Barbie took the box office by storm this past summer, setting records as the highest grossing movie of 2023, reaching $1.36 billion in box office sales worldwide—the highest grossing Warner Brothers’ film in history. Barbie’s impact across social media and pop culture led to the movie’s significant topic of praise and controversy alike.

In the same way that social media encouraged people to dress up for Minions: The Rise of Gru, many moviegoers of all ages felt the urge to show off the pink in their wardrobes for their viewing of Barbie. The movie generated lots of popularity through reviews during its many weeks as the main attraction in theaters, but also in its star studded cast list that includes Hollywood stars such as Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, and more. This astounding list of actors caused the movie to receive excitement months before its release.

After seeing Barbie, audiences had many things to say about it. Most opinions fit into three categories: in favor of Barbie’s self awareness towards many relevant issues for young women in society, against Barbie’s criticism of the patriarchy in addition to its promotion of misandrist ideologies, and curious as to the reason why Barbie was unable to develop its themes in an appropriate or even realistic manner. To summarize, there is a healthy share of positive, negative, and mixed reviews.

Barbie was banned in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Pakistan, and other countries for reasons unclear, but it’s likely to be from the same reasons that its important elements were under fire in domestic mainstream culture. Overall, the movie’s success stands as a testament to its positive and negative publicity alike.

Sources: PR Newswire, Insider, NME

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