The Barbie movie has just been released and it's expected to generate between $450 million to $550 million worldwide.
👉 Background: Mattel was founded in 1945 and is one of the largest toy companies in the world. It's known for products like Fisher-Price, Hot Wheels, and of course, Barbie (aka Barbara Millicent Roberts - the formal name that we imagine Barbie's mother would use when angry).
👉 What happened: The Barbie movie has just been released and it's expected to generate between $450 million to $550 million worldwide. And if the movie hits these figures, Mattel could see a pretty chunky profit lift this year.
👉 What else: Not because of ticket sales, but because the movie is likely to spur demand for Barbie dolls and other licensed merchandise. And investors are SO excited about Barbie as a transmedia franchise that Mattel's shares have already risen 18% over the past month.
💡A transmedia franchise is a media franchise where there are multiple spin-offs of the character, and multiple spin-offs for revenue...
💡In Barbie's case, we're talking a movie spin-off from the toy. And now, a whole range of other licensing agreements. We're seeing Barbie-branded apparel popping up everywhere from Gap to Forever 21... even Grill'd burgers and Chatime Bubble tea!
💡They're not the first company to leverage its brand to build movies and apparel... Lego's done it before with the Lego movies, and Hasbro has done it with Transformers too. But this is hitting different.
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