Meryl Streep weighs in on cinema 'comeback', as 'Barbie' and 'Super Mario' become 2023's only billion-dollar movies

Meryl Streep was among the prominent stars invited to the International Film Festival in Palm Springs last week. The three-time Oscar winner took the stage to present an award to Carey Mulligan for her performance in the movie "Maestro". Before this, however, she spoke about the award given to Billie Eilish and Finneas for their song "What Was I Made For?" from the movie "Barbie".

"I just want to say to Billie and Finneas, you infused 'Barbie' with an energy of love. You breathed life back into cinemas last summer and ensured our jobs," said Meryl Streep. She added, with a touch of humor, that these "kids" should "ride this wave until they are as old and tired as she is".

Interestingly, the movie "Barbie", featuring Margot Robbie in the lead role, was the most significant box office success in 2023, raising 1.44 billion dollars. The second "billionaire" title was credited to the "Super Mario Bros. Movie", which brought 1.36 billion dollars. "Oppenheimer" came in third, grossing 954 million dollars, and the highest-grossing Marvel movie of the year, "Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3", earned "only" 845 million dollars.

In contrast, the highest-grossing films of 2022 included: "Avatar: Creature of Water" at 2.3 billion dollars, "Top Gun: Maverick" at 1.47 billion dollars, and "Jurassic World: Dominion" with 1 billion dollars. While Meryl Streep has not featured on the big screen for several years (the last time was in 2020's "Let Them All Talk"), audiences got to see her last year in the series, "Crimes Next Door".