Life in plastic, it’s fantastic!
Barbie painted the box office pink with a massive $337 million opening weekend that shattered expectations while fueling pink-splashed hysteria across the world and beyond.
In a culture-shifting triumph, Barbie made history with the biggest opening weekend for a woman-directed film after rocketing past rivaling blockbuster Oppenheimer that also impressed with a $180 million debut.
Co-written and directed by Greta Gerwig, the color-splashed film stars Oscar-nominee Margot Robbie as Barbie who faces an existential crisis that leads her to seek answers in the real world.
“I am not totally sure how this happened and how they let me do this,” said Gerwig in an interview with Uproxx.
It was some amazing confluence of events and a ripple in the universe that allowed it to slip through. I think that the script that Noah and I originally turned in is very like the movie you see.
But it was so wild and so anarchic that I almost think it was the sense of, “I don’t even know where to start.” I think it created a sense of maybe they instantly felt like, “Since we can’t figure out where to start with this, maybe she should just make it.”
So the truth is, I don’t know. But there were certainly meetings and different things. But at the end of the day, it all happened. And I think there were definitely moments on set where with everyone in the cast, it was a feeling of, “Oh, we’ve got to drive it like we stole it because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and if anybody realizes that we’re doing this, maybe they’ll make us stop.”
Other notable cast members include Ryan Gosling as Ken, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, Dua Lipa, Hellen Mirren, Michael Cera, and many more weaved perfectly into the multi-layered film that’s not as shallow as it seems.
“Of the many things I’ve made in my life, Margot at a dance party as Barbie, asking everybody, “Do you guys ever think about dying?” is pretty much the nearest I’ve felt seen by my own work. It’s moving and also strange,” said Gerwig in an interview with IndieWire.
When people first laughed at that, I thought, “Oh, good, I guess we’re all this way. I guess we all have this.” And yet we make dolls and get angry at them and go to the dance party and worry alone, and then find each other in the worry and then try to make meaning. I don’t know what else we can do.”
Fueled by a brilliant marketing campaign, Barbie trended across social media for months while inspiring a dazzling array of Barbiecore looks that peaked at the Johannesburg premiere in South Africa.
Check out South African star Faith Nketsi‘s stunning video recap below:
Did you get caught up in Barbie mania? If so, how? Tell us down below and enjoy our gallery of Barbie baddies who painted the town pink during premiere weekend on the flip.
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