‘Barbie’ Is Going Bigger – Literally: The Doll That Dominated the Summer Box Office Will Screen in IMAX with New Footage
The billion-dollar doll behind the biggest (and pinkest) movie of the summer still has legs.
Barbie, released on July 21st, is still in theaters and still killing it at the box office, with ticket sales currently totaling $572 million in North America and $1.3 billion worldwide. It was only this week dethroned as the current number one movie by the just-released The Blue Beetle, also from Warner Bros. But Barbie is still only the second highest grossing movie of the year, behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which has taken in $574.3 million in the US and $1.359 billion globally.
She’s so close!
Perhaps to cement the box office’s queen’s status as the biggest movie of 2023, Warner Bros. announced Wednesday that it would release Barbie again, this time as a limited one-week IMAX engagement beginning on September 22nd. As an added incentive, the IMAX release will feature exclusive new post-credits footage selected by Greta Gerwig, the film’s director.
The plans include a North American rollout and select international territories, according to the statement issued by by Warner Bros. execs Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution, and Andrew Cripps, president of international distribution, on Wednesday afternoon. The statement also included words from Gerwig.
“We made ‘Barbie’ for the big screen, so it’s a thrill to be able to bring it to Imax, the biggest screen of all,” Gerwig said in the statement. “As a special thanks to ‘Barbie’ fans, we’re excited to share a little bit more of our cast and crew’s incredible work by adding special new footage we hope audiences will enjoy.”
Added Warner Bros. Domestic Distribution Head Jeff Goldstein and International Distribution Chief Andrew Cripps: “If there was one thing missing in this winning Barbie strategy, it was being able to put Greta’s singular vision on premium Imax screens over the uber-competitive summer corridor. That Barbie continues to draw packed audiences around the world heading into its sixth weekend in release speaks to the quality of the film and the excitement audiences have for the story. Greta, Margot, Ryan and everyone involved in Barbie have not just captured, but held the attention of moviegoers everywhere, and we are so pleased to give them a chance to see Barbie, whether for the first or fifth time, in such an experiential format as IMAX.”
Barbie was released on the same day as Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which was shot with IMAX cameras in order to debut on the larger format. Now that there’s an opening for Barbie in the specialty theaters, there’s even more reason for its audience to return to the multiplex, or see it for the very first time.