News Analysis India

Tag: Barbie

  • Music producer Mark Ronson forced to scrap some ‘great songs’ from ‘Barbie’

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Popular music producer and singer Mark Ronson cut some “great songs” from the Margot Robbie-starrer ‘Barbie’ soundtrack. 

    The Oscar-winning music-maker was enlisted to produce the soundtrack to Greta Gerwig’s film about the iconic doll and it ended up featuring tracks including ‘Dance the Night’ by Dua Lipa, ‘Barbie World’ by Nicki Minaj and ‘Ice Spice’, as well as ‘What Was I Made For?’ by Billie Eilish – but Ronson has now revealed there were more songs he could have used but he didn’t feel they fit the tone of the film, reports aceshowbiz.com.

    “There were some great songs that just didn’t feel tonally right at the end of the day, so they didn’t end up in the film. Everything had to serve the movie. It had to push the picture. There was never any idea of just putting in a ‘hot track’, as they call it, or a ‘needle drop’, ” he told NME.

    Ronson went on to reveal all the artists featured on the soundtrack were approached about getting involved – and he was surprised when they all agreed.

    “Everybody is the best in their lane. And we went after them all. I would have been over the moon to have gotten a quarter of these artists, but they all just kept coming back saying yes,” he added.

    He also revealed director Gerwig was so impressed by the song ‘Pink’ by Lizzo, she immediately rang the film’s star Margot Robbie to play it to her over the phone.

    “Greta loved it so much that she ran out of the room and played it for Margot over the phone,” he said.

    The producer concluded, “Barbie’s really given me licence to make stuff I’ll never get to make… Films have more fairy dust. I don’t know, it was just very… gratifying to be a part of this.”

    LOS ANGELES: Popular music producer and singer Mark Ronson cut some “great songs” from the Margot Robbie-starrer ‘Barbie’ soundtrack. 

    The Oscar-winning music-maker was enlisted to produce the soundtrack to Greta Gerwig’s film about the iconic doll and it ended up featuring tracks including ‘Dance the Night’ by Dua Lipa, ‘Barbie World’ by Nicki Minaj and ‘Ice Spice’, as well as ‘What Was I Made For?’ by Billie Eilish – but Ronson has now revealed there were more songs he could have used but he didn’t feel they fit the tone of the film, reports aceshowbiz.com.

    “There were some great songs that just didn’t feel tonally right at the end of the day, so they didn’t end up in the film. Everything had to serve the movie. It had to push the picture. There was never any idea of just putting in a ‘hot track’, as they call it, or a ‘needle drop’, ” he told NME.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Ronson went on to reveal all the artists featured on the soundtrack were approached about getting involved – and he was surprised when they all agreed.

    “Everybody is the best in their lane. And we went after them all. I would have been over the moon to have gotten a quarter of these artists, but they all just kept coming back saying yes,” he added.

    He also revealed director Gerwig was so impressed by the song ‘Pink’ by Lizzo, she immediately rang the film’s star Margot Robbie to play it to her over the phone.

    “Greta loved it so much that she ran out of the room and played it for Margot over the phone,” he said.

    The producer concluded, “Barbie’s really given me licence to make stuff I’ll never get to make… Films have more fairy dust. I don’t know, it was just very… gratifying to be a part of this.”

  • Lily Collins to headline film on Mattel’s doll line ‘Polly Pocket’

    By Express News Service

    Following the success of Barbie, the recently released live-action film based on Mattel’s iconic doll, the toy company has planned to make a film on Polly Pocket, a toy line of dolls and accessories hailing from the same manufacturer.

    The upcoming project will star Emily in Paris actor Lily Collins in the lead and will be helmed by Lena Dunham.

    Speaking about the upcoming project, Robbie Brenner, who is in charge of films being developed in Mattel and also produced Barbie, said that the script is in place and added, “It’s been an amazing collaboration.

    Lena is so collaborative and rolls up her sleeves and really likes to roll around in notes and listen. Lily is so smart and so specific and so productorial. It’s just been an incredible collaboration, so we are thrilled about it.”

    Following the success of Barbie, the recently released live-action film based on Mattel’s iconic doll, the toy company has planned to make a film on Polly Pocket, a toy line of dolls and accessories hailing from the same manufacturer.

    The upcoming project will star Emily in Paris actor Lily Collins in the lead and will be helmed by Lena Dunham.

    Speaking about the upcoming project, Robbie Brenner, who is in charge of films being developed in Mattel and also produced Barbie, said that the script is in place and added, “It’s been an amazing collaboration.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Lena is so collaborative and rolls up her sleeves and really likes to roll around in notes and listen. Lily is so smart and so specific and so productorial. It’s just been an incredible collaboration, so we are thrilled about it.”

  • ‘Barbie’ takes the box office crown and ‘Oppenheimer’ soars in a historic weekend

    By Associated Press

    “ Barbenheimer ” didn’t just work – it spun box office gold. The social media-fueled fusion of Greta Gerwig’s “ Barbie ” and Christopher Nolan’s “ Oppenheimer ” brought moviegoers back to the theatres in record numbers this weekend, vastly outperforming projections and giving a glimmer of hope to the lagging exhibition business, amid the sobering backdrop of strikes.

    Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” claimed the top spot with a massive $155 million in ticket sales from North American theatres from 4,243 locations, surpassing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (as well as every Marvel movie this year) as the biggest opening of the year and breaking the first-weekend record for a film directed by a woman. Universal’s “Oppenheimer” also soared past expectations, taking in $80.5 million from 3,610 theatres in the U.S. and Canada, marking Nolan’s biggest non-Batman debut and one of the best-ever starts for an R-rated biographical drama.

    It’s also the first time that one movie opened to more than $100 million and another movie opened to more than $80 million in the same weekend. When all is settled, it will likely turn out to be the fourth biggest box office weekend of all time with over $300 million industrywide. And all this in a marketplace that increasingly curved towards intellectual property-driven winner takes all.

    The “Barbenheimer” phenomenon may have started out as a good-natured competition between two aesthetic opposites, but, as many hoped, both movies benefitted in the end. Internationally, “Barbie” earned $182 million from 69 territories, fueling a $337 million global weekend. “Oppenheimer” did $93.7 million from 78 territories, ranking above “Barbie” in India, for a $174.2 million global total.

    ALSO READ | Barbenheimer escapes brunt of Hollywood halt

    The only real casualty was “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I,” which despite strong reviews and a healthy opening weekend fell 64% in weekend two. Overshadowed by the “Barbenheimer” glow as well as the blow of losing its IMAX screens to “Oppenheimer,” the Tom Cruise vehicle added $19.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $118.8 million.

    “Barbenheimer” is not merely counterprogramming either. But while a certain section of enthusiastic moviegoers overlapped, in aggregate the audiences were distinct.

    Women drove the historic “Barbie” opening, making up 65% of the audience, according to PostTrak, and 40% of ticket buyers were under the age of 25 for the PG-13 rated movie.

    “It’s just a joyous time in the world. This is history in so many ways,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ president of domestic distribution. “I think this marketing campaign is one for the ages that people will be talking about forever.”

    “Oppenheimer” audiences meanwhile were 62% male and 63% over the age of 25, with a somewhat surprising 32% that were between the ages of 18 and 24.

