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“On the one hand, Barbie is a movie about a doll — one that has for decades represented the conflicting ideals facing its target audience: girls. On the other hand, Barbie is directed by Greta Gerwig, one of the most gifted filmmakers working today and someone adept at delving into womanhood and gendered expectations. Barbie, which stars Margot Robbie as the eponymous character and Ryan Gosling as her trusty love interest, Ken, remains the biggest question mark on the 2023 calendar. But given all the talent involved in front of and behind the camera, it’s at least going to be interesting.” — Alison Willmore, “20 Movies We Can’t Wait to See This Summer”

More from Barbie World

  1. presents!
    The Best Vinyl to Gift in 2023Anniversary box sets, limited-edition printings, and movie soundtracks galore.
    By Vulture Staff
  2. oscar futures
    Which Oscar Contenders Got the Biggest Boost From the End of the Strike?With the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Oscar campaigning can finally start in earnest. Which actors will do well on the trail?
    By Nate Jones
  3. grammys 2024
    This Barbie Is a Grammy NomineeBarbie’s music earned a whopping 11 nods.
    By Justin Curto
  4. grammys 2024
    Who Will Be Nominated at the 2024 Grammys?Besides Taylor Swift, of course.
    By Justin Curto
  5. capitalism
    Yes, Someone Is Actually Making a Movie Called BarbenheimerIt’s about a doll who builds an atomic bomb to destroy humanity.
    By Jennifer Zhan
  6. oscar futures
    Oscar Futures: Is Colman Domingo a Shoo-In for Rustin?The Netflix biopic is being celebrated for Colman Domingo’s performance as the openly gay gadfly who organized the March on Washington.
    By Nate Jones
  7. oscar futures
    Can Paul Giamatti Finally Get Nominated for Best Actor?The actor’s reunion with director Alexander Payne on The Holdovers offers the Academy the chance to make up for his Sideways snub.
    By Nate Jones
  8. oscars 2024
    The Actors Are on Strike, But the Awards Shows Go OnHere is our (extremely early) forecast for the biggest Oscar races this (very uncertain) year.
    By Nate Jones
  9. he’s just pete
    Pete Davidson Is Dating Barbie NowThe SNL host’s “I’m Just Ken” parody laments that his dating life makes more headlines than his comedy.
    By Tom Smyth
  10. at the box office
    4 Lessons From a Box-Office Summer of Hopeful Highs and Panic-Inducing LowsThis summer taught us a lot about the new normal in audience behavior, even beyond the Barbenheimer of it all.
    By Chris Lee
  11. sublime!
    A Barbie Post-Credits Scene Is Coming to PartyFor a limited, one-week Imax engagement across the (Barbie) world.
    By Zoe Guy
  12. buzz buzz
    The Scarab Chose Blue Beetle at the Box OfficeAnd Barbie loses the top spot for the first time.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  13. vulture lists
    Every Will Ferrell Movie, RankedWhich film best captures the Will Ferrell Experience? We’ve ranked ’em all, including his most recent appearances in Barbie and Strays.
    By Will Leitch and Tim Grierson
  14. we live in a society (it’s pink)
    Barbie Wins Box-Office Beach-Off Against The Dark KnightSublime! Barbie is now the biggest domestic Warner Bros. release.
    By Bella Arnold
  15. easter eggs
    A Short History of Barbie’s Earring Magic Ken and His Not-A-Cock-Ring NecklaceMattel’s most rave-ready Ken doll of the ‘90s makes a cameo in Barbie, though his most famous accessory is nowhere to be found.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  16. one billion dollars
    This Barbie is a BillionaireIt’s Margot and Greta’s Billion Dollar Movie!
    By Bethy Squires
  17. hi barbie
    Is No. 87 Kenough?Ryan Gosling’s ode to existential himbos made the Billboard “Hot 100.”
    By Devon Ivie
  18. who’s on top
    Billboard Album Charts: NewJeans Beats the Barbie Soundtrack by 500 UnitsThe k-pop group beat the Barbie soundtrack by 500 units.
    By Bethy Squires
  19. apologies
    Warner Bros US Apologizes for Barbenheimer MemesAfter their Japan division released a statement calling it “extremely regrettable.”
    By Alejandra Gularte
  20. k: death!
    ‘Pink (Bad Day)’ Is the Barbie Song for the PeopleIt’s finally on Spotify!
    By Justin Curto
  21. this barbie is emotional
    Get in, Losers, We’re Making TikToks About GirlhoodThe saddest part of Barbie, now in 15 seconds or less.
    By Bella Arnold
  22. barbenheimer
    Which Barbie Is Oppenheimer?Barbie can be anything, including a scientist who stole the world’s innocence by developing a harbinger of the apocalypse.
    By Jason P. Frank and Rebecca Alter
  23. this barbie can’t stop crying
    Release the Barbie Fart-Opera CutRemember what they took from us …
    By Bella Arnold
  24. vulture lists
    Greta Gerwig’s 10 Favorite BooksGeorge Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Joan Didion, and more.
