When Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) -) hit movie "Barbie" opened in U.S. and Canadian theatres nationwide on Friday, July 21, it was an instant box office success.
The film, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, took in more than $155 million for the opening weekend, playing in 4,243 locations.
DON'T MISS: Popular Bill Maher show coming to CNN
The production company also estimated a $182 million haul in international markets.
Together with the successful opening of Universal Pictures' (a division of Comcast (CMCSA) -)) release of Oppenheimer, a film about the making of the atomic bomb, the weekend put a much-needed positive jolt into AMC Entertainment's (AMC) -) stock price.
After trading at $4.40 on July 21, AMC reached a value of $5.85 on Monday, July 24.
Another stock appeared to be affected by the Barbie movie hype. The maker of the famous doll, Mattel (MAT) -), saw its shares rise during the month-long buildup to its release.
Valued at $17.87 on June 21, Mattel stock was trading at $21.57 July 24.
Barbie becomes politicized
The spring and summer of 2023 has been notorious for political outrage and "Barbie" was no exception.
Conservative political commentator and columnist Ben Shapiro called for a Bud Light (BUD) -) style boycott of the movie and the doll.
Tesla (TSLA) -) CEO Elon Musk, English broadcast journalist Piers Morgan and Republican Congress Matt Gaetz were also publicly critical of the film.
The backlash was a reaction to the plot of the film and depiction of its characters.
Conservative political activist and media personality Jack Posobiec called the film a "man-hating woke propaganda fest."
Comedian Bill Maher, host of HBO's (also owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) political talk and comedy show Real Time with Bill Maher, saw the film himself and had some comments of his own.
In a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, Maher indicated that for him, the movie turned out to be exactly what he hoped it was not.
"I was hoping it wouldn't be preachy, man-hating, and a #ZombieLie — alas, it was all three," Maher wrote. "What is a Zombie Lie? Something that never was true, but certain people refuse to stop saying it (tax cuts for the rich increase revenues, e.g.); or something that used to be true but no longer is, but certain people pretend it's still true. 'Barbie' is this kind of #ZombieLie."
Maher shares thoughts about patriarchy
The comedian and actor added some facts to his argument as he addressed what he saw as a main theme of the movie. He called his next comments a "spoiler alert."
"Barbie fights the patriarchy," Maher wrote. "Right up to the Mattel board who created her, consisting of 12 white men! The Patriarchy! Except there's a Mattel board in real life, and it's 7 men and 5 women. OK, not perfect even-steven, but not the way the board in the movie — which takes place in 2023 — is portrayed. And not really any longer deserving of the word 'patriarchy.' Yes, there was one, and remnants of it remain — but this movie is so 2000-late."
Maher addressed a criticism of his comments he seemed to sense coming his way.
"I know, I know, 'How could I know about the patriarchy, I am a man!' That argument is so old and so silly. Of course, none of us can know exactly what others go through life, but I can see the world around me, and I can read data," Maher wrote.
"The real Mattel board is a pretty close mirror of the country, where 45% of the 449 board seats filled last year in Fortune 500 companies were women," he continued. "Truth is, I'm not the one who's out of step — I'm living in the year we're living in."
Maher acknowledged that despite all this, he enjoyed the film.
"Barbie is fun, I enjoyed it — but it is a #ZombieLie," he wrote. "And people who don't go along with zombie lies did not take some red pill — just staying true to current reality. Let's live in the year we're living in! Hi Ken!!!"
OK, "Barbie": I was hoping it wouldn't be preachy, man-hating, and a #ZombieLie - alas, it was all three. What is a Zombie Lie? Something that never was true, but certain people refuse to stop saying it (tax cuts for the rich increase revenues, e.g.); OR something that USED to be…
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) August 7, 2023
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