    Both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” scored well with critics with 90% and 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively, and audiences who gave both films an A CinemaScore. And social media has been awash with reactions and “takes” all weekend – good, bad, problematic and everywhere in between – the kind of organic, event cinema, watercooler debate that no marketing budget can buy.

    “The ‘Barbenheimer’ thing was a real boost for both movies,” Goldstein said. “It is a crowning achievement for all of us.”

    “Oppenheimer” had the vast majority (80%) of premium large format screens at its disposal. Some 25 theatres in North America boasted IMAX 70mm screenings ( Nolan’s preferred format ), most of which were completely sold out all weekend — accounting for 2% of the total gross. Theaters even scrambled to add more to accommodate the demand including 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. screenings, which also sold out.

    “Nolan’s films are truly cinematic events,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution.

    IMAX showings alone made up 26% of the domestic gross (or $21.1 million) from only 411 screens and 20% of the global gross, and “Oppenheimer” will have at least a three-week run on those high-demand screens.

    “This is a phenomenon beyond compare,” said Rich Gelfond, the CEO of IMAX, in a statement. “Around the world, we’ve seen sellouts at 4:00 a.m. shows and people travelling hours across borders to see ‘Oppenheimer’ in IMAX 70mm.”

    This is the comeback weekend Hollywood has been dreaming of since the pandemic. There have been big openings and successes – “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” among them, but the fact that two movies are succeeding at the same time is notable.

    “It was a truly historic weekend and continues the positive box office momentum of 2023,” said Michael O’Leary, President & CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners. “People recognized that something special was happening and they wanted to be a part of it.”

    And yet in the background looms disaster as Hollywood studios continue to squabble with striking actors and writers over a fair contract.

    “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” were the last films on the 2023 calendar to get a massive, global press tour. Both went right up to the 11th hour, squeezing in every last moment with their movie stars. “Oppenheimer” even pushed up its London premiere by an hour, knowing that Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Cillian Murphy would have to leave to symbolically join the picket lines by the time the movie began.

    Without movie stars to promote their films, studios have started pushing some fall releases, including the high-profile Zendaya tennis drama “Challengers.”

    But for now, it’s simply a positive story that could even continue for weeks to come.

    “There could be a sequel next weekend,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “The FOMO factor will rachet up because of this monumental box office event centred around the movie theatre experience.”

    Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

    1. “Barbie,” $155 million.

    2. “Oppenheimer,” $80.5 million.

    3. “Sound of Freedom,” $20.1 million.

    4. “Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part I,” $19.5 million.

    5. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” $6.7 million.

    6. “Insidious: The Red Door,” $6.5 million.

    7. “Elemental,” $5.8 million.

    8. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” $2.8 million.

    9. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” 1.1 million.

    10. “No Hard Feelings,” $1.1 million.

    “ Barbenheimer ” didn’t just work – it spun box office gold. The social media-fueled fusion of Greta Gerwig’s “ Barbie ” and Christopher Nolan’s “ Oppenheimer ” brought moviegoers back to the theatres in record numbers this weekend, vastly outperforming projections and giving a glimmer of hope to the lagging exhibition business, amid the sobering backdrop of strikes.

    Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” claimed the top spot with a massive $155 million in ticket sales from North American theatres from 4,243 locations, surpassing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (as well as every Marvel movie this year) as the biggest opening of the year and breaking the first-weekend record for a film directed by a woman. Universal’s “Oppenheimer” also soared past expectations, taking in $80.5 million from 3,610 theatres in the U.S. and Canada, marking Nolan’s biggest non-Batman debut and one of the best-ever starts for an R-rated biographical drama.

    It’s also the first time that one movie opened to more than $100 million and another movie opened to more than $80 million in the same weekend. When all is settled, it will likely turn out to be the fourth biggest box office weekend of all time with over $300 million industrywide. And all this in a marketplace that increasingly curved towards intellectual property-driven winner takes all.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    The “Barbenheimer” phenomenon may have started out as a good-natured competition between two aesthetic opposites, but, as many hoped, both movies benefitted in the end. Internationally, “Barbie” earned $182 million from 69 territories, fueling a $337 million global weekend. “Oppenheimer” did $93.7 million from 78 territories, ranking above “Barbie” in India, for a $174.2 million global total.

    ALSO READ | Barbenheimer escapes brunt of Hollywood halt

    The only real casualty was “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I,” which despite strong reviews and a healthy opening weekend fell 64% in weekend two. Overshadowed by the “Barbenheimer” glow as well as the blow of losing its IMAX screens to “Oppenheimer,” the Tom Cruise vehicle added $19.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $118.8 million.

    “Barbenheimer” is not merely counterprogramming either. But while a certain section of enthusiastic moviegoers overlapped, in aggregate the audiences were distinct.

    Women drove the historic “Barbie” opening, making up 65% of the audience, according to PostTrak, and 40% of ticket buyers were under the age of 25 for the PG-13 rated movie.

    “It’s just a joyous time in the world. This is history in so many ways,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ president of domestic distribution. “I think this marketing campaign is one for the ages that people will be talking about forever.”

    “Oppenheimer” audiences meanwhile were 62% male and 63% over the age of 25, with a somewhat surprising 32% that were between the ages of 18 and 24.

    Both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” scored well with critics with 90% and 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively, and audiences who gave both films an A CinemaScore. And social media has been awash with reactions and “takes” all weekend – good, bad, problematic and everywhere in between – the kind of organic, event cinema, watercooler debate that no marketing budget can buy.

    “The ‘Barbenheimer’ thing was a real boost for both movies,” Goldstein said. “It is a crowning achievement for all of us.”

    “Oppenheimer” had the vast majority (80%) of premium large format screens at its disposal. Some 25 theatres in North America boasted IMAX 70mm screenings ( Nolan’s preferred format ), most of which were completely sold out all weekend — accounting for 2% of the total gross. Theaters even scrambled to add more to accommodate the demand including 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. screenings, which also sold out.

    “Nolan’s films are truly cinematic events,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution.

    IMAX showings alone made up 26% of the domestic gross (or $21.1 million) from only 411 screens and 20% of the global gross, and “Oppenheimer” will have at least a three-week run on those high-demand screens.

    “This is a phenomenon beyond compare,” said Rich Gelfond, the CEO of IMAX, in a statement. “Around the world, we’ve seen sellouts at 4:00 a.m. shows and people travelling hours across borders to see ‘Oppenheimer’ in IMAX 70mm.”

    This is the comeback weekend Hollywood has been dreaming of since the pandemic. There have been big openings and successes – “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” among them, but the fact that two movies are succeeding at the same time is notable.

    “It was a truly historic weekend and continues the positive box office momentum of 2023,” said Michael O’Leary, President & CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners. “People recognized that something special was happening and they wanted to be a part of it.”

    And yet in the background looms disaster as Hollywood studios continue to squabble with striking actors and writers over a fair contract.

    “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” were the last films on the 2023 calendar to get a massive, global press tour. Both went right up to the 11th hour, squeezing in every last moment with their movie stars. “Oppenheimer” even pushed up its London premiere by an hour, knowing that Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Cillian Murphy would have to leave to symbolically join the picket lines by the time the movie began.

    Without movie stars to promote their films, studios have started pushing some fall releases, including the high-profile Zendaya tennis drama “Challengers.”

    But for now, it’s simply a positive story that could even continue for weeks to come.

