Barbie is now the highest grossing film of 2023 in Ireland so far

She's fantastic! Barbie, Greta Gerwig's doll comedy, has become the highest grossing film of 2023 so far in the UK and Ireland box office.

The film, which just passed a billion dollars (roughly £911m) internationally, grossed £67.5 million in the UK and Ireland (counted together) in its first three weeks on release. It has surpassed the previous box office champ, the Super Mario Bros. movie (£54.6 million) to take the title, despite the film not even being out of theatres yet.

Barbie might go on to top last year's biggest box office hit, Top Gun Maverick (£83.7 million), as well. It's currently outpacing the Tom Cruise-led sequel, as Maverick was only at about three-fourths of what Barbie has made at the same point in its release.

Barbie. Credit: Warner Bros.

Oppenheimer, Barbie's box-office twin, is similarly smashing expectations. It has brought in £39.2 million in the UK and Ireland, more than both of this year's big Marvel releases. It has now become the highest grossing World War 2 movie ever made, surpassing the likes of Saving Private Ryan and Nolan's sister film, Dunkirk.

Both films have been praised for their quality, but their success may also have something to do with the social media storm that accompanied the joint release. The viral 'Barbenheimer' has done more marketing than either film's marketing campaign could ever achieve on its own, some people going as far to book a Barbie-Oppenheimer double feature despite warringly different subject matters and tones.

You can read Hot Press' interview with Gerwig here, as well as our review of Barbie here.