Ben Shapiro ridiculed for his very wrong ‘Barbie’ box office prediction

9 August, 2023

Ben Shapiro Barbie

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.

“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.

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.”

The post Ben Shapiro ridiculed for his very wrong ‘Barbie’ box office prediction appeared first on NME.