The marketing budget for Barbie was more than it actually cost to make the film itself, it has been reported.
Greta Gerwig‘s film, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, came to cinemas on Friday (July 21).
Ahead of its box office opening, the film hosted a host of marketing activities from making a real-life Barbie dreamhouse to pink burgers and beyond, as well as a social media-led meme trend pitting the film against Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer.
Now, it has been reported by Variety that the marketing budget for the film was a staggering $150million (£117m), eclipsing the $145m (£113m) it cost to actually make the film itself.
Barbie is currently set to outpace Oppenheimer at the box office over the two films’ shared opening weekend.
As things stand, Gerwig’s comedy is set to bring in $110million (£86.6million) at the US box office this weekend, over twice the expected takings of Nolan’s biopic about the creator of the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer is expected to gross $50million (£38.8million).
Barbie’s current takings mean it will break the record for the highest-opening film in the US by a female director. Wonder Woman previously held the title, bringing in £103million (£89.1million) in 2017.
Warner Bros confirmed that Barbie had earned $22.3million (£17.3million) in box office previews – the highest figure of any film this year. Universal, meanwhile, said Oppenheimer had brought in $10.5million (£8.2m) in preview earnings.
In a four-star review of Barbie, NME wrote: “What follows is a nuanced, rose-tinted comedy adventure, set to a stonking pop soundtrack featuring Lizzo and Billie Eilish, that somehow lives up to the immense hype. To borrow a pun from Ken’s coolest jacket (out of a long lineup), Barbie is more than ‘kenough’.”
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