Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ Has Budget of $100 Million

Hidden inside Variety’s drooly Olivia Wilde interview is an intriguing tidbit about a film having nothing to do with Wilde.

Variety is saying that Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” has a budget of $100 million. That’s quite a lot of dough, especially when you consider Gerwig’s first two films (“Lady Bird,” “Little Women”) didn’t cost all that much to make.

Wilde is discussing the staggeringly low number of women who have directed a film with a $100 million budget. This is another short list: Chloé Zhao (“Eternals”), Patty Jenkins (“Wonder Woman”), Niki Caro (“Mulan”), Ava DuVernay (the first woman of color to receive a $100 million budget with “A Wrinkle in Time”) and Gerwig with her forthcoming “Barbie.”

The amount of misfires from that list should concerns us all, and this is coming from someone who really is excited to see Gerwig’s “Barbie” next summer.

I presume a big chunk of that budget will be going straight to Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie’s pockets. The rest? I’m tempted to say a significant amount was spent on the “Barbie” production design.

Will “Barbie” even make enough money to break even at the box-office? That’s still a major question mark. It’s a risk Warner Bros seems to want to take.

If we want to compare, Christopher Nolan’s upcoming “Oppenheimer” cost around $100 million as well. Nolan left Warners last year due to some theatrical exhibition dispute. Which is the riskier summer 2023 release? “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer”? At least Nolan has a massive fanbase, Gerwig is just starting out. I’m betting “Oppenheimer” makes much more money.