According to Warner Bros. estimates, "Barbie" is projected to surpass $1 billion in worldwide box office earnings. Remarkably, this achievement establishes director Greta Gerwig as the only woman in the billion-dollar club with sole credit for directing a film.
While a few other women have been part of directing teams for movies that grossed over a billion dollars, Greta Gerwig stands alone in achieving this milestone as the sole director for "Barbie." For instance, both "Frozen" and "Frozen II" were co-directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, while Anna Boden co-directed "Captain Marvel" alongside Ryan Fleck. Additionally, Patty Jenkins' "Wonder Woman" ranks among the top 60 highest-grossing films but hasn't crossed the billion-dollar mark.
In the exclusive billion-dollar club, dominated by male-oriented and franchise-driven movies, only nine films center around female protagonists, with "Barbie" being one of them.
There are nine movies in the billion-dollar club that center around female protagonists, and this includes female fish. Among them are animated films like Finding Dory (2016), Frozen (2013), Frozen II (2019), and Beauty and the Beast (2017), featuring animated princesses. Two mega-franchises also contributed to this list with Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and Captain Marvel (2019), both having women at the heart of the story. Additionally, there are two other billion-dollar movies that stand as one-offs: Titanic (1997) and a live-action Alice in Wonderland (2010).
In summary, films with plots centered on women and girls currently make up 18% of all billion-dollar movies. However, it's worth noting that almost half of these are animated films targeted at children. While it is great to have blockbusters with strong girl characters, the lack of super successful movies focused on grown women underscores the slow progress Hollywood has made in achieving gender parity.
"This [disparity] is a reflection of what Hollywood has chosen to back with its biggest budgets, its largest marketing spends, and who it has given the opportunity to direct, write, and star in these movies," pointed out Rebecca Keegan, senior film editor at The Hollywood Reporter, during a recent episode of the podcast The Town. "So it's a little hard to say that that's responding to market forces versus that is a reflection of the culture that's driven Hollywood for decades."
Matthew Belloni, the host of The Town, highlighted that during Barbie's opening weekend, women comprised 69% of ticket buyers domestically, and this figure rose to 71% in the second weekend, which is unusual. Anecdotally, it appears that many women return to watch the movie and bring along their relatives and friends, while Barbie also holds crossover appeal for men.
Stacey L. Smith from the University of Southern California, who has extensively studied inclusion in popular culture, released a report in February indicating that female representation in television and film has steadily improved. The study examines the top 1,600 movies in a given year. In 2007, the percentage of female protagonists was only 20%, but by 2022, that number had increased to 44%. Although not perfect, it represents a significant improvement compared to the numbers seen in the world's most successful films, which often receive the most support from studios.
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