    “There could be a sequel next weekend,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “The FOMO factor will rachet up because of this monumental box office event centred around the movie theatre experience.”

    Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

    1. “Barbie,” $155 million.

    2. “Oppenheimer,” $80.5 million.

    3. “Sound of Freedom,” $20.1 million.

    4. “Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part I,” $19.5 million.

    5. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” $6.7 million.

    6. “Insidious: The Red Door,” $6.5 million.

    7. “Elemental,” $5.8 million.

    8. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” $2.8 million.

    9. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” 1.1 million.

    10. “No Hard Feelings,” $1.1 million.

  • Awash in pink, everyone wants a piece of the ‘Barbie’ movie marketing mania

    By Associated Press

    NEW YORK: Pink sauce on that Burger King burger? What about “Barbie-fying” your pet with sweaters and beds with Barbie motifs? If that’s too low-brow, perhaps you’d be interested in hot pink Barbie monogrammed knit leggings by luxury designer Balmain instead, selling at Neiman Marcus for a cool $2,150.

    Welcome to the wonderful and weird world of “Barbie” movie marketing.

    Ahead of Friday’s U.S. release of the “Barbie” movie, parent company Mattel has created a product marketing blitz with more than 100 brands plastering pink everywhere.

    There are pink benches at bus stops and pink clothing displayed in store windows. Microsoft’s XBox has come up with a Barbie console series and HGTV is hosting a four-part Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge.

    And then there are all the unofficial collaborators trying to grab a piece of Barbie craze. Restaurants across the country are offering special pink cocktails, while interior decorators are showing options like vibrant pink backsplashes to “Barbiefy” your kitchen.

    Even the organization I Support the Girls — a nonprofit that has provided 22 million bras and menstrual hygiene products to homeless people, refugees and immigrants — is creating a social media campaign around menstrual periods using Barbie and having volunteers create miniature packages of Barbie-sized menstrual pads and tampons as teaching tools.

    “The capability to share stories and knowledge through playing with Barbie is what made us realize we need to jump on this pop culture Barbie bandwagon,” said Dana Marlowe, founder and executive of I Support the Girls. “If you can see yourself in a toy or in a doll, we want to also make sure that we’re raising awareness about bras and clean underwear and the like.”

    Some experts say all the marketing beyond the movie is only good for the 64-year-old brand, helping to attract multi-generations of fans.

    “When a brand owns something as iconic as the color pink, it’s good news and bad news,” said Marc Rosenberg, a Chicago-based toy consultant who led the global marketing teams for Hasbro’s brands like Furby, GigaPets, and Hit Clips. “In this case, I think it’s all good news. Everyone in the world wants a piece of pink now.”

    But pundits also say it’s going to be hard for many of the products to stand out when the world is awash in pink.

    “There is such a stampede toward this that most people are going to get stepped on and will not be noticed,” said Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, noting he believes there will be more losers than winners.

    For some shoppers like Hollie Krause of Mahwah, New Jersey, the Barbie pink blitz that ramped up since June is already getting too much.

    Krause, 31, said that she loved her Barbie dolls growing up and had about 20 of them along with a Barbie Dreamhouse. So when some of the merchandise started to roll in earlier this year, she bought Barbie-themed pyjamas, a Barbie T-shirt, Barbie-trademarked pink lemonade, along with some other pink outfits.

    Now she’s feeling overwhelmed.

    “Barbie is supposed to be for everyone, but these nostalgic collaborations should feel a little bit more unique or a little bit more creative,” said Krause, who plans to focus on limited edition items.

    Barbie’s first live-action movie, a homage to the doll with some biting satire, comes at a time when Barbie sales have been up and down after slumping from 2012 to 2015 when it faced stiff competition from other dolls and was under attack for pushing unrealistic beauty standards to girls and lost some relevance. It enjoyed a big bump in sales during the depths of the pandemic when parents were looking to entertain their children.

    Barbie now accounts for one-third of Mattel’s revenue and it has been diversifying the dolls with more skin tones and versions with prosthetic legs, wheelchairs and hearing aids. This year, it unveiled its first Down Syndrome doll.

    As a result, according to market research firm Circana, Barbie has remained the top fashion doll for the past four years starting in 2019 and through June of this year in the U.S. as well in the combined 12 countries that Circana tracks.

    So far, product marketing around the movie has done well.

    Mattel’s Barbie which was specifically made for the movie and is dressed in a pink gingham dress, is No. 1 in sales for dolls and for the pre-school dolls and dollhouse category sold on Amazon, according to the retailer’s website.

    Neiman Marcus noted that it launched its exclusive Barbie collaboration with Balmain last year and sold out of many items in the first few days. Based on the success of last year’s collaboration and the current Barbiecore cultural phenomenon, it has reissued the collection starting July 10, the retailer said.

    Then there are the mixed social media reviews for the “Pink Burger” offered by Burger King’s franchisee in Brazil. It’s offering a slice of melted cheese, bacon and a smoky-flavored hot pink sauce. The Pink Burger comes in a Barbie Combo, which also features French fries (dubbed “Ken’s Potatoes”), a pink shake and a pink-frosted doughnut.

    “Has BK completely lost its creativity or is just too lazy to think of something better?” said one comment on Burger King Brazil’s Instagram account.

    Restaurant Brands noted it is a limited-time partnership sold exclusively in the Brazilian market and will not be available in the United States or elsewhere.

    NEW YORK: Pink sauce on that Burger King burger? What about “Barbie-fying” your pet with sweaters and beds with Barbie motifs? If that’s too low-brow, perhaps you’d be interested in hot pink Barbie monogrammed knit leggings by luxury designer Balmain instead, selling at Neiman Marcus for a cool $2,150.

    Welcome to the wonderful and weird world of “Barbie” movie marketing.

    Ahead of Friday’s U.S. release of the “Barbie” movie, parent company Mattel has created a product marketing blitz with more than 100 brands plastering pink everywhere.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    There are pink benches at bus stops and pink clothing displayed in store windows. Microsoft’s XBox has come up with a Barbie console series and HGTV is hosting a four-part Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge.

    And then there are all the unofficial collaborators trying to grab a piece of Barbie craze. Restaurants across the country are offering special pink cocktails, while interior decorators are showing options like vibrant pink backsplashes to “Barbiefy” your kitchen.

    Even the organization I Support the Girls — a nonprofit that has provided 22 million bras and menstrual hygiene products to homeless people, refugees and immigrants — is creating a social media campaign around menstrual periods using Barbie and having volunteers create miniature packages of Barbie-sized menstrual pads and tampons as teaching tools.

    “The capability to share stories and knowledge through playing with Barbie is what made us realize we need to jump on this pop culture Barbie bandwagon,” said Dana Marlowe, founder and executive of I Support the Girls. “If you can see yourself in a toy or in a doll, we want to also make sure that we’re raising awareness about bras and clean underwear and the like.”

    Some experts say all the marketing beyond the movie is only good for the 64-year-old brand, helping to attract multi-generations of fans.

    “When a brand owns something as iconic as the color pink, it’s good news and bad news,” said Marc Rosenberg, a Chicago-based toy consultant who led the global marketing teams for Hasbro’s brands like Furby, GigaPets, and Hit Clips. “In this case, I think it’s all good news. Everyone in the world wants a piece of pink now.”

    But pundits also say it’s going to be hard for many of the products to stand out when the world is awash in pink.

