Barbie Off to Big Start at International Box Office

After months of tie-in products and pink-hued marketing, it looks like the Barbie movie has been met with great fanfare at the box office. According to new numbers released on Friday, Barbie grossed $41.4 million in the first two days of screening in international markets. Universal Pictures' Oppenheimer, which has been unofficially tied to Barbie because of their identical release dates, debuted to $15.9 million internationally. Both of these record-breaking numbers could be good indications for Barbie and Oppenheimer's long-term futures at the box office, especially as more people see the films going into the weekend. 

Will There Be a Barbie Sequel?

As Robbie teased in a previous interview with TIME, the possibility of a Barbie sequel is definitely open, depending on the film's box office performance, saying, "it could go a million different directions from this point."

"I think my pitch in the green-light meeting was the studios have prospered so much when they're brave enough to pair a big idea with a visionary director," Robbie explained while speaking to Collider. "And then I gave a series of examples like, "dinosaurs and [Steven] Spielberg," that and that, that and that – pretty much naming anything that's been incredible and made a ton of money for the studios over the years. And I was like, "And now you've got Barbie and Greta Gerwig." And I think I told them that it'd make a billion dollars, which maybe I was overselling, but we had a movie to make, okay?!"

How Many Mattel Movies Are in the Works?

According to a new report from The New Yorker, there are a total of 45 Mattel-related movies in the process of getting made, including (but not limited to) Barney, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket, and He-Man. Other projects that have been announced to be in development over the years include American Girl, Big Jim, Chatty Cathy and Betsy Wetsy, Magic 8 Ball, Matchbox, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Thomas & Friends, Uno, View-Master, and Wishbone.

"Barbie is one of the most iconic franchises in the world and we are excited to partner with Warner Bros. Pictures and Margot Robbie to bring her to life on the big screen," Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO of Mattel, said in a statement when the film took shape. "We look forward to building on this collaboration with Warner Bros. Pictures as we tell the stories of our beloved brands. Mattel Films is on a path to demonstrate the enormous potential of our brand portfolio, as we continue to execute on our strategy of transforming Mattel into an IP-driven, high performing toy company."

What Is the Barbie Movie About?

In Barbie, to live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie, which hits theaters on July 21st. Barbie stars Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren. Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach, based on Barbie by Mattel. 

h/t: Deadline