Margot Robbie’s Barbie dominated both the world and the box office in 2023 with its magic, stirring massive anticipation since its announcement and set photo leak. Thus, as soon as it hit theaters, fans flooded in donning their pink apparel, propelling it beyond the billion-dollar mark. But interestingly, Margot Robbie had to pitch the movie to Warner Bros. by cleverly baiting Steven Spielberg. Here’s why.
Margot Robbie had to Bait Steven Spielberg to Sell Barbie to Warner Bros
Indeed, Barbie owes much of its success to Margot Robbie. As both the actress and producer, she flawlessly portrayed her roles both on and off-screen. Interestingly, to sway Warner Bros. towards embracing the pink mania that eventually engulfed the world, she cleverly baited the company with the name of an iconic director, Steven Spielberg. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter roundtable, the actress revealed her tactics for getting WB’s attention. She revealed,
“When you’re trying to get a project up and running, as those at the table who produce know, it’s like you’re in selling mode. I was pitching it. I was like, “When you pair Spielberg with dinosaurs, what do you get? A billion dollars. When you pair Greta and Barbie, you are going to make a billion dollars.” “
During the Actress #THRRoundtable, Margot Robbie explains how she pitched #Barbie as a billion-dollar movie pic.twitter.com/q5QnX2lilH
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 4, 2024
Robbie paired a renowned director delivering a distinctive concept to convince the board of members that Barbie wouldn’t also be any different. Spielberg and Jurassic Park exemplify this phenomenon. The movie-turned-franchise stormed the world and surpassed the billion-dollar mark at the box office. Consequently, the actress had to truly pitch and ensure that Barbie would achieve similar success. And indeed, it did!
This Is Why Warner Bros. Gave Margot Robbie a Tough Fight When She Pitched Barbie
Margot Robbie had a series of challenges in persuading the company to have faith in the movie. One obstacle was the substantial budget needed for the all-pink theme, while another was the production company’s concern about potentially losing half the audience by focusing solely on “not-men” as its target audience. To combat this perception, Robbie had to adopt an all-out approach to counter and address these concerns. She said,
“One of the biggest fights was convincing everyone that it could be a four-quadrant movie because it had a budget that necessitated it being a four-quadrant movie. And that means getting men to go see it. Everyone’s like, “There’s just no way. Men will never, ever go to see a Barbie movie.” Men will go see a great movie. If it’s great, everyone would go see it. “
The actress disclosed that it was a gradual process to persuade both Mattel and Warner Bros. to fully come on board, she revealed,
“Once we had the script and were really going for it, I said, “Let’s all get comfortable with being very uncomfortable.” So every time it’s like, “Tell me your concerns. I totally hear you. I see why that is making you uncomfortable, but that’s what we’re going to do, and we’re just going to have to get comfortable with that feeling.” And it was always just like, “Just get it to the next stage. Get it to the next stage. Before you know it, we’ll be on set.” It was an amazing process, and everyone, to their credit, did get really comfortable with being uncomfortable. And Mattel’s literally a character in it.”
Fortunately, everything fell into place in the end, allowing Robbie to truly prove her point. Her assurances weren’t merely empty words to the board anymore after the film hit the theaters. She essentially pledged a billion-dollar affair, and fortunately, the film kept her promise.
