Barbie (film)

Barbie is a 2023 American fantasy comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig from a screenplay she wrote with Noah Baumbach. Based on the Barbie fashion dolls by Mattel, it is the first live-action Barbie film after numerous computer-animated films and specials. The film follows Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) on a journey of self-discovery following an existential crisis. It features an ensemble supporting cast, including America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Helen Mirren, Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. A live-action Barbie film was announced in September 2009 by Universal Pictures with Laurence Mark producing. Development began in April 2014, when Sony Pictures acquired the film rights. Following multiple writer and director changes and the casting of Amy Schumer and later Anne Hathaway as Barbie, the rights were transferred to Warner Bros. Pictures in October 2018. Robbie was cast in 2019, after Gal Gadot turned down the role due to scheduling conflicts, and Gerwig was announced as director and co-writer with Baumbach in 2020. The rest of the cast were announced in early 2022. Filming took place primarily at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, in England and on the Venice Beach Skatepark in Los Angeles from March to July 2022. Barbie premiered at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on July 9, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 21 by Warner Bros. Pictures. Its simultaneous release with Universal's Oppenheimer led to the "Barbenheimer" cultural phenomenon, which encouraged audiences to see both films as a double feature. The film received critical acclaim and has grossed $1.2 billion worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing film of 2023, as well as the highest-grossing film directed solely by a woman and the 24th highest-grossing film of all-time. Stereotypical Barbie ("Barbie") and fellow dolls reside in Barbieland; a matriarchal society with different variations of Barbies, Kens, and a group of discontinued models, who are treated like outcasts due to their unconventional traits.