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The new live-action Barbie film, which stars Disney-loving Canadian actor Ryan Gosling and Australian actress Margot Robbie, has been highly-anticipated by movie enthusiasts.
The film follows Barbie, the iconic character who started the Barbie doll phenomenon of old (and whose dolls have since been replaced by new iterations of the iconic toy dolls).
With colorful and frothy trailers filling TV screens and computer screens before the movie’s July premiere, it looks like Warner Bros.’ new movie will be a fun summer treat — but will it top the heady success of The Little Mermaid?
The new Barbie movie stars Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken. ‘Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings’ star Simu Liu also stars in the film. Credit: Flickr
Box Office Predictions Galore!
Deadline has reported “that Barbie is bigger than last month’s The Little Mermaid in pulling in general audiences and young women under 25,” and that “Barbie on paper has all the glitz for a potential $100M start”.
Compared to The Little Mermaid‘s $95.5 million opening weekend and Memorial Day weekend, this is a close race for top summer movie status!
Apparently, Barbie ticket presales are beating those of The Little Mermaid. The new Disney movie that featured Halle Bailey in the role of Ariel brought in at least $19 million in presales, so beating that is certainly significant!
Part of Your Barbie World?
It’s not hard to understand why Barbie might post a threat to The Little Mermaid. After all, both movies feature stories about perky and beautiful heroines who leave the comfort of their own magical and fantastical homelands to explore somewhere new.
Ariel’s film obviously seems more child-friendly and less tongue-in-cheek when it comes to adult humor, but the involvement of A-list stars like Ryan Gosling and possible pirate Margot Robbie might also tip the scales in Barbie’s favor.
Halle Bailey as Ariel the little mermaid. Credit: Halle Bailey, Instagram
Both films are also attracting a very similar demographic: The Little Mermaid reportedly “attracted 68% women and 61% between 18-34, with the largest demo being ages 25-34 at 35%” while “Barbie’s sweet spot is under-35 females and secondarily 35- to 49-year-olds.”
Barbie is apparently attracting slightly older audiences, but the audience members are still in the same general range, and both movies appeal to female audiences!
Elementary, My Dear Barbie
Leah Lewis as Ember Lumen and Mamoudou Athie as Wade Ripple in ‘Elemental’. Credit: Disney/Pixar
The third movie that has made waves recently — water pun intended — was Elemental, the new animated Pixar film that performed horribly on its opening weekend but somehow made a comeback as Disney and Pixar fans read enough reviews to change their minds about heading into theaters to see it.
The whiplash-inducing success of Elemental is a reminder that box office predictions can only go so far, and that it is up to the audiences to show moviemakers what they want to see!
Which of these three films are you the most interested in watching? Do you see the similarities that make Barbie and The Little Mermaid direct competitors?
