Ben Shapiro has faced online mockery for his Barbie box office prediction, after the film crossed the $1billion mark.
The conservative political commentator, who posted a review of Greta Gerwig’s film on his YouTube channel last month, predicted the movie would “absolutely fall off a cliff” following its first week of release.
- READ MORE: ‘Barbie’ review: Greta Gerwig’s grown-up toy story is fantastic fun
“Week one this thing is going to clean up at the domestic box office,” Shapiro said in his review. “My prediction: it’s going to just absolutely fall off a cliff after that.
“The repeat business on this movie is going to be non-existent because it was written by two people who are so smug and self-satisfied in Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, that they have no audience.”
Last week, Barbie crossed the $1billion mark at the worldwide box office, becoming the first film solely directed by a woman to hit the milestone. At the time of writing (August 9), Barbie is the second highest-grossing movie of 2023 behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Some have since reshared Shapiro’s prediction following the film’s continued box office success. On Twitter, one user wrote: “Contender for worst prediction of the year, courtesy of @benshapiro.”
You can check out more reactions below.
.@BenShapiro: “My prediction: [Barbie] is just absolutely going to fall off a cliff after [week one]. The repeat business on this movie is going to be nonexistent.” https://t.co/9GOYC60qjT pic.twitter.com/ofn1HvleHS
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) August 6, 2023
ben shapiro seeing the barbie box office records pic.twitter.com/ShXuiCwadi
— dom nero (@dominicknero) August 8, 2023
Contender for worst prediction of the year, courtesy of @benshapiro 🤡#Barbie https://t.co/jgO6x6j2SM pic.twitter.com/nIBEPSeKgu
— Sahil Oberoi (@SahilOberoi1) August 7, 2023
.@benshapiro v. #Barbie #BarbieMovie #BarbieTheMovie #MAGA pic.twitter.com/vjUMGWcavB
— Yo! (@ZonkerDA) August 9, 2023
Despite the film’s success, a sequel is looking unlikely – with Gerwig, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling all not contractually attached to develop a follow-up, according to reports.
In a four-star review, NME wrote: “What follows is a nuanced, rose-tinted comedy adventure, set to a stonking pop soundtrack featuring Lizzo and Billie Eilish, that somehow lives up to the immense hype.”