Greta Gerwig’s Barbie might as well wear the Infinity Gauntlet because the pink-powered meta-comedy has defeated Avengers: Endgame as the best-selling movie ever at Alamo Drafthouse. The theater chain isn’t keen on releasing ticket sale totals for either film. However, Barbie is sitting pretty at the box office, with $596 million in North America and $1.343 billion worldwide. For those who want to compare, Avengers: Endgame snapped up $858 million in North America and $2.799 billion globally. While Barbie is bigger than Endgame at Alamo Drafthouse, the Marvel event film is still the second-biggest movie in history behind James Cameron’s Avatar.
A portion of Barbie’s popularity at Alamo Drafthouse could point toward the theater chain’s merchandise push, with Drafthouse cinemas offering limited edition items to guests, including lunch boxes, t-shirts, and sunglasses. Alamo Drafthouse says Barbie is responsible for selling more merch than any other film hosted by the boutique theater. Additionally, Drafthouse staged themed movie nights across its 39 locations in the United States, complete with signature cocktails and mimosa-fueled brunch screenings.
“Greta Gerwig has made a film for the ages and we couldn’t be more excited to have ‘Barbie’ as our new No. 1 film at Alamo Drafthouse, proving that great quality films deliver for audiences in a massive way,” says Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann. “In addition to being a certified masterpiece, the film and our wonderful partners at Warner Bros. Pictures enabled us to fire on all cylinders with our unique style of events, food, and promotions to eventize the experience for moviegoers.”
“Alamo Drafthouse has always been a terrific partner with a really exceptional fan base, so any time we are able to collaborate with them we know it’s going to be a great experience,” Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures, remarked. “The collective creativity that went into the release of ‘Barbie’ resulted in a program that was embraced by their audiences in ways we’ve never seen before, so it’s no surprise that this inspiring film reached this amazing milestone, and we are so proud of the work everyone at Alamo did and congratulate them on their success.”
The Barbie cast includes many of Hollywood’s heavy hitters and fresh faces, including Margot Robbie (The Suicide Squad) and Ryan Gosling (La La Land) as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera (End of Watch), Kate McKinnon (The Spy Who Dumped Me), Michael Cera (Arrested Development), Ariana Greenblatt (Borderlands), Issa Rae (Insecure), Thea Perlman (Matilda), and Will Ferrell (Elf). The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne (Little Women), Emma Mackey (Sex Education), Nari Nef (Transparent), Alexandra Shipp (the X-Men films), Kingsley Ben-Adir (Secret Invasion), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Ncuiti Gatwa (Doctor Who), Scott Evans (Grace and Frankie), Jamie Demetriou (Cruella), Connor Swindells (Emma), Sharon Rooney (Dumbo), Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton), Ritu Arya (The Umbrella Academy), Dua Lipa, and Helen Mirren (The Queen).
Greta Gerwig directs Barbie from a screenplay she wrote with Noah Baumbach, based on Mattel’s rich history with the Barbie toy brand. The film’s producers are Oscar nominee David Heyman (Marriage Story, Gravity), Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Robbie Brenner, with Michael Sharp, Josey McNamara, Ynon Kreiz, Courtenay Valenti, Toby Emmerich, and Cate Adams serving as executive producers.
Are you surprised by the magnitude of Barbie‘s success? How much money do you think the film will add to its total when it hits digital retailers next month? Let us know in the comments below.