In Hollywood history, only a handful of men — 28 to be precise, all men — have the sole credit of directing a billion-dollar movie.
Make that 28 men and one woman: Greta Gerwig.
“Barbie,” directed by Ms. Gerwig from a script she wrote with her partner, Noah Baumbach, will finish the weekend with more than $1 billion in ticket sales at the global box office, according to Warner Bros. No movie in the studio’s 100 year history has sold so many tickets so quickly, said Jeff Goldstein, Warner’s president of domestic distribution. This Sunday, “Barbie” has been playing in theaters for 17 days. (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” was previously the fastest to $1 billion, in 19 days.)
Ms. could not be contacted. Gerwig, according to a spokeswoman. Warner Bros. was confused. “PINK FEVER,” Mr. Goldstein wrote in a text message. “Barbie” is No. 1 in the United States and Canada for the third week in a row, collecting $53 million, for a new domestic total of $459.4 million.
Once again, “Barbie” debunks a stubborn Hollywood myth: that “girl” movies — movies made by women, starring women and aimed at women — are limited in their appeal. An old adage in the movie industry says that women will go to a “boy” movie but not the other way around.
Other films have challenged that idea, including “Wonder Woman,” directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot. It collected $823 million worldwide for Warner Bros. in 2017. “Captain Marvel,” directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck and starring Brie Larson, earned $1.1 billion for Disney in 2019. “Twilight,” based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer and starring Kristen Stewart, directed by Catherine Hardwicke. It grossed $408 million for Lionsgate in 2008, kicking off a blockbuster franchise.
But the studios continued to hesitate. Before the release of “Barbie”, even some executives of Warner Bros. challenged the wisdom of giving Ms. Gerwig a lot of money — about $145 million — to make such a pink movie. The studio signed Ms. Gerwig and Margot Robbie, who played the title role, to contract that excluding provisions for sequels.
“Women-centered films are underappreciated, in large part because there are few women in senior leadership roles,” said Ana-Christina Ramón, an author of learning about Hollywood hiring published annually by the University of California, Los Angeles. “Men in those positions often rely on past experience and stereotypes – Oh, that didn’t work before so let’s not risk it again.”
The success of “Barbie” belongs to hundreds of people, both men and women. Ynon Kreiz, the chief executive of Mattel, allowed Ms. Gerwig mocking his company and No. 1 toy. Toby Emmerich, a former chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, has given “Barbie” the green light. (Mr. Emmerich stepped down last year. His successors, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, shepherded “Barbie” through postproduction and release.)
Josh GoldsteinWarner’s president of worldwide film marketing, backed “Barbie” with a roaring promotional campaign.
But women who, especially early on, pushed “Barbie” in the face of skepticism. “If there was ever an example of why Hollywood needs more women in positions of power, this is it,” Ms. Ramon.
Those women include Robbie Brenner, a producer of “Barbie” and the head of Mattel Films – the executive “that saved ‘Barbie’ from development hell,” in the words of Vulture, the culture and entertainment news site. After arriving at Mattel in 2018, Ms. Brenner, who was nominated for an Academy Award for producing “Dallas Buyers Club” (2013), collaborated with Ms. Robbie, who came to the project as a producer in addition to the lead actress. Ms. knows Robbie is Ms. Gerwig, and convinced him to write the script. Later, Ms. Gerwig to direct “Barbie.”
Courtenay Valenti, Warner’s former president of production, played one of the most important roles. He is credited with seeing promise in “Barbie” from the earliest stages – recognizing that it was not (just) a commercial for a polarizing toy, but an idea that could resonate through culture. Ms. fought Ms. Valenti Gerwig to have enough budget to realize his vision. (Ms. Valenti left Warner Bros. in February to become head of film, streaming and theater at Amazon Studios and MGM.)
“Barbie” ended up being the biggest box-office hit of Ms. Gerwig, by a moonshot, solidifying his status as one of Hollywood’s young “name” filmmakers — directors recognized by mainstream ticket buyers as delivering exceptional work. (Jordan Peele is another.) Ms. Gerwig previously directed “Little Women” (2019) and “Lady Bird” (2017). He was nominated for three Oscars.
