Most toy companies are seeking licensing agreements with different movie franchises in order to create products that appeal to specific fans. Last year the largest toy manufacturer in the world by market capitalization, Mattel, took a different route, launching its Barbie movie that ended on the top of global box office with over $1.44 billion gross sales.
It also propped up Barbie doll sales. But after one year, the movie is already old news and its effects on doll sales are fading, writes Market commentary by eToro analyst for Romania, Bogdan Maioreanu.
Barbie the movie is the 15th top grossing movie worldwide ever. The first is Avatar with $2.93 billion, followed by Avengers Endgame with almost $2.8 billion and another Avatar: The way of water with $2.3 billion and Titanic with $2.26 billion.
The movie contributed a lot to the sales of Barbie dolls and created a catalyst for consumer product collaborations, with over 165 partnerships resulting from its success to the public. But one year later, Barbie gross billings in Q2 are down 6% compared with the same quarter in 2023. That is why, it is clear that now demand is softer and sales are normalizing after the hype induced by the movie premiere in July last year. Despite the drop, Mattel outperformed the industry and maintained its leadership in the dolls category worldwide.
While the company was very clear in its strategy to grow the toys business and use entertainment to capture the full value of the intellectual property of its brands, investors are asking what is next? For sure Barbie will be back on the screens this fall but it is confirmed so far on Netflix in a new animated series. However, the public is expecting a sequel to the box-office hit. For now, Barbie 2 was not decided but director Greta Gerwig said that she is not dismissing the possibility and wants to do the movie.
Despite the success of the movie and domination in the toys segment, Mattel stock price is down almost 11% in the past 12 months. But a Reuters report that a private equity company L Catterton might be interested in a takeover of Mattel pushed its price up almost 17% in the past five days.