    “There is such a stampede toward this that most people are going to get stepped on and will not be noticed,” said Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, noting he believes there will be more losers than winners.

    For some shoppers like Hollie Krause of Mahwah, New Jersey, the Barbie pink blitz that ramped up since June is already getting too much.

    Krause, 31, said that she loved her Barbie dolls growing up and had about 20 of them along with a Barbie Dreamhouse. So when some of the merchandise started to roll in earlier this year, she bought Barbie-themed pyjamas, a Barbie T-shirt, Barbie-trademarked pink lemonade, along with some other pink outfits.

    Now she’s feeling overwhelmed.

    “Barbie is supposed to be for everyone, but these nostalgic collaborations should feel a little bit more unique or a little bit more creative,” said Krause, who plans to focus on limited edition items.

    Barbie’s first live-action movie, a homage to the doll with some biting satire, comes at a time when Barbie sales have been up and down after slumping from 2012 to 2015 when it faced stiff competition from other dolls and was under attack for pushing unrealistic beauty standards to girls and lost some relevance. It enjoyed a big bump in sales during the depths of the pandemic when parents were looking to entertain their children.

    Barbie now accounts for one-third of Mattel’s revenue and it has been diversifying the dolls with more skin tones and versions with prosthetic legs, wheelchairs and hearing aids. This year, it unveiled its first Down Syndrome doll.

    As a result, according to market research firm Circana, Barbie has remained the top fashion doll for the past four years starting in 2019 and through June of this year in the U.S. as well in the combined 12 countries that Circana tracks.

    So far, product marketing around the movie has done well.

    Mattel’s Barbie which was specifically made for the movie and is dressed in a pink gingham dress, is No. 1 in sales for dolls and for the pre-school dolls and dollhouse category sold on Amazon, according to the retailer’s website.

    Neiman Marcus noted that it launched its exclusive Barbie collaboration with Balmain last year and sold out of many items in the first few days. Based on the success of last year’s collaboration and the current Barbiecore cultural phenomenon, it has reissued the collection starting July 10, the retailer said.

    Then there are the mixed social media reviews for the “Pink Burger” offered by Burger King’s franchisee in Brazil. It’s offering a slice of melted cheese, bacon and a smoky-flavored hot pink sauce. The Pink Burger comes in a Barbie Combo, which also features French fries (dubbed “Ken’s Potatoes”), a pink shake and a pink-frosted doughnut.

    “Has BK completely lost its creativity or is just too lazy to think of something better?” said one comment on Burger King Brazil’s Instagram account.

    Restaurant Brands noted it is a limited-time partnership sold exclusively in the Brazilian market and will not be available in the United States or elsewhere.

  • How the ‘Barbie’ soundtrack came together, according to mastermind Mark Ronson

    By Associated Press

    LOS ANGELES: Mark Ronson is showing off his Barbies.

    Scattered throughout his studio, the executive producer of the “Barbie” soundtrack — and a musical polymath known for his work with artists like Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga — has a few “leftovers” scattered across the room. One doll is placed in a permanent split, stretched across a Moog synthesizer. Another is styled to look like primatologist Jane Goodall.

    “I went to Toys R Us and I couldn’t find a single Ken,” he laughs. Fittingly, “that’s the theme of the movie.” Mattel HQ did end up sending over a few; the Ken that remains in Ronson’s studio is, appropriately, shirtless.

    Finding the sound of “Barbie,” poised to become one of 2023’s biggest blockbusters, required careful consideration and research for a film with such a rich visual palette. In the end, he produced a stacked soundtrack that included Lizzo, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa (who also acts in the movie) and more.But it started with a simple text message.

    The music supervisor on the project, George Drakoulias, shot Ronson a quick, “Barbie?” Ronson read the script and was in. He also scored “Barbie” with collaborator Andrew Wyatt. Ronson is no stranger to working on music for film, but executive producing a soundtrack album and scoring an entire movie, let alone, a movie of this size, was new territory. “It was a lot of learning on the job,” he says.

    The soundtrack assignment began with two tracks: a pop song for a big dance number and an ’80s power ballad for Ken (name a genre with more “self-aware, bombastic silliness,” as Ronson calls it).

    The former came first. Ronson came up with a chorus and beat — a detour from his first, far too obvious plan on writing “’80s, sugar-y pop,” and instead landing on a “groovy, melodic thing … with some toughness,” perfect for Dua Lipa. It became “Dance the Night,” the Lipa track featured in the film’s main trailer.

    The Ken song came about differently. For the most part, Ronson works on instrumentals: When he wrote “Shallow” with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper for “A Star Is Born,” for example, he only contributed lyrics to fill in gaps — the “surface, don’t hurt us,” line, as he recalls. But for the song that would become Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken,” Ronson couldn’t shake the lyric: “I’m just Ken, anywhere else I’d be a 10.”

    So he sent director Greta Gerwig a demo with a few lines — including a deliciously mouthy lyric about “blonde fragility.” She sent it to Gosling, who plays Ken in the film, and knew immediately he needed to sing it. What could have soundtracked any scene in the film became its own musical moment.

    Early on, Gerwig used the Bee Gees and ’70s discos as a reference point for Ronson.

    “You know the Chicago (Disco Demolition) thing, where everyone burned their disco records, “Saturday Night Fever” had reached its apex and the poor Bee Gees were like, ‘All we wanted to do was make people dance! What did we do wrong?’” says Ronson. “That’s ‘Barbie.’”

    If anything, that idea is more of a thematic one than a sonic guideline. The mood board was vast, and also included “Dolly Parton, Olivia Newton John, ‘Nine to Five,’” Ronson explains.

    It speaks to why the “Barbie” soundtrack spans pop genres, including a reggaeton track courtesy Karol G, “Watati,” bubblegum K-pop from girl group Fifty Fifty featuring Kaliii in “Barbie Dreams,” and the falsetto-led piano ballad “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish.

    For Atlantic Records, who released the soundtrack, collaboration and diversity was key.

    “All of these artists were brought in early on to do screenings with Mark, Greta, and the filmmakers. They would see scenes they were going to write their music to,” says Brandon Davis, executive vice president and co-head of pop A&R at the label. “Each of these artists wrote lyrics about the specific ways Barbie was important to them.”

    Ronson echoes the sentiment.

    “Karol G was like, ‘I’m here because I love Barbie. I wasn’t expecting this incredible film. This is awesome,’” he says. “And HAIM had this encyclopedic knowledge. The only VHS they were allowed in the ’90s, when they were kids, was this one Barbie thing. They knew every song.”

    Others were tasked with a prompt: Lizzo’s “Pink”, which ends with a voiceover from Helen Mirren, was inspired by the lead Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, living through her perfect day. And because the film is a comedy with real-world complications, humor informed a lot of the songwriting: It’s in Dominic Fike’s “Hey Blondie” as well as the many samples of Charli XCX’s “Speed Drive.”

    “(Soundtracks) are an area where we cracked the code and figured out how to make it work in a way where we support our partners creatively,” says Kevin Weaver, president of Atlantic Records West Coast, citing Atlantic’s work on other major soundtracks like from the “Fast & Furious” franchise, “The Fault in Our Stars,” and ” The Greatest Showman,” which produced massive hits like Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again,” Charli XCX’s “Boom Clap,” and “This Is Me,” respectively.