    By Greta Gerwig
  25. he’s kenough
    Rob Thomas Accepts His KenergyHe correctly assumed Matchbox Twenty would be “the butt of the joke” in Barbie.
    By Devon Ivie
  26. moment of (t)ruth
    Who Was the Real Ruth Handler From Barbie?Here’s the (t)ruth about the Mattel co-founder who created the iconic doll.
    By Jennifer Zhan
  27. women!
    Greta Gerwig Explains the Final Line in Barbie“I knew I wanted to end on a mic-drop kind of joke, but I also find it very emotional.”
    By Zoe Guy
  28. at the box office
    I Am Become Barbenheimer, Destroyer of Box Office RecordsBarbie and Oppenheimer’s staggering returns seem to signal franchise fatigue — or at least that audiences want alternatives to the same old, same old.
    By Chris Lee
  29. let’s go party
    Who’s Winning the Barbenheimer Box Office?Barbie had the largest domestic opening of any female director, ever.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  30. da movies
    Barbenheimer Weekend: Fires, Chaos, and Memes[demonic voice] “Hi, Ken!”
    By Bethy Squires
  31. back to the movies
    How Are Movie Theaters Handling Barbenheimer?Here’s to hoping there are Kenough screens for every Barbie wearing a porkpie hat.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  32. scene report
    Even a Dog in a Pink Bandanna Did BarbenheimerIt’s cinema’s biggest night!
    By Zoe Guy
  33. kenergy
    Did Sam Smith See Ken on Grindr?Meet Bicurious Ken on “Man I Am.”
    By Justin Curto
  34. let’s go party
    Breaking: Barbie Has Entered the Real WorldAnd Sam Smith and Ryan Gosling brought some Ken-ergy to the soundtrack.
    By Jason P. Frank and Ashley Shannon Wu
  35. solidarity
    Don’t Worry, Your Barbenheimer Plans Don’t Cross Picket LinesThe double strike doesn’t have to affect your double feature.
    By Jennifer Zhan
  36. review roundup
    Can Barbie Have Her Cake and Eat It Too?Critics say the existential comedy is well done, but some wonder how subversive Mattel’s IP-driven movie can be.
    By Zoe Guy
  37. vulture lists
    Let’s Revisit the 41 Other Barbie MoviesBefore Greta Gerwig came along, the Mattel doll already had a surprisingly vast cinematic universe.
    By Savannah Salazar
  38. girlbossery
    The Barbie-Merch Gestation Period Was 18 Months LongAnd just like Midge, it’s about to burst.
    By Jason P. Frank
  39. chat room
    Mark Ronson Went Full ‘Batshit’ on the Barbie Soundtrack“One of my favorite things … is this last line that goes, ‘My name’s Ken / And so am I.’ It’s so stupid, it’s the worst syntax.”
    By Justin Curto
  40. is pink the new black?
    Barbenheimer Memes Are Blowing UpIs it a war or an alliance?
    By Jason P. Frank
  41. into it
    Barbiecore Is Nothing NewForemothers Elle Woods, Paris Hilton, and Nicki Minaj walked so Barbie could run.
    By Sam Sanders
  42. on the record
    Ryan Gosling’s Got This Ken-ergy, ‘If You Will’Ken-derwear takes center stage in Gosling’s essentials list.
    By Zoe Guy
  43. double feature
    The Only Way to Watch Barbie and OppenheimerYou’re wrong. We’re right. Long live Barbenheimer.
  44. here we go again
    The Battle of Barbenheimer Is Mamma Mia! vs. The Dark Knight All Over AgainVeterans of the last time a long, brooding thriller by Christopher Nolan faced off against a colorful, pop-tune-heavy romp weigh in on the parallels.
    By Matthew Jacobs
  45. my single is dropping
    Billie Eilish Is Sad Barbie on ‘What Was I Made For?’Playing with doll-size looks from her past eras.
    By Justin Curto
  46. theories
    Is This What the Barbie Movie Is About Or Am I Crazy?Four theories about what Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s Barbie is really about.
    By Vulture Editors
  47. he’s just ken
    Ryan Gosling Drops Sad Himbo Anthem“Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blond fragility?”
    By Zoe Guy
  48. do your thing
    Is Drake on the Barbie Soundtrack?Producer Mark Ronson teased a surprise artist with an “idiosyncratic tie to Barbie.”
    By Justin Curto
  49. doppelgangers
    Margot Robbie Says Thank You to Fans Who Mistake Her for Emma MackeyThe pair were set to do a look-alike joke in the Barbie movie.
    By Charu Sinha
  50. rewrites
    Juno Writer Diablo Cody Knows Why Her Barbie Movie Didn’t WorkNonetheless, the Greta Gerwig movie is still her “Joker.”
    By Alejandra Gularte
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