Mattel’s CEO Says Hollywood Strikes Are Delaying “Barbie” Films And Television Series, Hinting At More:
More words about Barbie from the earnings call: Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz didn’t say for sure that there would be a second Barbie movie, but he did say that it wouldn’t be a surprise.
He also said that TV shows and additional extensions of the brand for the never-more-iconic doll wouldn’t be a surprise, either.
“We haven’t announced anything, and it’s probably too early to talk regarding sequels,” he said upon a conference call shortly after the toymaker’s quarterly earnings.
“But obviously, the success of the movie would open up more opportunities.” We work in a business where everyone wants these kinds of moments, brands, and popular events. And they do happen, though not very often.
We expect the company to keep growing, and we hope to have more chances to make content. This doesn’t just mean movies, but also TV and other things.
Barbie Broke Box Office Record With $162 Million Opening Weekend:
Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” finally came out in theaters this past weekend, after a year and a half of hype, a busy press tour, and great reviews. It broke box-office records alongside a $162 million opening weekend, the biggest of the year.
That’s the most money a film directed by a woman has ever made in its first weekend. Gerwig possessed high hopes for “Barbie,” but she still can’t believe how well her unique take upon the Mattel doll has resonated alongside a large audience.
Kreiz Said Warner Bros.’ Movie Changed Mattel’s Strategy & DNA:
Kreiz said that the huge success of the Warner Bros. movie has changed Mattel’s “strategy and our DNA” in a big way.
That is, understanding that “the people who bought our products are not just customers; they are fans.” As Well As once you establish a following, you have more chances to interact with your friends and make money from those interactions.
When asked how the Hollywood strikes affect the company’s plans for entertainment, the CEO said that the strikes are “delaying certain initiatives that are within development.”
Studio Made A Lot Of Progress Before The Strike:
But he also said, “We had made a lot of progress before the strike, and we expect to keep making progress after it.” We are keeping an eye on the area and will act properly.”
He didn’t say what projects it was working on, but it is making a movie about Barney, a movie about Polly Pocket, a movie about Hot Wheels, and a movie about American Girl.
Few movies have as much to say as “Barbie,” which, to take a line from “Clueless,” is “way existential.”
Under its sweet surface, “Barbie” tackles problems such as sexism as well as self-determination with ease. It also never forgets to give its stars, Margot Robbie as well as Ryan Gosling, jokes that are surprisingly funny, even if some of them are on the edge of being obscure.
Gerwig is just glad she didn’t get caught. “I think it was a certain ripple in the universe that made it happen,” she told me from her New York City home, where her 4-year-old son Harold with “Barbie” co-writer Noah Baumbach cut in to end Gerwig’s press cycle for good.
“He made me a pink cake with a “B” on it. He told me, “This will be how we wave goodbye to Barbie.” Gerwig said with a laugh. “I thought, ‘Oh, you’re finished.'”
For the three-month period that finished in June, sales and earnings were down from the same time last year. However, Barbie is expected to help in the second half of the year. It’s not clear how big it is.
Analysts tried to get executives to say what the box office hit might mean for Mattel’s finances, but they wouldn’t.
They Claimed Barbie Themed Goods From 165 Brand Partners Distributed In Thousands Of Outlets Are Selling Out Fast:
They said that Barbie-themed products from 165 brand partners that are sold in thousands of stores are running out quickly. The movie also had a “halo effect” on sales of standard Barbie dolls, which were down 7% within the second quarter.
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said that last weekend’s big release of Barbie, the toy company’s first major theater film, is a time that “is going to be remembered to be a key milestone within our company’s history.” The numbers for the second quarter matched what Wall Street had predicted.
“The Barbie movie is a great example of how well our IP connects with culture, how well we can find and work alongside top creative talent, and just how well our brand management organization works.
This also shows how much promise Mattel Films has and how far our plan to get the full value of our IP has come, Kreiz said.
Story Behind Making Of Barbie:
Barbara and her friends used to play with paper dolls when she was a child. Ruth thought it was so cool that they thought of the dolls to be their older selves.
She later told the New York Times, “Every little girl required a doll through which to see herself in her dream of the future.”
“It was kind of silly for her to play alongside a doll with a flat chest if she intended to pretend to be 16 or 17 years old. So I made it have lovely breasts.”
Mattel didn’t want to make a grown-up doll at first because the market was for baby toys. Ruth said within a BBC interview that she had given up on the idea till 1956, when she was on vacation in Europe and saw a curvy German doll called Lilli.
She went back home to make the Teen-Age Fashion Model for Barbie. The doll, named Barbara, made her debut at the American Toy Fair within New York City in 1959 wearing a black-and-white swimsuit.
Ruth says that the men who bought the dolls thought that their wives wouldn’t buy their children such a grown-up toy. But similar to “girl dinner,” women ate her up.
350,000 Barbie’s Were Sold In The Initial Year:
The Los Angeles Times says that more than 350,000 Barbie’s were sold in the first year. By the beginning of the 1960s, it was said that Barbie was making most of Mattel’s sales money.
She had a lot of extras, like her boy-toy boyfriend Ken, who was named following the other Handler kid, Kenneth. Barbie’s resume grew and grew until it included almost every job.
She died in a Los Angeles hospital on the 27th of April 2002, when she was 85 years old. The reason, according to Handler’s husband, who spoke to the Los Angeles Times, was problems from a stomach surgery she had three months before.
Now, did the person who made Barbie turn into a ghost and get a job upon the seventeenth floor of Mattel’s headquarters? We don’t know if that is true or not.
I really don’t know what to say. I was in New York City last week, and on Thursday and Friday, I just went to random places to listen to the sound, make sure the picture looked good, and try to give up control, which is hard.
But really, it’s been pretty cool to walk about and see people dressed in pink. I could never have dreamed that something like this would happen.
Mattel Noticed That Sales Fall By 12% To $1.087 Billion:
Mattel saw sales fall 12% to $1.087 billion. From the same time last year, net income dropped from $66 million, as well as 18 cents per share, to $27 million, as well as 8 cents per share.
CFO Anthony DiSilvestro said that the business has been having trouble because stores are still trying to control their inventory levels. The movie and toy about Barbie won’t really be a big deal until both the third and fourth quarters of this year.
