Warner Bros movie 'Barbie' ticket sales top $1 billion

NEW YORK: The blockbuster film "Barbie" has topped $1 billion in box office ticket sales worldwide since its July 21 debut, Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, announced on Sunday.

In a statement, Warner Bros. said the fantasy-comedy movie has taken in $459 million from domestic theaters - counting the United States and Canada - and another $572.1 million overseas since it hit theaters, for a total of $1.0315 billion. The figure was confirmed by media analytics firm Comscore.

Oscar-nominated "Barbie" writer and director Greta Gerwig also became the first female filmmaker to surpass the billion-dollar benchmark as a solo director, Warner Bros. said.

This was the third weekend in theaters for "Barbie." The film drew $127 million worldwide this weekend - Friday through Sunday - with $53 million in domestic receipts and another $74 million overseas, according to Comscore.

"As distribution chiefs, we're not often rendered speechless by a film's performance, but Barbillion has blown even our most optimistic predictions out of the water," Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros. Pictures, and Andrew Cripps, president of international distribution, said in a statement.

Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, the movie sends Mattel Inc's iconic doll on an adventure into the real world.

"Barbie" ticket sales rank second this year to "The Super Mario Bros," which was released in April and has raked in a total of $1.357 billion at the box office.