Mattel’s Windfall From ‘Barbie’ Goes Far Beyond Dolls

When Ynon Kreiz arrived at Mattel in April 2018, the newly put in chief government had one mantra when it got here to a function movie starring Barbie, a venture he actually needed to get off the bottom: He didn’t care if the film offered a single further doll.

But “Barbie” the movie needed to be good and a success. It needed to be completely different. It needed to break molds.

And if that meant turning the chief government of Mattel — i.e., himself — into the thing of comedian ridicule within the portrayal of the chief government character within the movie (“vain and foolish to the nth degree,” as The Guardian put it), then so be it.

That method has paid off to a level that even Mr. Kreiz may hardly have believed attainable. “Barbie” is near grossing $1.4 billion and handed one of many “Harry Potter” motion pictures because the top-grossing Warner Bros. movie of all time. It may find yourself close to the $2 billion mark. (The record-holder is 2009’s “Avatar,” at $2.9 billion.)

How Mattel pulled off a feat that had eluded the corporate for years was the topic of current interviews with Mr. Kreiz; Robbie Brenner, Mattel’s government producer of movies; spokespeople for Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig, the movie’s star and its writer-director; and others conversant in the doll’s generally tortuous path to the large display screen.

Mattel and Warner have jealously guarded their monetary preparations. But folks with information of their settlement stated Mattel earned 5 p.c of the field workplace income, in addition to a share of eventual income as a producer of the film and extra funds as proprietor of the Barbie mental property rights. At $2 billion in field workplace income, that quantities to $100 million. In addition, there are gross sales of merchandise related to the film in addition to an anticipated enhance in gross sales of dolls.

Representatives for Mattel and Warner declined to touch upon the monetary preparations, although Mr. Kreiz stated throughout the firm’s earnings name in July that movie-related Barbie merchandise had already offered out all through his firm’s distribution channels.

Even although Barbie outcomes weren’t mirrored in Mattel’s newest earnings, launched July 26, all anybody needed to speak about on the earnings name was “Barbie.” Mr. Kreiz hailed the movie as a “milestone moment” within the firm’s technique to “capture the value of its I.P.” and show its potential to draw and workforce up with prime artistic expertise — a cornerstone of its bold slate of extra toy-themed motion pictures.

After the primary “Barbie” trailer — displaying a hyper-blond, Day-Glo-clad Ms. Robbie and Ryan Gosling skating alongside Venice Beach — went viral in December, anticipation began constructing. Mattel inventory has been on a tear. It has gained 38 p.c, from $16.24 on Dec. 19 to this week’s $22.30. The S&P 500 rose 8 p.c over the identical interval.

Wall Street has been reluctant to present a lot credit score to 1 hit, on the idea that such success is tough to copy. (“Barbie” has had no discernible impression on Warner Bros. Discovery’s inventory value.)

But for Mattel, the constructive impression of “Barbie” goes far past only one movie. The firm’s yearslong technique to change into a serious movie producer, utilizing its huge storehouse of toys as mental property, was met in Hollywood with skepticism, if not outright mockery. A-list expertise wasn’t lining as much as direct a luxurious purple dinosaur like Barney. But now the notion that Mattel’s management is prepared to belief and assist an unorthodox artistic workforce that delivered each a field workplace bonanza and a attainable awards contender has radically altered that.

And Mattel’s stunning willingness to make enjoyable of itself was one of many components that principally delighted critics and added to the thrill that roped in lots of extra moviegoers than the “Barbie” fan base.

That Mr. Kreiz was prepared to snigger at his personal caricature got here as one thing as a shock to some acquaintances and former colleagues. An Israeli navy veteran with twin Israeli and British citizenship, a former skilled wind surfer, an avid kite surfer and a health buff, with greater than a passing resemblance to a youthful Arnold Schwarzenegger, the 58-year-old Mr. Kreiz comes throughout as extra of a square-jawed G.I. Joe motion hero than a Barbie fan with a humorousness.

Mr. Kreiz’s total profession was in media and leisure, not retail. His longtime mentor, the Power Rangers entrepreneur and billionaire Haim Saban, employed him contemporary out of the University of California, Los Angeles, to launch Fox Kids Europe, a three way partnership with Fox. He later ran Maker Studios, a YouTube aggregator, which Disney acquired in 2014. Mr. Kreiz left in 2016, and Maker was folded into the Disney Digital Network in 2017.

That “Barbie” even acquired made was no small feat. It had languished at Sony for years, with Mattel routinely renewing the choice, as varied writers struggled to adapt the doll for the large display screen. Although one of the vital fashionable toys ever, Barbie was the topic of intense controversy, seen each as a logo of feminine empowerment and as an not possible normal of magnificence and femininity. The solely possible method appeared a parody. The comic Amy Schumer was as soon as slated for the half. But scripts got here and went.

Weeks after turning into chief government in 2018, Mr. Kreiz refused to resume the Sony possibility, based on a number of folks interviewed for this text. He referred to as Ms. Robbie’s agent and requested for a gathering. Ms. Robbie was among the many most sought-after younger actresses in Hollywood, contemporary from acclaimed performances in various roles — because the ill-fated ice skater Tonya Harding in “I, Tonya”; in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street”; and as a fixture in Warner’s DC Comics universe as Harley Quinn, the Joker’s former girlfriend. And whereas no human may replicate Barbie’s exaggerated dimensions, Ms. Robbie got here moderately shut, whereas additionally radiating healthful magnificence.

