The marketing department at Warner Bros. has been working in overdrive to entice the masses for Greta Gerwig’s cotton candy-colored fantasy “Barbie,” which has been all but inescapable this summer. A key factor has been a dizzying array of partnerships with products that range from a bright fuchsia Xbox (for STEM Barbie) to this $1,350 Balmain cropped hoodie (for Disposable Income Barbie).
And that’s only scratching the surface of the brands that helped propel the movie to cultural touchstone status before arriving in theaters on July 21. In Malibu, there’s a real-life Barbie Dreamhouse that’s bookable through Airbnb. There’s also a themed boat cruise that’s setting sail in the Boston area.
The efforts of the extensive and expensive marketing campaign — which rival studio executives estimate to cost $150 million, not including the $145 million production budget — are already paying off.
“Barbie,” starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as life-size versions of the popular Mattel dolls, crushed box office expectations with $165 million in North America and a stunning $337 million globally. With the help of “Oppenheimer,” which debuted to $80.5 million, this weekend boasted the biggest collective box office turnout of the pandemic era, as well as the fourth-biggest in history. It’s an especially big deal at a time when Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford have struggled to save the box office.
In wake of its record-breaking debut, Warner Bros. president of global marketing Josh Goldstine spoke to Variety about the buzzy memes, must-have costumes and “Barbenheimer” phenomenon that led to this summer’s very pink smash hit.