It seems there’s no stopping the Barbie movie from dominating the summer box office. It has been reported by Movieweb that presale tickets for the upcoming fantasy comedy movie have beaten out James Cameron’s Avatar sequel. The movie, which at one point seemed like a shot in the dark for Warner Bros. now looks like it could be their most successful title this year. Initial projections for Barbie had the movie looking at a $70 million opening weekend. That has now grown to potentially up to $150 million, putting it on par with Super Mario Bros. Movie and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Few people could have expected the Barbie movie to have captured the public imagination in such a way. The summer schedule looked set to be dominated by Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Indiana Jones: Dial of Destiny, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. And while all three films have been met with varying success, none of them have quite built up the excitement that the Barbie movie has managed.
The movie has been given a little help from the irresistible Barbenheimer hype that has seen fans gush over the counter-programming of Oppenheimer and Barbie. The wildly opposite tones and genres of the two movies set to be released on the same day have inspired back-to-back movie watching at the cinema. But it’s not just the rivalry with Christopher Nolan’s serious, scientific biopic that has brought Barbie into the limelight.
The movie has benefited from an incredible marketing campaign and slow rollout of information. Initial teasers offered tantalizing information but kept most of the movie a secret. The slow release of details has kept fans on the edge of their seats. The drip feed of info offered John Cena as a merman one day and Greta Gerwig’s refusal to use CGI for the heel stunt the next, before the first full-length trailer drove fans into a frenzy.
Music has been a huge part of the marketing for the movie with DJ and producer Mark Ronson confirmed to be handling the soundtrack. The Dua Lipa song, ‘Dance the Night’ was the first single released from the soundtrack. But the excitement didn’t quite pick up until the release of the Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice remake of the iconic Aqua song ‘Barbie Girl’ titled ‘Barbie World’. The song was a huge hit and ramped up excitement about the movie. Later, a music video was released for the song ‘I’m Just Ken’ showcasing Ryan Gosling’s skill as a singer.
Alongside the teasing of the songs, have come the release of a real-life Malibu dream house available to rent and a variety of different Barbie merchandise and memorabilia that includes everything from Barbie nail polish and candles to luggage and clothing. The Barbie movie has been slowly and consistently building up hype and it seems nothing can stand in its way. Barbie is set to become one of the biggest movies of the year and could be on track for an exciting awards season.