    But unlike those films, part of the acquisition process for “Barbie” required a trip to the doll factory, where Atlantic executives got to witness the doll-making process from inception to completion. (Davis and Weaver are both producers on the soundtrack.)

    When working with legendary intellectual property, a soundtrack comes with some risks. Do you bring back Aqua’s 1997 hit “Barbie Girl,” or do you reimagine it? Surely Nicki Minaj must be featured — her fans are called Barbz.

    “I remember — no offense — that I had a song on the “Ghostbusters” remake and I think six of the 12 songs were reinterpretations of Ray Parker Jr.(‘s “Ghostbusters” theme),” says Ronson. “It all dovetailed into the single we have with Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice,” he continued, referencing the reworking of “Barbie Girl.”

    “I’ve never really executive produced something before,” Ronson says. “I love this film. We had an amazing partner in Atlantic Records.”

    “And then doing the score, but it was a lot of learning on the job. It was still a job that I’ve never really done before. … It’s fun to show people different scenes and getting them to dream big.”

    LOS ANGELES: Mark Ronson is showing off his Barbies.

    Scattered throughout his studio, the executive producer of the “Barbie” soundtrack — and a musical polymath known for his work with artists like Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga — has a few “leftovers” scattered across the room. One doll is placed in a permanent split, stretched across a Moog synthesizer. Another is styled to look like primatologist Jane Goodall.

    “I went to Toys R Us and I couldn’t find a single Ken,” he laughs. Fittingly, “that’s the theme of the movie.” Mattel HQ did end up sending over a few; the Ken that remains in Ronson’s studio is, appropriately, shirtless.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Finding the sound of “Barbie,” poised to become one of 2023’s biggest blockbusters, required careful consideration and research for a film with such a rich visual palette. In the end, he produced a stacked soundtrack that included Lizzo, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa (who also acts in the movie) and more.
    But it started with a simple text message.

    The music supervisor on the project, George Drakoulias, shot Ronson a quick, “Barbie?” Ronson read the script and was in. He also scored “Barbie” with collaborator Andrew Wyatt. Ronson is no stranger to working on music for film, but executive producing a soundtrack album and scoring an entire movie, let alone, a movie of this size, was new territory. “It was a lot of learning on the job,” he says.

    The soundtrack assignment began with two tracks: a pop song for a big dance number and an ’80s power ballad for Ken (name a genre with more “self-aware, bombastic silliness,” as Ronson calls it).

    The former came first. Ronson came up with a chorus and beat — a detour from his first, far too obvious plan on writing “’80s, sugar-y pop,” and instead landing on a “groovy, melodic thing … with some toughness,” perfect for Dua Lipa. It became “Dance the Night,” the Lipa track featured in the film’s main trailer.

    The Ken song came about differently. For the most part, Ronson works on instrumentals: When he wrote “Shallow” with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper for “A Star Is Born,” for example, he only contributed lyrics to fill in gaps — the “surface, don’t hurt us,” line, as he recalls. But for the song that would become Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken,” Ronson couldn’t shake the lyric: “I’m just Ken, anywhere else I’d be a 10.”

    So he sent director Greta Gerwig a demo with a few lines — including a deliciously mouthy lyric about “blonde fragility.” She sent it to Gosling, who plays Ken in the film, and knew immediately he needed to sing it. What could have soundtracked any scene in the film became its own musical moment.

    Early on, Gerwig used the Bee Gees and ’70s discos as a reference point for Ronson.

    “You know the Chicago (Disco Demolition) thing, where everyone burned their disco records, “Saturday Night Fever” had reached its apex and the poor Bee Gees were like, ‘All we wanted to do was make people dance! What did we do wrong?’” says Ronson. “That’s ‘Barbie.’”

    If anything, that idea is more of a thematic one than a sonic guideline. The mood board was vast, and also included “Dolly Parton, Olivia Newton John, ‘Nine to Five,’” Ronson explains.

    It speaks to why the “Barbie” soundtrack spans pop genres, including a reggaeton track courtesy Karol G, “Watati,” bubblegum K-pop from girl group Fifty Fifty featuring Kaliii in “Barbie Dreams,” and the falsetto-led piano ballad “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish.

    For Atlantic Records, who released the soundtrack, collaboration and diversity was key.

    “All of these artists were brought in early on to do screenings with Mark, Greta, and the filmmakers. They would see scenes they were going to write their music to,” says Brandon Davis, executive vice president and co-head of pop A&R at the label. “Each of these artists wrote lyrics about the specific ways Barbie was important to them.”

    Ronson echoes the sentiment.

    “Karol G was like, ‘I’m here because I love Barbie. I wasn’t expecting this incredible film. This is awesome,’” he says. “And HAIM had this encyclopedic knowledge. The only VHS they were allowed in the ’90s, when they were kids, was this one Barbie thing. They knew every song.”

    Others were tasked with a prompt: Lizzo’s “Pink”, which ends with a voiceover from Helen Mirren, was inspired by the lead Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, living through her perfect day. And because the film is a comedy with real-world complications, humor informed a lot of the songwriting: It’s in Dominic Fike’s “Hey Blondie” as well as the many samples of Charli XCX’s “Speed Drive.”

    “(Soundtracks) are an area where we cracked the code and figured out how to make it work in a way where we support our partners creatively,” says Kevin Weaver, president of Atlantic Records West Coast, citing Atlantic’s work on other major soundtracks like from the “Fast & Furious” franchise, “The Fault in Our Stars,” and ” The Greatest Showman,” which produced massive hits like Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again,” Charli XCX’s “Boom Clap,” and “This Is Me,” respectively.

    But unlike those films, part of the acquisition process for “Barbie” required a trip to the doll factory, where Atlantic executives got to witness the doll-making process from inception to completion. (Davis and Weaver are both producers on the soundtrack.)

    When working with legendary intellectual property, a soundtrack comes with some risks. Do you bring back Aqua’s 1997 hit “Barbie Girl,” or do you reimagine it? Surely Nicki Minaj must be featured — her fans are called Barbz.

    “I remember — no offense — that I had a song on the “Ghostbusters” remake and I think six of the 12 songs were reinterpretations of Ray Parker Jr.(‘s “Ghostbusters” theme),” says Ronson. “It all dovetailed into the single we have with Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice,” he continued, referencing the reworking of “Barbie Girl.”

    “I’ve never really executive produced something before,” Ronson says. “I love this film. We had an amazing partner in Atlantic Records.”

    “And then doing the score, but it was a lot of learning on the job. It was still a job that I’ve never really done before. … It’s fun to show people different scenes and getting them to dream big.”

  • The story behind Barbenheimer, the summer’s most online movie showdown

    By Associated Press

    UNITED STATES: The very online showdown between Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” all started with a date: July 21.

    It’s not uncommon for studios to counterprogram films in different genres on a big weekend, but the stark differences between an intense, serious-minded picture about the man who oversaw the development of the atomic bomb and a lighthearted, candy-colored anthropomorphizing of a childhood doll quickly became the stuff of viral fodder.

    There’s even some disagreement over whether it’s “Barbieheimer” or “Barbenheimer” or “Boppenheimer” or yet another tortured portmanteau — a phenomenon on which the AP Stylebook has yet to offer guidance, but for the purposes of this article will be “Barbenheimer.”

