Greta Gerwig’s Barbie has surpassed €8m at the Irish box office, a record which has only been broken twice before. First by Titanic in 1998, and then Avatar in 2009.
Barbie has garnered €8,205,359 domestically since its July 21 release in Ireland. As a point of comparison, the 1998 blockbuster Titanic made €8,253,258 at the Irish box office. The Margot Robbie-led film has continued to remain at the top of Box Office Top Ten for the month since its release, and could potentially surpass Avatar’s record of €8,702,770.
The film is breaking records worldwide, taking in over €1.2b globally, and thereby surpassing The Dark Knight as Warner Bros. most financially successful film. Christopher Nolan’s most recent film, Oppenheimer, the second part of the fan-made Barbenheimer double bill, has also made a significant impact on the Irish box office, as Eoin Wrexon, CEO of Pearl and Dean Ireland explains:
"The Barbenheimer phenomenon continues to draw incredible numbers to Irish cinemas. Having taken over €8.2m, Barbie is number one at the 2023 box office, with Oppenheimer ranking number three at €5.1m, and looking set to overtake Super Mario Bros to take second place in the next week.”
Approximately 799,000 admissions were recorded in Irish cinemas in the two films' first week.
"Barbie is now the third-biggest film of all time at the Republic of Ireland box office,” said Wrixon. “It is also close to overtaking Titanic as the second-biggest film of all time, and could even knock Avatar off the top spot if the current figures continue."
He continues: "To see Barbie on track to rank as one of the biggest films of all time at the Irish box office, possibly even the top film ever, shows how cinema has returned stronger than ever.”
