As ‘Barbie’ hits streaming, here’s every record it’s broken so far

It’s a Barbie world, box office data confirm.

In its opening weekend, “Barbie” drew hordes of moviegoers — donning every shade of pink imaginable — to theaters. Promising 114 minutes of laughs, pop culture references and glitzy dance numbers, the film was projected by critics (and TikTok users alike) to take the world by storm. It’s now ballooned into a billion-dollar hit and the biggest movie of the year worldwide. As the film debuts Tuesday on digital, it’s sure to score more milestones.

“Barbie” is a “cinematic, box office and cultural watershed event that will be written about and talked about for years to come,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, wrote in an e-mail to The Times.

Here are the records the movie has broken so far:

1. Highest-grossing film of 2023 in the U.S. and worldwide

On Sept. 2, “Barbie” became the highest-grossing movie of the year worldwide, surpassing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” with $1.36 billion, per Comscore data and Warner Bros. representatives. It had taken the crown for biggest domestic release on Aug. 24.

“This is a watershed moment for ‘Barbie,’ and no one but Greta Gerwig could have brought this cross-generational icon and her world to life in such a funny, emotional and entertaining story,” Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures, said in an e-mail to The Times last month. “Long lines and repeat viewings prove that movies are back in a big, big way, and we look forward to seeing just how far ‘Barbie’ can go in the real world.”

As of its digital release, the movie has grossed north of $620 million domestically and $1.4 billion worldwide.

2. Most successful global release in Warner Bros. history

For 12 years, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2” reigned as Warner Bros.’ highest-earning movie globally of all time. On Aug. 28, “Barbie” surpassed the franchise film, grossing more than $1.4 billion worldwide.

3. Most successful domestic release in Warner Bros. history

Dethroning 2008’s “The Dark Knight” ($535.9 million), “Barbie” was crowned the studio’s top-grossing domestic film ever on Aug. 16. As of Monday, it had earned $620.7 million domestically.

4. Biggest opening weekend of the year

“Barbie” hauled in $155 million domestically — almost twice as much as “Oppenheimer” — in its opening weekend, the biggest debut of the year. The top theater location was AMC Burbank, Warner Bros. reported, with Regal Irvine Spectrum, AMC Grove and AMC Century City taking the fourth, fifth and sixth spots, respectively.

5. Top global and domestic opening weeks of 2023

“Barbie” also danced its way to the biggest global ($578.7 million) and domestic ($258.4 million) opening weeks of 2023. Both titles were previously held by “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”

6. Highest-grossing opening week for Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling

The film’s $578.7-million opening week far eclipsed the previous personal records for director Greta Gerwig, $45 million for 2019’s “Little Women,” Margot Robbie, $362.9 million for 2016’s “Suicide Squad,” and Ryan Gosling, $114.5 million for 2017’s “Blade Runner 2049.”

7. Largest global opening for a female-directed movie

Previously held by 2019’s “Captain Marvel” ($570.7 million), “Barbie” took the title of the highest-grossing global opening for a movie directed by a woman. “Captain Marvel” had dual directors: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

8. Biggest domestic opening for a film based on a toy

The first of a string of upcoming movies from Mattel’s film division, Mattel Films, “Barbie” had the biggest opening for a picture based on a toy. The title was previously held by 2011’s “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” ($115.9 million), per Warner Bros.

9. Highest-grossing Warner Bros. opening for a nonfranchise movie ever

“Barbie” surpassed 2017’s “IT” ($123 million domestic) as the studio’s highest-grossing opening for a nonfranchise movie. Half of the top box office openings of all time belong to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, per Box Office Mojo.

10. Tie for fastest Warner Bros. film to hit $1 billion

At 17 days, “Barbie” tied the studio record for the fastest time to hit $1 billion globally, matching 2011’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2.” Studio executives have nicknamed the box office milestone “Barbillion,” Goldstein and Andrew Cripps, president of international distribution at Warner Bros., told Variety.

11. First solo female director with a $1-billion movie

“Barbillion” also makes Gerwig the only solo female director to have a movie reach the billion-dollar mark. Only 28 directors in Hollywood history have had the sole directing credit on a billion-dollar movie — and they’re all men (most made male-oriented and franchise-driven films). A handful of other women have shared credit for directing movies that collected more than $1 billion, including “Frozen II” co-director Jennifer Lee and “Captain Marvel” co-director Boden.

“Barbie” hitting the billion-dollar mark “solidifies the notion that the opportunities afforded to a diverse array of filmmaking voices is not only good for the creative process but represents a solid business practice that can have a profound impact on the culture and moviemaking decisions moving forward,” Dergarabedian told The Times.

12. Highest-earning live-action movie globally from a female director ever

“Barbie” has grossed $1.4 billion globally, the highest-ever global haul for a live-action movie from a female director, according to Comscore. By the end of its box office run, it’s likely to surpass “Frozen II” ($1.45 billion), co-directed by Lee, and become the top-earning movie worldwide from a female director.

13. Biggest domestic release from a female director

While “Frozen II” still holds the global record for a female-directed movie, “Barbie” is officially the highest-grossing domestic film by a female director ($620.7 million), according to Warner Bros.

14. Gerwig, Robbie and Gosling’s biggest global hit

“Barbie” not only gave each member of this dynamic trio their biggest opening week, Warner Bros. reports, but also their biggest global hit. Gerwig’s previous highest-grossing film globally was “Little Women” ($216 million), Robbie’s was “Suicide Squad” ($749 million) and Gosling’s was “La La Land” ($443 million) — none of them broke into the billion-dollar club.

15. Highest-grossing Warner Bros. title ever globally

Barbie is Warner Bros.’ highest-grossing title of all time globally, eclipsing the lifetime grosses of “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” per Comscore data.

16. Fourth-ever $300 million-plus weekend

Co-leading the weekend with partner-in-crime “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie” fueled the fourth-ever $300 million-plus overall weekend in history, with the films playing July 21-23 collectively generating a whopping $311.3 million, according to Comscore.

17. Highest-grossing second weekend globally in Warner Bros. history

Living up to and beyond the hype, “Barbie” raked in an additional $220 million globally in its second weekend, triumphing over 2019’s “Joker” ($181.2 million in its sophomore frame), Warner Bros. reported.

18. First time one film opened to more than $100 million and another debuted to over $80 million in the same weekend

“Barbenheimer” was undeniably the film event of the year, but it was also singular in the history of the industry. The double debut gave North American multiplexes their biggest weekend since 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” according to Box Office Mojo.

19. Highest-grossing Warner Bros. title ever in 43 markets

As of Monday, “Barbie” is the biggest Warner Bros. title in 43 markets, including the U.K., Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Italy and Argentina, per studio data.

20. Top film ever in Ireland

“Barbie” is the most successful film of all time at the Irish box office. The movie reached that milestone in August — less than five weeks after its release — when it had grossed 8,854,036 euros ($9.57 million).

Times staff writer Christi Carras contributed to this report.