Barbie surpasses Batman to become Warner Bros.’ most profitable domestic release

Barbie rules the box office. He is merely Batman.

The American box office total for «Barbie» reached $537 million on Tuesday, making it the most successful film in Warner Bros. Discovery’s 100-year history. For the title, the movie outperformed Christopher Nolan’s «The Dark Knight,» which brought in $536 million in 2008.

Since its July 21 premiere, the bubblegum-pink collaboration between director Greta Gerwig, Mattel, and Warner Bros. has raked in more over $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office.

It is the second movie produced in 2023 to reach the billion-dollar mark, and the first for the newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery, the product of the merger of Warner Media and Discover in 2022. Since its April release, «The Super Mario Bros. Movie» from Universal has earned over $1.3 billion.

The popularity of «Barbie» comes at a time when blockbuster-budget movies have had difficulty engaging moviegoers. «Barbie» and Nolan’s most recent picture, «Oppenheimer,» which has earned more than $250 million domestically, demonstrate that viewers are still eager to leave their sofas for excellent movies and distinctive group experiences.

The Margot Robbie-starring movie has held the top spot at the box office since it debuted and is on pace to earn the most money of the whole year. Box office analysts anticipate «Barbie» to keep bringing in revenue in the upcoming weeks because it has no competition from new releases and is riding a tide of favorable word-of-mouth.