    It didn’t hurt that both Nolan and Gerwig have very passionate and very online fandoms eager to join in. Never mind that many of those fans overlap — the memes, allegiances, and T-shirts were just too fun.

    Both movies often trend on social media when the other releases a new asset — a trailer, a picture, an interview. On one level, it’s a marketing department’s dream. Awareness could not be higher, the conversation couldn’t be louder, and neither film even has official reviews out yet.

    “’Barbenheimer’ is a marketing gift borne out of social media and I think it’s benefiting both films,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for analytics firm Comscore. “You’re certainly aware of both movies in a more profound and compelling way than I think might have otherwise happened had they been released on different weekends.”

    AMC Theaters reported that 20,000 of its AMC Stubs members had purchased tickets for a double feature. If you’re counting, that’s 294 minutes of movie-watching. Even Margot Robbie — Barbie herself — and Tom Cruise, the star of another summer blockbuster, have started plotting the ideal “Barbenheimer” day.

    “It’s a perfect double bill,” said Robbie at her movie’s London premiere Wednesday. “I think actually start your day with ‘Barbie,’ then go straight into ‘Oppenheimer’ and then a ‘Barbie’ chaser.”

    Cruise — whose “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” opened a little over a week before the “Barbenheimer” showdown — said at his premiere he’d plan to see both on their opening day, likely starting with “Oppenheimer,” which seems to be the internet’s preferred viewing order as well.

    “Barbie” actor Issa Rae thinks there’s a reason for that.

    “I think that there’s a very specific order that if you see them in. If you see ‘Oppenheimer’ last then you might be a bit of a psychopath,” she diagnosed at the London premiere.

    The showdown has made armchair marketing experts out of everyone, quick to scrutinize every move by Warner Bros. and Universal — as though it’s possible to compare two extraordinarily different campaigns.

    One has infinite opportunities for very pink, sparkly photo opportunities, whimsical brand partnerships for seemingly everything from underwear to pool floats, large-scale fan events with autograph signings and pop stars like Billie Eilish posting about the soundtrack. In other words, the “Barbie” campaign can go nuclear.

    “Oppenheimer” has the bomb, the alluring mystery and the big screen hook, but it’s not the kind of movie that lends itself to, say, a frozen yogurt collaboration.

    Is the competition real, though, or just a meme? Some in Hollywood wondered if Warner Bros. plopped “Barbie” on the weekend as a slight to Nolan, who had opened many films for the studio in that corridor including “Inception” and “Dunkirk.” He left Warner Bros. amid its controversial decision to send a year’s worth of movies to streaming and made “Oppenheimer” with Universal instead. But a pointed box office war doesn’t exactly make sense for a studio that has talked recently about wanting to lure Nolan back.

    There is an unspoken code of conduct: Never badmouth another studio’s film, publicly at least. This is partly decorum, especially when it comes to “box office showdowns” which all will say are a creation of the press and sideline spectators. But it’s also rooted in some truth: The conventional thinking is that having eyes on one movie is good for other movies — you see their posters and trailers and on some level everyone benefits.

    And social media has allowed movie stars to get in on the game, too. Following reports that Cruise was irked the latest “Mission: Impossible” was going to lose its IMAX screens to “Oppenheimer” after only a week, Cruise posted photos of himself and director Christopher McQuarrie standing in front of posters for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” holding tickets for each.

    “This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters. These are just a few that we can’t wait to see on the big screen,” Cruise’s Instagram caption read.

    The official accounts for “Indiana Jones,” “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” responded with supportive notes. Gerwig and Robbie even followed with a similar photo series a few days later, which the official “Oppenheimer” Instagram account reposted in its stories. Charged with playing Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy told the AP at his movie’s London premiere that “of course” he’d be seeing “Barbie.” The sporting cross-promotion between four studios — Universal, Warner Bros., Disney and Paramount — is something the film business has not quite seen before.

    “Not only is Tom Cruise the biggest box office star in the world, but he’s also an incredible ambassador for the movie theater, for the movie theater experience and boosting other movies,” Dergarabedian said. “And that collegial atmosphere within the framework of what is seen as the very competitive box office derby is kind of a nice thing.”

    Still, everyone likes a No. 1 debut, and both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” reportedly carry $100 million production price tags (not including the millions spent on marketing). As far as box office tracking goes, “Barbie” has it in the bag with forecasts showing that it could open above $90 million in North America. “Oppenheimer” meanwhile is tracking in the $40 million range. Then there’s the wild card of “Mission: Impossible 7’s” second weekend, which could snag second place.

    Still even with a second- or third-place start, “Oppenheimer” could be destined for a long, steady, profitable run into awards season. Adult audiences for R-rated movies are not often the ones who pack theaters the first weekend.

    Back in 2008, in the midst of the recession, Warner Bros. and Universal faced off on the same July weekend with another Nolan film that went up against a lighthearted confection: “The Dark Knight” and “Mamma Mia!” — both of which went on to be enormously profitable (though Nolan did win the first weekend).

    The bigger worry is that what’s been heralded as Hollywood’s post-pandemic comeback summer has had more ups and downs than anyone might have hoped. That’s putting quite a bit of pressure on “Barbenheimer” to overperform and boost the lagging summer box office, which pales in comparison to the bigger issues facing the industry as actors join the writers on strike.

    But with just over a week to go, it’s still a source of amusement. Even “Barbie” co-star Will Ferrell threw the gauntlet in his winking way at the London premiere.

    “I think the world maybe wants to see ‘Barbie’ a little bit more right now,” Ferrell said. “Just saying!”

    UNITED STATES: The very online showdown between Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” all started with a date: July 21.

    It’s not uncommon for studios to counterprogram films in different genres on a big weekend, but the stark differences between an intense, serious-minded picture about the man who oversaw the development of the atomic bomb and a lighthearted, candy-colored anthropomorphizing of a childhood doll quickly became the stuff of viral fodder.

    There’s even some disagreement over whether it’s “Barbieheimer” or “Barbenheimer” or “Boppenheimer” or yet another tortured portmanteau — a phenomenon on which the AP Stylebook has yet to offer guidance, but for the purposes of this article will be “Barbenheimer.”googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    It didn’t hurt that both Nolan and Gerwig have very passionate and very online fandoms eager to join in. Never mind that many of those fans overlap — the memes, allegiances, and T-shirts were just too fun.

    Both movies often trend on social media when the other releases a new asset — a trailer, a picture, an interview. On one level, it’s a marketing department’s dream. Awareness could not be higher, the conversation couldn’t be louder, and neither film even has official reviews out yet.

    “’Barbenheimer’ is a marketing gift borne out of social media and I think it’s benefiting both films,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for analytics firm Comscore. “You’re certainly aware of both movies in a more profound and compelling way than I think might have otherwise happened had they been released on different weekends.”

    AMC Theaters reported that 20,000 of its AMC Stubs members had purchased tickets for a double feature. If you’re counting, that’s 294 minutes of movie-watching. Even Margot Robbie — Barbie herself — and Tom Cruise, the star of another summer blockbuster, have started plotting the ideal “Barbenheimer” day.

    “It’s a perfect double bill,” said Robbie at her movie’s London premiere Wednesday. “I think actually start your day with ‘Barbie,’ then go straight into ‘Oppenheimer’ and then a ‘Barbie’ chaser.”

