‘Barbie’ tops ‘The Dark Knight’ to become Warner Bros.’ biggest movie ever at the American box office

“Barbie,” which has broken numerous box office records since its July 21 opening, just broke another.

“Barbie,” which has broken numerous box office records since its July 21 opening, just broke another.

The Greta Gerwig-directed film about the iconic doll, is now Warner Bros.’ highest-grossing domestic release, beating the former title holder, the 2008 film “The Dark Knight.” As of Tuesday, “Barbie” has made US$537.4 million at the US box office, surpassing the haul of director Christopher Nolan’s Batman blockbuster, “The Dark Knight,” which amassed US$536 million.

Warner Bros. Discovery, which also owns CNN, announced Wednesday that “Barbie” had also crossed the US$1.2 billion mark globally, after hitting the US$1 billion milestone less than two weeks ago — a feat achieved only by about 50 films in history, adjusted for inflation, Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, previously told CNN. It also placed Gerwig as the highest-grossing woman movie director in history.

The comedy raked in a stunning US$155 million domestically in its opening weekend. Even as “Pink Fever” slowed in the last week, “Barbie” is estimated to have earned US$33.7 million this past weekend to maintain its strong hold on the theaters.

Part of its success can be attributed to the pop culture phenomenon dubbed “Barbenheimer,” a mashup of “Barbie” with the period film “Oppenheimer,” ironically also directed by Christopher Nolan, which drew moviegoers to challenge themselves by seeing both films in succession.

The movie also remains on track to surpass Universal Picture’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which has made US$574.2 million at the US box office since its April 5 release.