Excitement is building ahead of the eagerly anticipated Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, which hits theaters on July 21.
Early reviews of the movie from acclaimed director Greta Gerwig have been glowing, with Joseph Deckelmeier of Screen Rant describing the film as “funny, bombastic, & very smart” on Twitter. “Greta Gerwig aims for the fences & hits a home-run,” he added.
Variety’s social-media editor Katcy Stephan described the movie as “perfection.”
A global marketing blitz has generated massive buzz around Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.’s
WBD,
“Barbie,” which had its world premiere in Los Angeles on Sunday. The movie has the potential to boost a number of stocks, experts say.
Related: Mattel says retailers are still skittish about stocking up on toys but sticks with its financial outlook
“Everywhere you look, Barbie pink is the new black,” Dave Bruno, director of retail-market insights at retail-technology company Aptos, said in a statement. “The retail world is covered in that iconic pink, and I’m here for it.”
A key beneficiary is toy maker Mattel Inc.
MAT,
according to Bruno. “Mattel is on its ‘A’ game to accessorize its blockbuster release with dozens of retail brand collaborations in franchised merchandise of all forms,” he writes.
Mattel’s stock has risen 17.4% in the last month, outpacing the S&P 500’s
SPX,
gain of 2.2%.
Barbie is Mattel’s most profitable franchise, with operating profit margins north of 21%, UBS analyst Arpiné Kocharyan said in a recent note. “We expect the upcoming movie to have an overall halo effect on the franchise, with perhaps limited impact on toy sales — at least initially — while the bigger opportunity is in consumer products as the film is targeting an older audience,” she wrote. “This might not move the needle for revenues, but could be impactful for [Mattel’s] earnings, given substantially higher margin of more than 80% on royalty stream.” UBS generally expects an evergreen toy franchise to have a royalty rate of 8% to 12% on consumer-product revenue.
Related: AMC theater attendance spiked from major movie releases, research finds
“Barbie has never had a box office event of this scale before, and Mattel’s management fully acknowledges the risks and opportunities that come with such an undertaking,” Kocharyan added.
Other companies are also preparing to live in a Barbie world over the coming weeks. “Retailers are all in on the pink promotions and collaborations for this blockbuster-timed release,” says Aptos’s Bruno, highlighting Crocs Inc.
CROX,
as an example. “Even Crocs, whose legendary brand is built on the extreme comfort of their shoes — the very antithesis of Barbie’s arch-bending high heels — has launched a collection of pink Barbie-themed products,” he wrote.
“Barbiecore Crocs has entered the chat,” tweeted Crocs on Tuesday as it launched its Barbie collection.
Crocs shares, which have risen 12.8% in the last month, ended Friday’s session down 1.6%.
Related: Largest investor in AMC’s APE stock sells again, cuts stake to below 10%
Another company eyeing a Barbie boost is movie-theater chain and meme-stock darling AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.
AMC,
“Barbie opens July 21 only in theatres,” tweeted AMC CEO Adam Aron on Sunday. “Starring Margot Robbie as Barbie & Ryan Gosling as Ken. The advance publicity has been monumental, cover story of Time, People, Vogue, Bloomberg Business Week among others. Who ever said that movies and movie theatres are dead?”
On Monday AMC said that 40,000 of its AMC Stubs members have bought tickets to see “Barbie” and the other big summer blockbuster, Universal Pictures’ “Oppenheimer,” on the same day. The two movies open on July 21 and have even sparked an internet phenomenon dubbed “Barbenheimer.”
“I think ‘Barbie’ will have a successful run in theaters,” Alicia Reese, vice president of equity research at Wedbush Securities, told MarketWatch. “It’s received excellent reviews and feedback so far, and it’s for most age groups, being a PG title, so [it] should have broad appeal.”
“Barbie” is currently expected to earn around $225 million at the domestic box office, with a $90 million opening weekend, according to Reese, while the R-rated “Oppenheimer” is expected to have a $145 million domestic box-office run with a $50 million opening.
Related: AMC CEO touts record U.S. food and beverage sales
“All exhibitors, including AMC, should benefit from Barbie’s success, while [Imax Corp.]
IMAX,
should benefit uniquely from Oppenheimer’s run as it was filmed on IMAX cameras and IMAX was integrated into its marketing campaign,” Reese said. “As AMC has the most domestic IMAX screens, it should similarly benefit from the premium ticket pricing on that title.”
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