Warner Bros blockbuster Barbie tops $1bn in global ticket sales

In a statement, Warner Bros said the fantasy-comedy movie has taken in $459-million from domestic theatres - counting the United States and Canada - and another $572.1-million overseas since it hit theatres, for a total of $1.03-billion. The figure was confirmed by media analytics firm Comscore.

Oscar-nominated Barbie writer and director Greta Gerwig also became the first female filmmaker to surpass the billion-dollar benchmark as a solo director, said Warner Bros.

This was the third weekend in theatres for Barbie. The film drew $127-million worldwide this weekend - Friday through Sunday - with $53-million in domestic receipts and another $74-million overseas, according to Comscore.

"As distribution chiefs, we're not often rendered speechless by a film's performance, but Barbillion has blown even our most optimistic predictions out of the water," Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros Pictures, and Andrew Cripps, president of international distribution, said in a statement.

Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, respectively, the movie sends Mattel's iconic doll on an adventure into the real world.

Barbie ticket sales rank second this year to The Super Mario Bros, which was released in April and has raked in a total of $1.35-billion at the box office.

(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Leslie Adler and Will Dunham.)