Barbie hit theaters this past weekend and made history. The film’s director and writer, Greta Gerwig, earned the highest-grossing opening weekend for a female director. In America, the movie made over $155 million. Prior to Barbie, the Wonder Woman movie directed by Patty Jenkins held the top spot at $103.3 million. Although the July 21-23 “Barbenheimer” opening weekend was historic for both movies, Barbie still beat out Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer ($80.5 million).
Actually, Barbie became the movie with the highest opening weekend gross of 2023 so far. That’s right, Barbie even did better than The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($146.4 million). Right now, Barbie has made more money domestically than The Flash ($107 million) and Fast X ($145.9 million) during their entire theatrical runs. It is painfully obvious that an ultra-female movie is something that audiences want to see, yet movie studios keep putting women-centered films on the back burner.
Movie studios keep underestimating women’s stories
Greta Gerwig took a stereotypical “girls’ toy” and turned her story into a feminist masterpiece. Barbie’s success is due in large part to Gerwig. This is a movie that only works because it was made by a woman. If the extreme use of iconic Barbie pink weren’t enough of a hint, the movie never shies away from being a “girl” movie. It shows how complicated being a woman in the real world is and how Barbie has shaped that experience. When I left the movie theater, all I could think of was the scene in Gerwig’s Little Women where Jo cried while talking about women. (Women!!) But there were plenty of men in the theater enjoying the movie, as well.
With Barbie‘s phenomenal success, it’s disheartening to see how often studios have pushed back or quashed female-focused stories because they “wouldn’t make money.” Although Marvel and DC have made tons of superhero movies, there is very little female representation. Wonder Woman was a struggle to get produced, even though she is one of the most long-running and iconic superheroes to come from comic books.
Marvel seemingly made a movie about every other type of superhero before they finally got around to producing Captain Marvel. There is a long-running argument that Black Widow should have gotten her solo movie (which never played in theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic) long before it released, but Disney/Marvel didn’t think it would have the same kind of draw as the other superhero films. Even Bridesmaids, one of the highest-grossing comedies of all time, was difficult to get produced because of a BS idea that women aren’t funny.
Movies released in theaters this year keep proving how wrong it is to only make stories that appeal to men. Joy Ride, a female-centered comedy, already grossed $12 million since its July 7 release. Then there is The Little Mermaid, which some racist people protested because of Ariel being played by a Black woman. Many have claimed it was a “flop” in theaters despite the fact that it made $296 million domestically. Like Barbie, The Little Mermaid is a movie focused on a female story and marketed towards women and girls. The Little Mermaid ranks as the 4th top-grossing movie of 2023 so far.
But studios still aren’t getting the message. Warner Bros. and DC released The Flash, despite the backlash against star Ezra Miller, to low box office returns. However, the same studio refuses to release the completed Batgirl movie because they believe it won’t turn a profit. Hopefully, Barbie will continue to make history at the box office and finally convince studios to invest in women’s stories. Not only that, but we need women writers and directors to fully realize the female experience in cinema. Whether studios like it or not, women’s stories make money.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
