Can Barbie Have One Of The Longest Number One Box Office Runs Ever?
Another weekend in the books, another weekend atop the box office for "Barbie." Director Greta Gerwig's pop culture phenomenon has now topped the charts for four straight weekends, a feat that few movies will ever get to claim — particularly in the post-pandemic landscape. It's remarkably rare air, only enjoyed by the biggest of big blockbusters like "Spider-Man: No Way Home" or "Top Gun: Maverick." But as the rest of August looks largely devoid of any certain breakout hits the question must be asked: how many weekends can this movie keep the crown?
According to The Numbers, "Barbie" added $33.7 million domestically in its fourth weekend, representing a shockingly great 36% drop from its prior frame. The movie's week-to-week holds have been truly impressive up to this point, as positive word of mouth has carried it to impressive heights. Big competition from "Oppenheimer," "Meg 2," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" has hardly mattered. But we're now getting into territory where another movie with a relatively modest opening weekend could swoop in and take the number one spot.
This upcoming weekend sees both the R-rated comedy "Strays" and, more importantly, the DC superhero movie "Blue Beetle" hitting theaters. While neither movie is looking at a blockbuster debut, DC's latest could open at around $30 million. If it gets anywhere near that number, even if "Barbie" has a somewhat minimal drop-off, we're probably going to have a new champion. If "Blue Beetle" full-on flops? We might be having a different conversation next Monday morning.
"Barbie" would need at least 7 weeks at number one to tie "Ghostbusters" and "Avatar" to become one of the top ten movies with the most consecutive weeks atop the domestic box office. As of this writing, that feels to be just out of reach.
A remarkable run, nevertheless
The all-time record holder is "Titanic," which spent an astonishing 15 weeks at number one during its record-shattering run in late '97/early '98. From there, "Beverly Hills Cop" (13 weeks), "Tootsie" (13 weeks), "Home Alone" (12 weeks), "Crocodile Dundee" (9 weeks), "Good Morning, Vietnam" (9 weeks), "Back to the Future" (8 weeks), "Fatal Attraction" (8 weeks), "Porky's" (8 weeks) round out the list, with "Ghostbusters" and "Avatar" tied for the ten spot.
"Barbie," which stars Margot Robbie as Mattel's famous doll, would at the very least need "Blue Beetle," "Gran Turismo," and "The Equalizer 3" to fall well short of expectations to have a slim chance at reaching 7 weeks, all while having drops of 20% or less — give or take. It seems unlikely but, even if that doesn't happen, it takes precisely nothing away from what this movie has accomplished, which is nothing shy of monumental.
Gerwig now stands alone as the owner of the highest-grossing movie ever directed by a woman, her latest sitting pretty at $1.18 billion worldwide. That puts it in the top 25 all-time worldwide, sitting just behind "Minions" ($1.15 billion) and just below "Iron Man 3" ($1.21 billion). When all's said and done, it may well kick "The Avengers" ($1.52 billion) out of the global top ten. So no, it may not set a consecutive week record, but it's sure as hell going to earn its place in cinema history.
"Barbie" is in theaters now.