching _Barbie'_s heights. Barbie is an icon. She has name recognition across the world equal to Mickey Mouse and Coca-Cola. And, sure, Hot Wheels may be popular, but won't a Hot Wheels movie just be a racing movie, even if J.J. Abrams is at the helm as executive producer? Mattel certainly isn't shying away from taking risks: I'm particularly interested in Daniel Kaluuya's involvement with what sounds like a very meta Barney movie (as in, yes, the big purple dinosaur); whether [Lena Dunham can find a quirky take on Polly Pocket](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-07-26/lily-collins-mattel-polly-pocket-lena-dunham-barbie "undefined"); and if a [Magic 8 Ball horror movie](https://www.fangoria.com/original/were-getting-a-horror-comedy-based-on-the-magic-8-ball/ "undefined") can actually prove to be scary. And yet just about every girl in the world has played with Barbie at some point and has (often complex) feelings about her. Icould be wrong, but I don**'**t think many people have strong feelings about the Magic 8 Ball. Beyond Mattel's film division, other studios are looking for major takeaways. One obvious one, [that I've argued before](https://time.com/6292203/barbie-box-office-women-movies/ "undefined"): Make movies for women, and audiences will come! Barbie leans heavily into femininity—the assault of pink has been relentless, and yet people seem to have not tired of it. In a [recent _Rolling Stone_ interview](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/randall-park-shortcomings-interview-asian-americans-hollywood-diversity-1234802802/amp/ "undefined"), Randall Park hit the nail on the head: "I feel like, just in general, this industry is taking the wrong lessons. For example, _Barbie_ is this massive blockbuster, and the idea is: Make more movies about toys! No. Make more movies by and about women!" I fear that even if studios heed Park's advice, in the short-term that will mean Disney hyping up the fact that _The Marvels_ is a female-fronted superhero film, even though superhero movies have traditionally catered to a young male audience, regardless of who stars in them. Or studios might paint a sheen of pink on other films without stuffing the stories without Gerwig's complex considerations about male fragility, female frustrations, and whether we can reach a state of equity. **Read More:** [_We're Ignoring the Real Reason_ Barbie _Might Dominate the Box Office_](https://time.com/6292203/barbie-box-office-women-movies/ "undefined") Gerwig happened to make two masterpieces before _Barbie_ about the complex interiority of women: _Lady Bird_ and _Little Women_. She found a way to pack considerations she has already articulated beautifully in those films into a blockbuster movie, a feat pulled off by a select few artists. ([Ryan Coogler's interrogation of race](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2018-ryan-coogler-runner-up/ "undefined") in the context of an increasingly globalized world in _Black Panther_ and [James Cameron's blunt but effective advocacy](https://time.com/6255536/james-cameron-interview-avatar-the-way-of-water/ "undefined") for saving our dying planet in the _Avatar_ films come to mind.) It's easy to make a blockbuster. It's hard to make a thoughtful one. Perhaps most depressing for theater owners: Gerwig's next project is a series of _Narnia_ movies...for streamer Netflix. ## _Barbie_ was able to pull millions of moviegoers to theaters because it was fun  Barbie (Margot Robbie) dances the night away Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures _Barbie_ was special. Credit the Warner Bros. and Mattel marketing teams that partnered with seemingly every clothing line, decor company, and makeup brand on earth to turn our social media timelines pink. **Read More:**[_Every Single_ Barbie _Partnership That We Could Find_](https://time.com/6294123/barbie-partnerships-crocs-burger-king/ "undefined") Or praise director [Greta Gerwig](https://time.com/5180697/how-greta-gerwig-is-leading-by-example/ "undefined"), who could have made a toy commercial and instead stuffed a fun summer romp with meditations on God and feminism and Sylvester Stallone's bizarre wardrobe. Or acknowledge that TikTok played a massive role in turning a rivalry between two movies that could not be more different into the Barbenheimer phenomenon that made moviegoing fun again. Think about how many people spent more than five hours in a movie theater—sometimes in the same day—over the course of a hot summer weekend. In short, _Barbie_ was fun. And we were all in desperate need of fun. _Barbie_ simply had to be experienced in a theater, ideally with friends, and definitely with a flock of other pink-clad moviegoers. **Read More:** [_Why Barbenheimer Mania Is Unstoppable_](https://time.com/6293844/barbie-oppenheimer-internet-phenomenon/ "undefined") _Barbie_ pulled people back to theaters just when cinemas needed audiences most. Nearly one-in-five people who saw _Barbie_ either couldn't remember the last time they saw a movie or knew that they had not seen a movie since before COVID-19 spread, according to a survey of more than 1800 people conducted by The Quorum. Of those people who were returning to the theater for the first time since the pandemic, 40% said that watching _Barbie_ in theaters reminded them of how much they enjoy going to the movies and they planned to go more often. So _Barbie_ could fuel a larger theatergoing boost. It certainly did for _Oppenheimer_: 6% of people who bought a ticket to the Christopher Nolan movie opening weekend did so because _Barbie_ was sold out. That would seem to suggest a rising tide lifts all boats. Except, there's only one problem with that theory. An additional 45% surveyed said they would go to the movies more often, but cost was an issue and it would take a movie "as exciting" as Barbie to get them back to theaters. That's unlikely to happen. ## Many fall movies are moving because of the Hollywood strikes  Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the trailer for Kraven the Hunter Sony Pictures Many of the movies you have been looking forward to this fall may not hit theaters for a long time. Actors who are members of SAG-AFTRA aren't permitted to promote their movie because of the strike—with very few exceptions. Studios are worried that certain titles might underperform in theaters if their stars aren't walking the red carpet or giving