Barbie Just Passed Star Wars: The Last Jedi At The Domestic Box Office
"Barbie" just had its eighth weekend at the box office and the film's record-shattering run is still going surprisingly strong. It came out in the heart of the summer season smack-dab in the middle of July and we're already (almost) in the fall. Yet, here we are, with Greta Gerwig's toy-based blockbuster still in the top five at the domestic box office. The unending nature of this legendary run has now pushed the film past a pretty significant milestone, as "Barbie" has overtaken "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" in terms of its overall domestic gross.
Despite a heavy-hitter entering the fold in the form of "The Nun II," which topped the box office with a $32.6 million debut, "Barbie" managed to stay in the top five this past weekend by pulling in $5.7 million, per The Numbers. With that, Gerwig's adaptation of Mattel's famous doll now sits at $620.27 million domestically in total. That puts it at number 12 on the all-time chart just past 2017's "The Last Jedi," which finished with $620.18 million.
This is unadjusted for inflation but no less impressive. "Star Wars" is one of the biggest franchises of all time and we're talking about the sequel to "The Force Awakens," which felt like one of the biggest collective pop culture events in history. The fact that Margot Robbie's turn as Barbie has so assuredly captivated moviegoers on this level is remarkable. Not for nothing, but "Barbie" also cost less to make as it carries a $145 million budget, whereas "The Last Jedi" had an incredibly steep production cost in the $300 million range. But Disney still came out ahead since the movie finished with $1.33 billion worldwide.
A remarkable run is nearing its end
This is really just another way of pointing out that what "Barbie" has done is one of the biggest surprises in recent memory. Yes, "Top Gun: Maverick" pulling in $1.49 billion last year was undoubtedly shocking as well. But in that case, we're talking about a sequel to an enduring hit '80s classic with Tom Cruise, who remains one of our most bankable movie stars. The fact that "Barbie" has made $1.4 billion without the sequel angle, any IMAX-worthy dogfights, or Tom Cruise, is impressive.
This upcoming weekend, "Barbie" is all but assured to finally fall out of the top five as "A Haunting In Venice" makes its way to theaters. At that point, "Barbie" will be the 14th highest-grossing movie ever globally. It may not climb much higher, but overtaking "Frozen II" ($1.45 billion) is not out of the question. Whether that happens or not is sort of irrelevant at this point. This was a smash hit of epic proportions that the world simply didn't see coming.
Sure, it always felt like Gerwig and Robbie teaming up to turn this toy into a film had upside potential. But living in a world in which it has now made more money than "The Last Jedi"? That's still hard to wrap one's head around. The fact that it will soon pass "The Avengers" ($623.3 million) domestically is arguably even more outlandish. Go party, Barbie. You've earned it.