It’s the summer of 2023 and these days, it seems like wherever you look, Barbie has completely dominated our feeds in anticipation of its theatrical release. With a whopping 36 brand partnerships in play, it’s no surprise why Barbie has tapped into the cultural zeitgeist of today.
Before you hit the theatres, embrace your inner Barbie energy with these fascinating facts.
The Barbie movie was first announced in 2009 with Universal PIctures. Since then the film has changed hands two times; first with Sony in 2014, and then finally with Warner Bros in 2018.
Comedian Amy Schumer was originally supposed to play the title role somewhere along that timeline before director Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie officially joined the project.
The upcoming Barbie movie is the first release under the new company Mattel Films. The company has already greenlit several other projects based on their other brands which show the possibility that Mattel is planning to create more Barbie movies and create something similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The budget of the upcoming Barbie movie is $145M USD, which means it needs to make at least $300M in order to be considered a box office success. The two stars of the movie, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, are making $12.5 million USD each.
The first Barbie Doll was sold in 1959 for $3, which, when adjusted for inflation, would be about $30 today.
Barbie’s inventor was the co-founder of Mattel, Ruth Handler. She had a vision for a doll that had a more adult form in contrast to the popular baby doll’s of her day. The Barbie doll’s design was actually based on a German doll called Bild Lilli, from a cartoon in the 1940s that featured a high-end call girl.
In 2022 the Barbie brand made 1.49 Billion US dollars. Of that revenue, Barbie makes up for approximately 27 percent of Mattel’s business.
Recognizing the business opportunity, Mattel also trademarked the viral social media and fashion trend Barbiecore(™).
The best selling Barbie doll in history was the Totally Hair Barbie (1992) which sold over 20 million units.