    Cruise — whose “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” opened a little over a week before the “Barbenheimer” showdown — said at his premiere he’d plan to see both on their opening day, likely starting with “Oppenheimer,” which seems to be the internet’s preferred viewing order as well.

    “Barbie” actor Issa Rae thinks there’s a reason for that.

    “I think that there’s a very specific order that if you see them in. If you see ‘Oppenheimer’ last then you might be a bit of a psychopath,” she diagnosed at the London premiere.

    The showdown has made armchair marketing experts out of everyone, quick to scrutinize every move by Warner Bros. and Universal — as though it’s possible to compare two extraordinarily different campaigns.

    One has infinite opportunities for very pink, sparkly photo opportunities, whimsical brand partnerships for seemingly everything from underwear to pool floats, large-scale fan events with autograph signings and pop stars like Billie Eilish posting about the soundtrack. In other words, the “Barbie” campaign can go nuclear.

    “Oppenheimer” has the bomb, the alluring mystery and the big screen hook, but it’s not the kind of movie that lends itself to, say, a frozen yogurt collaboration.

    Is the competition real, though, or just a meme? Some in Hollywood wondered if Warner Bros. plopped “Barbie” on the weekend as a slight to Nolan, who had opened many films for the studio in that corridor including “Inception” and “Dunkirk.” He left Warner Bros. amid its controversial decision to send a year’s worth of movies to streaming and made “Oppenheimer” with Universal instead. But a pointed box office war doesn’t exactly make sense for a studio that has talked recently about wanting to lure Nolan back.

    There is an unspoken code of conduct: Never badmouth another studio’s film, publicly at least. This is partly decorum, especially when it comes to “box office showdowns” which all will say are a creation of the press and sideline spectators. But it’s also rooted in some truth: The conventional thinking is that having eyes on one movie is good for other movies — you see their posters and trailers and on some level everyone benefits.

    And social media has allowed movie stars to get in on the game, too. Following reports that Cruise was irked the latest “Mission: Impossible” was going to lose its IMAX screens to “Oppenheimer” after only a week, Cruise posted photos of himself and director Christopher McQuarrie standing in front of posters for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” holding tickets for each.

    “This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters. These are just a few that we can’t wait to see on the big screen,” Cruise’s Instagram caption read.

    The official accounts for “Indiana Jones,” “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” responded with supportive notes. Gerwig and Robbie even followed with a similar photo series a few days later, which the official “Oppenheimer” Instagram account reposted in its stories. Charged with playing Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy told the AP at his movie’s London premiere that “of course” he’d be seeing “Barbie.” The sporting cross-promotion between four studios — Universal, Warner Bros., Disney and Paramount — is something the film business has not quite seen before.

    “Not only is Tom Cruise the biggest box office star in the world, but he’s also an incredible ambassador for the movie theater, for the movie theater experience and boosting other movies,” Dergarabedian said. “And that collegial atmosphere within the framework of what is seen as the very competitive box office derby is kind of a nice thing.”

    Still, everyone likes a No. 1 debut, and both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” reportedly carry $100 million production price tags (not including the millions spent on marketing). As far as box office tracking goes, “Barbie” has it in the bag with forecasts showing that it could open above $90 million in North America. “Oppenheimer” meanwhile is tracking in the $40 million range. Then there’s the wild card of “Mission: Impossible 7’s” second weekend, which could snag second place.

    Still even with a second- or third-place start, “Oppenheimer” could be destined for a long, steady, profitable run into awards season. Adult audiences for R-rated movies are not often the ones who pack theaters the first weekend.

    Back in 2008, in the midst of the recession, Warner Bros. and Universal faced off on the same July weekend with another Nolan film that went up against a lighthearted confection: “The Dark Knight” and “Mamma Mia!” — both of which went on to be enormously profitable (though Nolan did win the first weekend).

    The bigger worry is that what’s been heralded as Hollywood’s post-pandemic comeback summer has had more ups and downs than anyone might have hoped. That’s putting quite a bit of pressure on “Barbenheimer” to overperform and boost the lagging summer box office, which pales in comparison to the bigger issues facing the industry as actors join the writers on strike.

    But with just over a week to go, it’s still a source of amusement. Even “Barbie” co-star Will Ferrell threw the gauntlet in his winking way at the London premiere.

    “I think the world maybe wants to see ‘Barbie’ a little bit more right now,” Ferrell said. “Just saying!”

  • Vietnam bans ‘Barbie’ movie after a shot in trailer shows China’s territorial claim

    By Associated Press

    HANOI (VIETNAM): Vietnam’s state media have reported that the government banned the distribution of the popular “Barbie” movie because it includes a view of a map showing disputed Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea. 

    The newspaper Vietnam Express and other media said posters advertising “Barbie” was removed from movie distributors’ websites after Monday’s decision. With Margot Robbie playing Barbie opposite Ryan Gosling’s Ken in Greta Gerwig’s comedic look at their “perfect” world, “Barbie” was supposed to open July 21 in Vietnamese theatres. 

    The reports cited Vi Kien Thanh, director general of the Vietnam Cinema Department, as saying the National Film Evaluation Council made the decision. It said a map in the film shows China’s “nine-dash line,” which extends Beijing’s territorial claims far into waters that fall within areas claimed by Vietnam and other countries. 

    The “nine-dash line” is an arcane but sensitive issue for China and its neighbours that shows Beijing’s maritime border extending into areas claimed by other governments and encompasses most of the South China Sea.

    That has brought it into tense standoffs with the ASEAN nations of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines, with Chinese fishing boats and military vessels becoming more aggressive in the disputed waters. 

    Asked about the issue at a daily briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “China’s position on the South China Sea issue is clear and consistent.” 

    “We believe that the countries concerned should not link the South China Sea issue with normal cultural and people-to-people exchanges,” Mao said. 

    However, China is exceedingly sensitive when it comes to how its national image and border claims are portrayed in entertainment and by businesses. For example, it has routinely retaliated against companies from hotels to airlines that it believes have suggested that self-governing Taiwan with its own political system, country code and currency is anything other than a part of China. 

    Companies almost always acquiesce to Chinese complaints, fearing they risk being locked out of the huge, lucrative Chinese market. That includes Hollywood films deleting or adding scenes based on the expected response of the ruling Communist Party and the highly nationalistic public. 

    When an international court ruled in 2016 that the “nine-dash line” has no basis in law and the Philippines was entitled to an exclusive economic zone in part of the area claimed by Beijing, China rejected the ruling. 

    Warner Bros. offices were closed on Tuesday for the July 4 holiday. 

    In 2019, Vietnam ordered showings of “Abominable” cancelled after moviegoers complained about a scene showing the “nine-dash line.” Politicians in the Philippines called for a boycott of all DreamWorks releases to protest the scene, and Malaysia ordered the scene to be cut from the movie. 

    HANOI (VIETNAM): Vietnam’s state media have reported that the government banned the distribution of the popular “Barbie” movie because it includes a view of a map showing disputed Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea. 

    The newspaper Vietnam Express and other media said posters advertising “Barbie” was removed from movie distributors’ websites after Monday’s decision. With Margot Robbie playing Barbie opposite Ryan Gosling’s Ken in Greta Gerwig’s comedic look at their “perfect” world, “Barbie” was supposed to open July 21 in Vietnamese theatres. 

