It's on track to become the highest-grossing film of 2023
Adam Starkey
2–3 minutes
Barbie has become the highest-grossing movie in Warner Bros. history.
Greta Gerwig’s fantasy comedy passed the $1.342billion mark at the global box office on Monday (August 28), beating Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 to become the company’s highest-grossing film ever, not adjusted for inflation.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barbie is set to become only the 13th movie in history to cross the $600million mark at the US box office later this week. As of Sunday, the film has grossed over $592.8million in the US, and $745.5million in the rest of the world.
The film is also set to beat The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.36billion) as the highest-grossing film of 2023 globally in the coming days. When it crosses the milestone, Barbie will become the 15th highest-grossing film of all time.
In a statement to mark the record, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-CEOs, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, said: “Reaching this outstanding achievement is a reminder of the power of moviegoers – from countries in every corner of the globe – coming together to further the celebration of an iconic character that has entertained us for so many decades.”
Barbie previously surpassed Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight to become the highest-earning film in Warner Bros. history in the US. Since it was released in July, the film has also become the highest-grossing live-action movie solely directed by a woman.
Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Barbie released on the same day as Nolan’s latest film Oppenheimer, creating the “Barbenheimer” phenomena which boosted the success of both films at the box office.
In a four-star review, NME wrote: “What follows is a nuanced, rose-tinted comedy adventure, set to a stonking pop soundtrack featuring Lizzo and Billie Eilish, that somehow lives up to the immense hype. To borrow a pun from Ken’s coolest jacket (out of a long lineup), Barbie is more than ‘kenough’.”
I was wondering where all the right wing "gamer" chuds from Reddit were. I see they have been found in this comment section. Or is it specifically this instance that they've all conglomerated in?
They're mostly being drowned out by the apparently unspoken alliance between open source supporting apolitical types and far left. The only loud rightists are the islamophobic nominal liberals.
I enjoyed most of the movie, but started getting bored about 3/4 of the way through. Then I was really disappointed with the final political messages. I thought it was going to show a resolution through inclusion and equality, but they seem to continue the power imbalance at the end and even dedicated a scene to showing that they will not give any of the Kens any representation in their government, basically keeping things as they were before. The core message seems to be "use manipulation and deceit to get power, and then keep that power solely for your own group". Did anyone else feel that way? Did I misinterpret something?
Sort of, but the Kens did run the society extremely poorly and then try to kill each other. Remember these are dolls. Ken is literally created to be a stupid himbo.
Yeah, the Barbies ran everything but clearly the Kens were not up to the job. The best outcome is the Kens learning to be their own people, not Barbies' accessories. It not a real society, it's about personal growth.
Right, the movie takes place in make-believe universe. But the messaging is definitely supposed to represent real world issues and perspectives, and I was disappointed that they didn't use it to share a message of equality at the end.
In an online Q&A, author Ursula Le Guin was asked for her opinion on JK Rowling’s writing style. Quote: “I have no great opinion of it. When so many adult critics were carrying on about the “incredible originality” of the first Harry Potter book, I read it to find out what the fuss was about, and remained somewhat puzzled; it seemed a lively kid’s fantasy crossed with a “school novel”, good fare for its age group, but stylistically ordinary, imaginatively derivative, and ethically rather mean-spirited.” There is more to the Q&A, but frankly, this adult critic has no great opinion of it.
Why not ask the sorting hat? Probably because he'd make you a hufflepuff, then the teachers would steal your points and give them to the privileged kids.
Looking at u/@TrismegistusMx 's post history and viewing its sheer volume of smoothbrain thoughts (but also interspersed with rare moments of lucid deep intellect) it would seem that the real problem they have with the underlying message in the Harry Potter books is that education is an imaginative, magical experience.
I have plenty of problems with JK Rowlings recent attitudes towards certain disenfranchised groups, but I have a hard time interpreting Harry Potter as "fascist". The entire premise is diametrically opposed to fascism. The latter four books show how fascists use fearmongering and populist rhetoric in the press to take over democratic institutions.
What I find frustrating about the whole situation is how Rowling seems to have fallen victim to some of the very same patterns her own books warned against.