interviews or posting on social media. In late July, [Sony announced](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/business/actors-strike-movies.html "undefined") that it was pushing the release dates for _Kraven the Hunter_ and the latest _Ghostbusters_ film to 2024\. And it's not just potential blockbusters that are moving on the release calendar: Searchlight Pictures has postponed _Poor Things_ to November, while Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer moved _Challengers_ to April of next year. The fact that studios are willing to take a short-term hit on their profits this year by moving these films demonstrates just how dependent they are on actors like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Rudd, Emma Stone, and Zendaya to actively promote their movies and coax audiences to theaters. **Read More:** [_Fran Drescher on Why SAG-AFTRA Is Striking_](https://time.com/6295968/fran-drescher-interview-sag-aftra-strike/ "undefined") Even Netflix, a company that's mostly focused on streaming numbers—as demonstrated by how quickly it [pushed _Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery_ to streaming](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/29/netflix-glass-onion-misses-out-millions-box-office.html "undefined") last year, potentially missing out on millions—has delayed a handful of its major releases until 2024, including the Millie Bobbie Brown fantasy epic _Damsel_, the Nicole Kidman-Zac Efron rom-com _A Family Affair_, and the Adam Sandler movie _Spaceman_. [Recent interviews with Hollywood insiders published in_Vanity Fair_](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/08/how-long-will-hollywood-strikes-last-the-guesses-are-depressing "undefined") suggest the writers' strike and actors' strike may well drag on until October or November. This means plenty more studios are likely consideringpushing their movie star flicks until next year when the actors can hopefully grace magazine covers and post on TikTok about their red carpet looks again. ## It's hard to imagine any movie topping _Barbie_ in 2023  Jason Momoa as Aquaman in "Aquaman." Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures A few big tentpoles, including movies like _The Marvels_ and _Aquaman 2_, are still on the calendar for the holiday season. But those superhero movies face an uphill climb, especially after _Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania_and _The Flash_ both underperformed at the box office earlier this year. Superhero fatigue is real, and [fans and critics have begun to comment](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-05-03/marvel-studios-movies-mcu-box-office-reviews-fan-reactions "undefined") on the [notable dip in quality](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jul/27/secret-invasion-marvel-samuel-l-jackson-olivia-coleman "undefined") of these properties in the last several years, a problem compounded by the convoluted plots that depend on the audience watching an ever-growing number of movies and shows. For example, in order to keep up with the characters _The Marvels_, including Brie Larson's Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris' Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani's Ms. Marvel, you'll have to not only watch _Captain Marvel_, but also _WandaVision_, _Miss Marvel_, and probably _Secret Invasion_. On the DCEU side, [James Gunn and Peter Safran have announced they're blowing everything up](https://time.com/6287571/the-flash-james-gunn-dc-universe/ "undefined"). Jason Momoa will reportedly no longer play Aquaman, which begs the question: Why would you go see Momoa in the _Aquaman_ sequel that will immediately lose relevance? Another major holiday play is _Wonka_, which at least has the decency to be directed by Paul King, best known for the delightful _Paddington_ movies. But weigh King's involvement against Timothée Chalamet singing, and the fact that [Hugh Grant is playing an Oompa Loompa](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/08/04/dwarf-actors-hugh-grant-wonka-snow-white/ "undefined"), and it's difficult to surmise whether this movie will connect with families—or eclipsing _Barbie_. The biggest threat to _Barbie_ may be _Dune: Part_ Two, a movie that looks tailor-made for the theatrical experience. It's a universe that many fans are eager to see rendered on the largest screen possible, especially since thefirst installment released during a part of the pandemic when audiences were still avoiding theaters. Though, again, the actors' strike, if it continues, may prove problematic for the sci-fi epic. Director Denis Villeneuve [explicitly cast the movie with some of the most promising talent in Hollywood](https://time.com/collection/next-generation-leaders/6278537/florence-pugh-leaders/ "undefined"), betting big on future stars. If Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, and Austin Butler can't appear on red carpets and post on Instagram about the film, it may be hard for the studio to lure a big audience—especially Gen Zers—to the film. That's great news for _Barbie'_s box office—and perhaps even better news for the movie's Oscar hopes. If prestige autumn films move because of the strike or flounder at the box office because their stars can't promote their projects, then _Barbie_ will continue to stick in awards voters minds not only as a critical success and box office juggernaut, but the most memorable time they had at the movies this year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6304654/barbie-box-office-biggest-movie-2023/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6304654/barbie-box-office-biggest-movie-2023/"},"headline":"Barbie Is Officially the Biggest Movie of the Year—And It's Not Going Anywhere","datePublished":"2023-08-24T14:26:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:53:05.298Z","description":"And it will probably stay that way.","url":"https://time.com/6304654/barbie-box-office-biggest-movie-2023/","keywords":["movies","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29f8cce7024e872c/698a3e5b09208f574141a7e8/rev-1-BAR-TT3-0104_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29f8cce7024e872c/698a3e5b09208f574141a7e8/rev-1-BAR-TT3-0104_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BARBIE","caption":"BARBIE","creditText":"Courtesy of Warner Bros. 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