This isn’t to say that women don’t line up for these films, too. ![]() Peruse the top 50 movies at the domestic box office for the last 10 years and you will find one, maybe two, movies made by and for women, starring women, among their numbers. Most big-budget movies these days cater to teenage boys: From superhero films to Transformers to Tom Cruise’s stunt-filled action flicks, they’re movies mostly made by men, populated with men, and sold to men. On June 28, Tom Cruise-the star of Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part One, which comes out the week before Barbenheimer- gamely posed with movie tickets to Oppenheimer and Barbie, prompting both Gerwig and Robbie to do the same. The people behind some of this summer’s most anticipated movies have decided to embrace the competition. For a generation of nostalgic millennial women who watched those films at sleepovers, Barbie has an inherent appeal. But it’s also been quite some time since we’ve gotten a big studio movie eager on to take on that type of story. An underestimated blonde obsessed with clothes ventures into the world and learns something a bit deeper about herself. The movie’s basic premise follows a similar trajectory to those cult classics. In TIME’s cover story on Barbie, I compared the film to two essential films in the female film canon: Legally Blonde and Clueless. And yet even for Barbie skeptics, the approach feels fun, and it’s served up with a wink, like something adults will enjoy as much as little kids. Gerwig’s team used so much pink paint on the set that they caused a worldwide shortage. Much of the fun in the film comes from Barbie literally playing dress-up. They are also, frankly, devoid of the color pink.īarbie is unapologetically leaning into a feminine aesthetic. The intent with those movies is to reach as broad an audience as possible. Only 33% of the top 100 grossing films in 2022 featured female protagonists to begin with, and many of those movies slotted into the sorts of genres that typically cater to men: The Woman King is a historical action epic that happens to star women Everything Everywhere All at Once is a multiversal movie stuffed with fight scenes that happens to center a mother and daughter Scream 6 is a sequel to a classic horror flick. Even as representation of all types in Hollywood is improving, the kinds of movies in which women star aren’t stereotypically girly-for better or worse. In today’s fractured moviegoing landscape, that remains a rare feat. But the real secret to Barbie’s potential box office success has less to do with pink products than its subject and intended audience: Very few movies manage to cater to women without condescending to them. ![]() ![]() Mattel has partnered with brands ranging from Bloomingdale’s to Ruggable to Pinkberry to roll out Barbiecore clothing, home decor, and even frozen yogurt. You cannot cross a street in New York, London, or Sydney without spotting a bus or billboard with Robbie’s face. It’s safe to attribute some of Barbie’s anticipated success to an onslaught of marketing from Mattel and Warner Bros. Nolan has an excellent record at the box office, but given this particular film’s three-hour runtime and R-rating, the idea that Barbie will come out on top has firmly taken hold. Meanwhile, Oppenheimer is still tracking in the $40 million range-a robust total for an adult drama in 2023. ![]() But now initial estimates of a $45 million opening weekend have nearly doubled. There aren’t too many movies like it: Its protagonist has major name recognition but isn’t part of an existing franchise the movie is a big-budget spectacle from a director who has, until recently, delivered smaller, thoughtful films about women’s inner lives big-budget movies with a primarily female cast don’t come around that often. For months prognosticators have struggled to figure out how much Barbie might earn. Read More: The 30 Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2023Īll the chatter could be a sign of life for Hollywood as the usual subjects that buoy the box office-superheroes ( The Flash), fast cars ( Fast X), and animation ( Elemental)-have fallen short of their projected profits.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |