Greta Gerwig’s film joins a high-grossing list of mostly male-directed movies, most of them with men leading the casts.
Barbie will surpass $1 billion worldwide, according to Warner Bros. estimates. Hard as it may be to believe, that makes director Greta Gerwig the only woman in the billion-dollar club with sole credit for directing a film.
A couple of other women have shared credit for directing movies that made more than a billion dollars. Both Frozen and Frozen II were co-directed by a man and a woman, Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck. And Anna Boden co-directed Captain Marvel with Ryan Fleck. Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, is among the top 60 highest grossing films, not adjusted for inflation, but it has not broken the billion dollar barrier.
Most of the movies in the billion dollar club are, predictably, male-oriented and franchise-driven. At this moment, 53 films have made more than a billion dollars. Barbie is among only nine that center female protagonists.
Nine, that is, if you count female fish. Finding Dory (2016) swims in the billion dollar club, along with the animated princesses of Frozen (2013), Frozen II (2019) and Beauty and the Beast (2017).
