As Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" continues to break box-office records, recently crossing $1 billion, Insider rounded up the highest-grossing female directors worldwide and it shows just how much the space is dominated by men.
Currently, "Barbie" is the only solo-directed movie from a woman to surpass $1 billion worldwide. If it continues at its current pace, it may become the highest-grossing movie from a female director of all time.
DC's Gal Gadot-led superhero movie was both a critical and financial success. At the time of its release, "Wonder Woman" had the largest domestic box-office opening weekend for a female-directed movie, a record "Barbie" now holds.
Jenkins returned to direct a sequel, "Wonder Woman: 1984," which received mixed reviews when it was released simultaneously on HBO Max and in theaters due to the pandemic in 2020.
The poster of "Hi Mom" next to director and star Jia Ling.
Beijing Jingxi Culture & Tourism Co., Ltd., Yang Dong/VCG via Getty Images
Worldwide gross: $841,674,419 Director: Jia Ling
Made as a tribute to her mother, Jia Ling directs and stars in the 2021 film which follows a young woman who travels back in time and befriends her mom after she's killed in a car accident.
"Barbie" blew away all box-office expectations on opening weekend.
Warner Bros.
Worldwide gross: $1,031,481,000 and counting Director: Greta Gerwig
In "Barbie," which was in development for more than a decade, the titular doll (played by Margot Robbie) has an existential crisis when she wakes up one morning with flat feet, thoughts of death, and cellulite.
Moviegoers venturing out to double showings of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" (aka Barbenheimer) as well as savvy marketing helped the Mattel film blow away box-office expectations with a $337 million worldwide opening weekend.
"Barbie" has earned Gerwig the title of the only solo female director to have a movie cross $1 billion, doing so in just 17 days. Only a handful of movies have passed that mark faster.
"Barbie" is now on its way to becoming the highest-grossing movie of 2023.
3. "Captain Marvel" (2019)
Brie Larson in "Captain Marvel."
Marvel Studios
Worldwide gross: $1,131,416,446 Directors: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
The Brie Larson-starring Marvel movie became the first — and, so far, only — female-led superhero movie to cross $1 billion at the box office, doing so in a mere 25 days.
Set in the '90s, "Captain Marvel" follows Carol Danvers (Larson) as she tries to piece together her mysterious past and understand the range of her superpowers after crash landing on Earth as a galactic battle rages between two alien races.