This has been quite the summer for movie lovers, with Barbie and Oppenheimer providing two of the cinema experiences in recent memory.
While the two films are very different, they have tapped into something that has often been missing in major releases over the last few years. Very few movies are now viewed as unmissable cinema experiences, with many often waiting until they become available on streaming sites before watching them.
Barbie has certainly bucked that trend, surpassing all expectations in terms of the money it has been taking in at the box office. At the time of writing, it has grossed $1.28billion worldwide.
Much of that was down to the incredible marketing campaign surrounding the film, something that has clearly worked in Ireland.
Barbie success in Ireland garnering international media attention
While Irish cinemas make up a tiny proportion of the worldwide numbers, the box office numbers in this country have garnered global attention in the last couple of days.
That was down to the fact that Barbie has become the highest grossing movie in Irish history, overtaking the mark that had been set by Avatar back in 2009.
The Margot Robbie offering grossed €8.85million up to last weekend, a number that is likely to grow further over the coming weeks. The previous record stood at €8.75million, with Avatar surpassing the €8.39million set by Titanic in 1997.
While Barbie has been a smash hit in global terms, its relative success far exceeds what it is doing in the worldwide box office.
As mentioned by Irish Times journalist Donald Clarke, whereas it is the highest grossing move ever in this country, it only ranks 21st in the all-time global rankings.
BARBIE has just become the most successful film ever at the Irish box office. Becomes more interesting still when you realise it’s “only” at number 21 in the all-time worldwide. It seems nobody loves BARBIE like we love BARBIE. https://t.co/3qAOfDOsEI
— 🥃Donald Clarke📽️ (@DonaldClarke63) August 23, 2023
This outlier has garnered some global media attention.
The likes of Variety and Screen Daily ran a story on Barbie's success in Ireland, while a number of hugely popular Twitter accounts also shared posts about the matter.
'Barbie' Surpasses 'Avatar,' 'Titanic' to Become Ireland's All-Time Box Office Champion https://t.co/wZZ0cbXf4N
— Variety (@Variety) August 23, 2023
‘Barbie’ becomes most successful film of all time in Ireland with €8.9m box office https://t.co/eyVNWrflZV
— Screen International (@Screendaily) August 23, 2023
Greta Gerwig’s #Barbie has dethroned James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ as the highest-grossing film of all time in Ireland. pic.twitter.com/EswROdSKr1
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) August 23, 2023
#Barbie becomes the highest-grossing movie of ALL-TIME at the Irish box office. 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/vjADIY30wM
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 23, 2023
#Barbie surpasses ‘Avatar’ and ‘Titanic’ as the highest-grossing movie of all time in Ireland. pic.twitter.com/NuII6Ik3yF
— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 23, 2023
It's clear that the people of Ireland absolutely loved the film.
While it trails well behind Barbie in the box office, Oppenheimer has also proven to be a huge hit among Irish cinema goers. It has taken in €5.57million, making it the second most successful movie of 2023.
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