Forget pink! America Ferrera is seeing the green…
Greta Gerwig’s fantasy-comedy Barbie, which stars the 39-year-old Honduran American actress, earned $162 million in its first weekend at the box office. The record-breaking total gives Ferrera the biggest opening weekend of her career.
The Warner Bros. film, starring Margot Robbie as the plastic, fantastic doll, declined only 9% from Saturday to bring in $43.7 million on Sunday.
Barbie’s ticket sales rank as the biggest opening weekend of the year, besting The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($146 million). Barbie also marks the biggest debut ever for a film directed by a woman, overtaking Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s 2019 blockbuster Captain Marvel ($153 million).
“This historic result reflects the intense heat, interest and enthusiasm for Barbie,” Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein wrote in a note to press. “This doll will indeed have long long legs.”
Barbie also exceeded expectations at the international box office with $194.3 million (above Sunday’s estimate of $182 million), bringing its global tally to a stunning $356.3 million. Those ticket sales are especially notable because Barbie didn’t have much of a footprint on Imax or premium large format screens, which are more expensive than the average 2D movie ticket.
In Barbie, Ferrera portrays Gloria, a Mattel employee who helps Barbie in the real world.
