A Hollywood production with the false air of a 114-minute commercial. Released in France in mid-July, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film marks the best start of the year and the best of all time for a female director. The stratospheric budget dedicated to promotion obviously has something to do with it. More money would have been invested in marketing – 150 million dollars according to the American media Variety – than in the making of the film – 145 million dollars. And the maneuver will not have escaped anyone: a Google search page that is adorned with pink, a Zara collection dedicated to the iconic doll, a vast advertising campaign around the world, a Barbie house for rent on Airbnb…
The operation was skillfully orchestrated by the multinational toy company Mattel, owner of the Barbie franchise. The American company has contributed up to 100 million dollars to the project, in accordance with the strategy of its leader who landed in 2018 from the audiovisual entertainment sector and former Disney, Fox Kids and Endemol. Israeli-American Ynon Kreiz intends to transform the toy manufacturer into an “intellectual property asset manager”, surfing on its legendary franchises, as he explained to our colleagues at Variety. In addition to Barbie, Mattel also owns the UNO, Hot Wheels and Polly Pocket brands. All these labels will soon have a film bearing their image.
In addition to the receipts from the film, which promise to be juicy, Mattel should benefit from a rebound in sales of its Barbie brand, whose articles are transformed into products derived from the eponymous feature film. “It’s not about selling toys, insisted Ynon Kreiz in an interview with Variety for the release of the film. It’s about creating quality content, creating an experience with societal impact that people will want to watch. We sold toys before we made movies, so we’re not dependent on that.”
The fact remains that a surge in sales has been observed around the world. The doll inspired by the film’s main character, played on screen by Australian superstar Margot Robbie, has quickly become the most requested doll on the Amazon e-commerce site. And this, despite a high price of 45 euros. Two of the franchise’s products were also among Amazon’s top 100 sellers this week.
The enthusiasm was also significant in French toy stores. “We see a slight acceleration since the release of the film, but nothing really massive,” says Philippe Gueydon, president of the trade association specializing in toys and CEO of the King Toy chain. A 20% to 30% increase in sales of Barbie dolls has been observed. “It’s not nothing, especially for a month of July,” he says.
Especially since the Barbie phenomenon aroused by the film will be part of the long term, according to Philippe Gueydon. “There is always a bit of inertia between when people see the film and when they are likely to buy in stores,” notes the boss of King Toy. This surge in sales has been measured elsewhere in the world. In South Africa, for example, sales increased by 30% at Toys R Us stores the weekend after the film’s release, according to a statement from the group.
The new home market was not the only one to benefit from the “Barbie-Mania”. Even more than in the stalls of toy stores, second-hand platforms are setting records for Barbie products. The eBay site estimates in a press release that “Barbiecore is the ultimate summer trend” and evokes “an exponential increase in Barbie searches in recent weeks”. The latest figures are not yet available, but the platform can already say that “the film acts as a trend accelerator on eBay”.
The rise in sales generated by the film Barbie, whose franchise accounted for a third of sales last year, is a welcome success for Mattel. The group’s sales fell by 22% in the last quarter of 2022 and the trend remained the same in the first half of 2023. The macroeconomic situation is not unrelated to this, in particular inflation which has slowed consumption in most countries. of the world. But the doll could turn the tide, the American manufacturer wants to believe: “This moment will be remembered as a key milestone in the history of our company with the release of the film,” the company says in its latest financial statement, appeared this week. A “showcase for the cultural resonance of our intellectual property”, which “also demonstrates the potential of Mattel Films and the significant progress in our strategy to take full advantage of our intellectual property”, says the company. The markets seem to believe it: Mattel stock has jumped more than 11% since late June and the release of Greta Gerwig’s film.