Summary
- Barbie will be shown on IMAX screens for the first time starting on September 22, with never-before-seen footage included.
- The Barbie film adaptation has been a success at the box office, outperforming Christopher Nolan’s historical drama Oppenheimer every weekend.
- Greta Gerwig’s film is on track to become the highest-grossing female-led movie of all time, surpassing Frozen at the worldwide box office.
Today is another great day for Barbie because it just landed a premium screen engagement. Greta Gerwig’s film has been inextricably connected to Christopher Nolan’s own summer hit through the Barbenheimer phenomenon. However, while Barbie has bested the historical drama at the box office, there’s something Oppenheimer had that Barbie didn’t: IMAX screens. But that all changes this September.
Barbie will be shown for the first time on IMAX screens starting on Friday, September 22. The Mattel doll adaptation will play for one week in theaters throughout North America and in select locations across the globe — and it will include never-before-seen footage. Gerwig said in a statement (per Deadline):
“The worldwide enthusiasm for Barbie has been overwhelming, humbling and deeply moving. So many Barbie fans went on this journey with us, and we can’t thank them enough for supporting the film and sharing their Barbie experience in theaters, across social media and out in the world.”
“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. And 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.”
Barbie Hits IMAX on September 22
Barbie and Oppenheimer have been joined at the hip since both movies opened on July 21. However, Barbie has managed to outperform Christopher Nolan’s film every weekend without the benefit of those wonderful larger-than-life screens. But Greta Gerwig’s bright-pink blockbuster is finally going to get its chance to be seen in IMAX. CEO of the IMAX Corporation, Richard Gelfond, said in the same statement:
“For all of us in the exhibition community, it’s been exciting to watch an original film like Barbie become an unparalleled critical and commercial success this summer. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Greta and her filmmaking team and our friends at Warner Bros. to deliver this special edition of Barbie with never-before-seen footage exclusively to IMAX audiences around the world.”
The leads of Warner Bros. domestic (Jeff Goldstein) and international (Andrew Cripps) distribution also said via the statement:
“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 [Robbie], Ryan [Gosling] 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.”
As the news came down about Barbie’s IMAX release, Gerwig’s film also got one step closer to being the highest-grossing, female-led movie of all time. While Gerwig already holds the record of being the only woman to direct a billion-dollar movie, without a male co-director, her vision of Barbieland brought to life has now passed Frozen at the worldwide box office.
Barbie has made $1,286,361,647 globally and taken the No. 2 spot away from director Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck’s Frozen ($1,284,540,518). Now, only Frozen II ($1,453,683,476), which was also directed by Lee and Buck, stands between Gerwig’s Barbie and movie history.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