    The reports cited Vi Kien Thanh, director general of the Vietnam Cinema Department, as saying the National Film Evaluation Council made the decision. It said a map in the film shows China’s “nine-dash line,” which extends Beijing’s territorial claims far into waters that fall within areas claimed by Vietnam and other countries. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The “nine-dash line” is an arcane but sensitive issue for China and its neighbours that shows Beijing’s maritime border extending into areas claimed by other governments and encompasses most of the South China Sea.

    That has brought it into tense standoffs with the ASEAN nations of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines, with Chinese fishing boats and military vessels becoming more aggressive in the disputed waters. 

    Asked about the issue at a daily briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “China’s position on the South China Sea issue is clear and consistent.” 

    “We believe that the countries concerned should not link the South China Sea issue with normal cultural and people-to-people exchanges,” Mao said. 

    However, China is exceedingly sensitive when it comes to how its national image and border claims are portrayed in entertainment and by businesses. For example, it has routinely retaliated against companies from hotels to airlines that it believes have suggested that self-governing Taiwan with its own political system, country code and currency is anything other than a part of China. 

    Companies almost always acquiesce to Chinese complaints, fearing they risk being locked out of the huge, lucrative Chinese market. That includes Hollywood films deleting or adding scenes based on the expected response of the ruling Communist Party and the highly nationalistic public. 

    When an international court ruled in 2016 that the “nine-dash line” has no basis in law and the Philippines was entitled to an exclusive economic zone in part of the area claimed by Beijing, China rejected the ruling. 

    Warner Bros. offices were closed on Tuesday for the July 4 holiday. 

    In 2019, Vietnam ordered showings of “Abominable” cancelled after moviegoers complained about a scene showing the “nine-dash line.” Politicians in the Philippines called for a boycott of all DreamWorks releases to protest the scene, and Malaysia ordered the scene to be cut from the movie. 

  • Margot Robbie reveals when she first read ‘Barbie’ script, she thought it wouldn’t make it

    By Express News Service

    Actor Margot Robbie, who is part of the upcoming Barbie film, revealed that when she first read Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s screenplay of the film, she thought the film would not be made. 

    According to Variety, she said “The first time I read the ‘Barbie’ script, my reaction was, ‘Ah! This is so good. What a shame it will never see the light of day because they are never going to let us make this movie. “But they did.”

    The actor did not reveal much about the plot of the film. She plays Barbie and Ryan Gosling plays Ken. It is said that these two characters travel from Barbie’s dreamland to the real world and the story is said to unfold further. Directed by Greta Gerwig, the film is set to hit the theatres on July 21.

    The recently released trailer shows different versions of Barbies and Kens greeting each other one day at a beach before it continues to explore the world of the dolls. 

    Barbie boasts a star-studded cast, including Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa, Will Ferrell, Dua Lipa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Connor Swindells, Ariana Greenblatt, Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Ana Cruz Kaye, and Jamie Demetriou.

    At the same time, Helen Mirren will serve as the narrator. The music for the film is composed by Alexandre Desplat, who earlier collaborated with the director in the 2019 film Little Women.

    (This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)

    Actor Margot Robbie, who is part of the upcoming Barbie film, revealed that when she first read Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s screenplay of the film, she thought the film would not be made. 

    According to Variety, she said “The first time I read the ‘Barbie’ script, my reaction was, ‘Ah! This is so good. What a shame it will never see the light of day because they are never going to let us make this movie. “But they did.”

    The actor did not reveal much about the plot of the film. She plays Barbie and Ryan Gosling plays Ken. It is said that these two characters travel from Barbie’s dreamland to the real world and the story is said to unfold further. Directed by Greta Gerwig, the film is set to hit the theatres on July 21.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The recently released trailer shows different versions of Barbies and Kens greeting each other one day at a beach before it continues to explore the world of the dolls. 

    Barbie boasts a star-studded cast, including Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa, Will Ferrell, Dua Lipa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Connor Swindells, Ariana Greenblatt, Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Ana Cruz Kaye, and Jamie Demetriou.

    At the same time, Helen Mirren will serve as the narrator. The music for the film is composed by Alexandre Desplat, who earlier collaborated with the director in the 2019 film Little Women.

    (This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)

  • When Margot Robbie first read ‘Barbie’ script, this is what she thought

    By Express News Service

    Actor Margot Robbie, who is part of the upcoming Barbie film, revealed that when she first read Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s screenplay of the film, she thought the film would not be made. 

    According to Variety, she said “The first time I read the ‘Barbie’ script, my reaction was, ‘Ah! This is so good. What a shame it will never see the light of day because they are never going to let us make this movie. “But they did.”

    The actor did not reveal much about the plot of the film. She plays Barbie and Ryan Gosling plays Ken. It is said that these two characters travel from Barbie’s dreamland to the real world and the story is said to unfold further. Directed by Greta Gerwig, the film is set to hit the theatres on July 21.

    The recently released trailer shows different versions of Barbies and Kens greeting each other one day at a beach before it continues to explore the world of the dolls. 

    Barbie boasts a star-studded cast, including Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa, Will Ferrell, Dua Lipa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Connor Swindells, Ariana Greenblatt, Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Ana Cruz Kaye, and Jamie Demetriou.

    At the same time, Helen Mirren will serve as the narrator. The music for the film is composed by Alexandre Desplat, who earlier collaborated with the director in the 2019 film Little Women.

    (This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)

    Actor Margot Robbie, who is part of the upcoming Barbie film, revealed that when she first read Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s screenplay of the film, she thought the film would not be made. 

    According to Variety, she said “The first time I read the ‘Barbie’ script, my reaction was, ‘Ah! This is so good. What a shame it will never see the light of day because they are never going to let us make this movie. “But they did.”

    The actor did not reveal much about the plot of the film. She plays Barbie and Ryan Gosling plays Ken. It is said that these two characters travel from Barbie’s dreamland to the real world and the story is said to unfold further. Directed by Greta Gerwig, the film is set to hit the theatres on July 21.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The recently released trailer shows different versions of Barbies and Kens greeting each other one day at a beach before it continues to explore the world of the dolls. 

    Barbie boasts a star-studded cast, including Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa, Will Ferrell, Dua Lipa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Connor Swindells, Ariana Greenblatt, Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Ana Cruz Kaye, and Jamie Demetriou.

    At the same time, Helen Mirren will serve as the narrator. The music for the film is composed by Alexandre Desplat, who earlier collaborated with the director in the 2019 film Little Women.

    (This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)

  • Ryan Gosling’s first look from Barbie movie revealed 

    By Express News Service

    In the CinemaCon that was held earlier this year, we saw the first look of Greta Gerwig’s much-awaited film, Barbie. We saw Margot Robbie as the titular character, and fans went into a frenzy. The hype just went off the roof now with Warner Bros Pictures, who are backing the film, releasing the first look of Ryan Gosling as Ken.

    Gosling, who was last seen in The First Man (2018), is said to be playing one of the Kens in the film, which reportedly has multiple Barbies too. While Issa Rae and Hari Nef will be playing different versions of Barbie, Simu Liu and Ncuti Gatwa will be playing different versions of Ken.

    Barbie also stars Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera, Ariana Greenblatt, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Michael Cera, and Will Ferrell. With a screenplay by Noah Baumbach, Barbie is backed by Robbie’s production company LuckyChap Entertainment is producing the film.

    With a release date of July 21, 2023, on the cards, in all likelihood, Barbie will take on Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer at the box office.