10 Movies That Surprisingly Didn't Gross as Much as Barbie

For years, James Cameron and Marvel have been the kings of the box office. If it wasn't a James Cameron classic like Titanic breaking records at the box office, it was the newest Avengers installment. And while these masterpiece films are well-loved by both critics and moviegoers, some niche, cult classic films end up underperforming, or just not making over a billion dollars, while still holding a place in the hearts of viewers. Sometimes, movies manage to do both, and they sneak up on the films that are sitting comfortably in the top spots.

The Barbie release has been a whirlwind. Barbie has taken over the world with its homage to girlhood and womanhood alike. Just the trailer itself garnered 77 million views on YouTube alone. From the underlying meanings and symbolism of the plot to the elaborate set and costume design, Barbie has enticed and wowed audiences, grossing over $1.3 billion worldwide, landing itself at spot #17 on the highest-grossing movies list. And, it's only been out for a little over a month. This is an immense profit considering its $145 million budget. The film is director Greta Gerwig's largest budgeted film and also highest earning film in her career thus far. It's already a projected contender for several Oscars come awards season. With its insane results at the box office, it has already surpassed hundreds of classic and beloved movies in worldwide gross income. This list shows the films that are widely loved but didn't quite meet the mark of Barbie's massive success.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

The final installment of the Harry Potter film series grossed $1,342,359,942 in its lifetime. This comes just under Barbie's $1,343,695,173. The Harry Potter movies are adapted from the modern classic novels under the same name, written by JK Rowling. All seven of the books in the series make the list of top-selling books of all time, with The Deathly Hallows coming in at number 18. It has sold over 65 million copies worldwide.

Whether fans of the Harry Potter universe enjoyed the ending depicted in this film, they still showed up and showed out for this event. Its earnings solidify it as the highest-grossing Harry Potter film of all eight films and lands it as the 18th highest-grossing film of all time. The next highest of the film series, the first, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, doesn't appear until spot 50.

Frozen

When Frozen was released in 2013, it took the world by storm...ice storm, that is...

Anyways. Frozen sparked a new era for Disney and a renewed love for Disney movies by the masses. It earned $1.2 million dollars at the box office and is only surpassed by two other Disney movies -- its sequel Frozen 2 and The Lion King live-action remake.

While it seemed like a global phenomenon that none of us could escape even if we tried, it still sits four spots under Barbie. While both movies have songs that hit the radio, Barbie probably won't get its own theme park ride like Frozen but never say never. I wouldn't be surprised to see Barbieland in the coming years. In fact, Mattel is creating a theme park that is set to include a Barbie Beach House.

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

This animated Marvel installment was an instant classic upon its release, beloved by audiences and critics alike. It scored above 90 percent in both categories on Rotten Tomatoes. The film boasts big names like Oscar and Golden Globe award winner Mahershala Ali, as well as Jake Johnson, Chris Pine, and Nicolas Cage, to name a few.

While its sequel slipped in at #147 on the top gross list, Into The Spider-Verse's $384,256,930 in earnings doesn't even translate to a place in the top 200 films. Many Marvel movies, including all four Avengers movies, and a handful of animated movies, including Frozen II, bested Barbie. But, sadly, this beloved film didn't even come close to making the cut.

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park has amassed a cult following and garnered several sequel and spin-off movies. Its success is unquestionable in terms of audience love and popularity throughout media history. But as far as numbers go, it only makes #34 with a gross of $1,112,016,637. Its 2018 spin-off Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom cut it close to Barbie, making $1,310,466,296.

Whether it be nostalgia or the general public's dislike for Chris Pratt, the newer Jurassic Park movies aren't as highly coveted in pop culture despite the higher monetary gain. The original film has a 91% for both its critic and audience score while Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom struggles to surpass 50% in either score. The original Jurassic Park movie also has the power of the internet meme on its side, to further promote this 30-year-old movie.

Oppenheimer

Okay, I won't make you wait until the end of the list. With fewer movies hitting theaters due to streaming and even less creating mass excitement, Barbie and Oppenheimer entering the scene at the same time was a phenomenon for moviegoers. Of course, the memes depicting people hopping from Barbie in their cute pink clothes over to Oppenheimer in attire fit for war are funny, but these two movies really were an interesting matchup. They're completely different genres of film with entirely different contents and plots but they spoke to the same audiences.

However, Barbie apparently spoke louder. Oppenheimer grossed $788,186,568, which is an amazing turnout for 2023 movies, but not quite enough to best Barbara. In fact, only three other 2023 releases so far make the top 200 list, with only The Super Mario Bros.Movie surpassing Barbie. Oppenheimer did, however, do better than by in ratings, with both scores being above 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The entirety of the Hunger Games movie series is a massive success, both in earnings and ratings. But the second movie, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, is the most popular among the community as well as critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes' scores. If any book-to-movie adaptations were going to beat out Barbie it would probably have been Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings, sure, but The Hunger Games holds its own.

All four movies in the series make the top 200 list, with Catching Fire at the top. The closest is the Mockingjay: Part I installment which grossed $755,356,711 to Catching Fire's $865,011,746. While none of the four films hit the millions, it's still impressive that the entire series stays afloat in the top-grossing list, especially when almost all the budgets are below $150 million.

The Dark Knight

This film is loved by both film buffs and casual fans for what some claim is the best Joker performance of all time and Heath Ledger's best performance of his career, for which he won 28 awards, posthumously. With a 94% by both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, it's the highest-rated live-action Batman movie.

Despite all of this, the film only grossed $1,006,234,167. Although this is a large amount, it's not enough to get this Batman film in the top 50, let alone to slip past Barbie. This also means that, domestically, Barbie has passed The Dark Knight as Warner Brothers' top-grossing film.

The Lion King (1994)

The classic animated The Lion King is actually the highest-grossing PG-rated movie of all time, with a total of $968,511,805. Its live-action remake boasts more than its predecessor sitting at a cool $1,663,075,401. This means that it also passed Barbie's gross income.

The animated version has a 93% across the board on Rotten Tomatoes, while its live-action counterpart has only 88% from audience scores and a defeating 52% from critics. The original Lion King is also the highest-rated Disney movie on IMDb, at number #37.

Incredibles 2

After a 14-year gap between this film and the first installment, Incredibles 2 ended up as the highest-grossing Disney-Pixar movie of all time. I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder. It sits just six spots below Barbie, amassing a gross income of $1,243,225,667.

While many sequels and remakes managed to beat their own predecessors and also Barbie, usually their review scores can't hold a candle to the originals. However, Incredibles 2 boasts an audience score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, while the original Incredibles film only earned 75%. The Incredibles does not make the top 200 in terms of highest gross income.

It (2017)

The It 2017 remake is one of the very few movies whose sequel does not surpass it nor does it even chart in the top 200. It (2017) just squeezes into the top 150, at #141, with a gross income of $701,842,551. It (2017) was widely talked about even prior to its release, with the official trailer being viewed 44 million times.

Barbie's Rotten Tomato scores by audience and critics sit at 88% and 83%, respectively, which isn't too far from the scores of It (2017). The Rotten Tomato review scores both surpass the 80% mark, at 86% and 84%. The sequel, It: Chapter 2, has an audience score of 78% and a critic score of only 62%, these lower scores typical of the sequels and remakes we've seen on this list.