Ms. Robbie was concurrently reaching out to Mattel and Mr. Kreiz after studying that the “Barbie” possibility hadn’t been renewed. She was on the lookout for a possible franchise to take to Warner, the place her manufacturing firm, LuckyChap, had a first-look deal. But she wasn’t seeking to star within the movie herself.

Over breakfast on the Polo Lounge on the Beverly Hills Hotel, the plush leisure and superstar hangout not removed from Mattel’s much less glamorous El Segundo headquarters, Mr. Kreiz shared his imaginative and prescient: He didn’t wish to make motion pictures so as simply to promote toys. He needed one thing contemporary, unconventional, daring.

“Our vision for Barbie was someone with a strong voice, a clear message, with cultural resonance that would make a societal impact,” he stated, recalling his message.

Mr. Kreiz’s apparent enthusiasm and willpower, and his pitch for artistic integrity make him arduous to withstand, as Ms. Brenner, an government producer, found when he recruited her to run the newly created Mattel movie division throughout one other meal on the Polo Lounge. Ms. Brenner, a revered producer and an Academy Award nominee for “Dallas Buyers Club,” was drawn to his concept for the film. In Mr. Kreiz’s imaginative and prescient, Mattel can be as a lot a film firm as a toy firm. The two bonded after he requested her who ought to play Barbie, and she or he, too, volunteered Ms. Robbie.

At their first assembly, Ms. Robbie advised Ms. Gerwig for the director. The two have been buddies and had talked about working collectively. Mr. Kreiz liked the thought partially as a result of it was so surprising — Ms. Gerwig had directed and written acclaimed however offbeat impartial movies like “Frances Ha,” “Lady Bird” and a brand new tackle the traditional “Little Women,” however no big-budget fare.

“Lady Bird” was considered one of Ms. Brenner’s favourite motion pictures. But would Ms. Gerwig contemplate such a mass-market, business proposal?

Ms. Gerwig, it turned out, had performed with Barbie dolls and liked them. She even had previous images of herself enjoying with Barbie. Ms. Brenner met with Ms. Gerwig and her accomplice, Noah Baumbach, additionally an acclaimed screenwriter and director, at an enhancing facility in New York. They kicked round a couple of concepts, however nothing concrete emerged. Anything appeared attainable.

A deal was struck, and Warner signed on as co-producer. Once Ms. Gerwig was on board, Ms. Robbie agreed to star.

At which level Ms. Gerwig and Mr. Baumbach retreated. “I know it’s not conventional and not what you’re used to, but we have to go into a room for a few months. That’s how we work and want to do it,” as Ms. Gerwig put it, Mr. Kreiz recalled.

When the script did land in Ms. Brenner’s e-mail, it was 147 pages — the size of a Quentin Tarantino movie, epic by Hollywood requirements. She closed her workplace door and began studying. “It was like going on this crazy ride,” she recalled. It broke guidelines, together with the so-called fourth wall, addressing the viewers instantly. It poked enjoyable at Mattel.

New to the corporate, Ms. Brenner didn’t know if this is able to show an excessive amount of for Mattel executives. But she believed it was an incredible script.

Ms. Brenner’s first name was to Mr. Kreiz. “I’ve read a lot of scripts, and this is so different,” she advised him. “It’s special. You don’t get this feeling many times in an entire career.”

Mr. Kreiz learn the script twice, again to again. “It was deep, provoking, unconventional and imaginative,” he stated. “It was everything I was hoping it would be.”

Ms. Brenner was pleasantly stunned. “Ynon is a very confident person,” she stated. “He can laugh at himself.”

At one level Mr. Kreiz flew to London, the place “Barbie” units have been being constructed at Warner’s studio outdoors town. He and Ms. Brenner spent a half-hour discussing the right shade of pink.

Mr. Kreiz and Ms. Robbie knew they’d a possible hit. “It was our secret that we couldn’t talk about,” Ms. Brenner recalled.

The authentic price range goal of $80 million jumped above $120 million as soon as Ms. Gerwig was signed. But even that wouldn’t understand the director’s full imaginative and prescient for the movie. For Warner executives it was a wrestle to seek out what are referred to as “comps,” related movies that had grossed sufficient to justify such an outlay.

Would “Barbie” be one other “Charlie’s Angels” from 2019 — which was budgeted at $55 million however grossed solely $73 million and, after advertising prices, misplaced cash? Or one other “Wonder Woman” from 2017, budgeted at over $100 million, with a worldwide gross of $822 million?

Eventually the price range hit $141 million and, with some reshoots, in the end topped $150 million.

On opening evening, July 21, Mr. Kreiz took his 19-year-old daughter to the Regal cinema advanced at Union Square in Manhattan. As they neared the theater, droves of moviegoers — and never simply younger ladies — have been heading to it in pink outfits. Five screenings have been in progress. All have been offered out.

Mr. Kreiz and his daughter dropped out and in to gauge viewers reactions. People laughed, applauded and in a couple of instances shed tears.

Of course the success of “Barbie” has drastically raised the bar — and expectations — for Mattel’s motion pictures in improvement, beginning with “Masters of the Universe,” written and directed by the brothers Adam and Aaron Nee. Twelve extra movies are in varied levels of improvement, together with a “Hot Wheels” produced by J.J. Abrams, additionally at Warner. Some of those might should be rethought.

And there’ll little question be “Barbie” sequels, maybe even a James Bond-like franchise, which might be Mr. Kreiz’s final fantasy (though he stated it was too quickly to debate any such plans).

Mr. Kreiz acknowledged that in a notoriously fickle and unpredictable enterprise, future success is hardly assured. But “Barbie” has given Mattel momentum — the start of what he calls “a multiyear franchise management strategy.”