No Stars, No Red Carpets: How Hollywood Strikes Could Disrupt the Summer Box Office

Variety, making her one of the highest-paid actresses of 2022.In “Barbie as The Island Princess,” the OG tippy toes, tits up blonde imparts some unexpected poetry, “Life is a sea I’m sailing, riding the winds of time. Looking to find a course that is mine.

Margot Robbie not only stars in the upcoming Barbie, she’s also a producer. Which means, like her character, she often got a little carried away.

Margot Robbie is not only the star of “Barbie”, she’s also a producer on the hugely anticipated new movie, through her LuckyChap Entertainment production company.

It’s all about Barbie this summer.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director As a producer of “Barbie,” it was up to Margot Robbie to convince a studio that her vision for the film would lead to financial success. No wonder the Oscar nominee flat out said during pitch meetings that she believed a “Barbie” movie could bring in $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Such success depended on landing writer-director Greta Gerwig, Robbie stressed to execs. “I think my pitch in the green-light meeting was the studios have prospered so much when they’re brave enough to pair a big idea with a visionary director,” Robbie said in an interview with Collider. “And then I gave a series of examples like, ‘dinosaurs and [Steven] Spielberg’ – pretty much naming anything that’s been incredible and made a ton of money for the studios over the years. And I was like, ‘And now you’ve got Barbie and Greta Gerwig.’ And I think I told them that it’d make a billion dollars, which maybe I was overselling, but we had a movie to make, okay?”

Greta Gerwig is a mother of two! The three-time Oscar nominee reveals in a new interview with that she gave birth to a baby boy four months ago. Musing that she feels «in the middle of everything,» the filmmaker tells the magazine, «I’m about to be 40 [on Aug. 4]. And there’s something about that where you’re like: 'Oh! I'm properly middle aged now. All parts of life feel extremely activated.'»As for her newborn, Gerwig gushes as she shows the interviewer a photo, «He’s a little Schmoo.

For someone who’s 11.5 inches tall and weighs under 8 ounces, poor Barbie’s had to carry an awfully heavy load over the years on that slender, plastic back of hers.

Oppenheimer” and 89% and 8.2/10 for “Barbie“), Hollywood is looking at a skewed rerun of another box office showdown from July 2008.Fifteen years ago, Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” broke the opening weekend record with $158 million, but Meryl Streep’s “Mamma Mia!” also nabbed what was at the time the largest Friday-Sunday debut ever ($28 million) against a $100 million-plus opener. History may be repeating itself, with Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” looking to clear triple digits right as Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” hopes to open on par with the over/under $50 million launches of “Interstellar” and “Dunkirk.” The record set in 2008 against a Nolan epic may be set again this weekend *by* a Nolan epic.

Margot Robbie, the Spice Girls were no feminist wannabes.In fact, the two-time Oscar nominee attributes some of her own ideas about feminism — which she and director Greta Gerwig explore in the much-anticipated “Barbie” movie, out July 21 — to the 1990s British girl group.“The Spice Girls changed everything and dictated my version of second-wave feminism,” Robbie, 33, told Rolling Stone.“It’s like, ‘Oh my God, they wear little sparkly dresses and push-up bras and then have a girl gang? That’s what I want to be!’”Growing up in the ’90s, the Aussie-born Robbie also had a pink passion for the Aqua bop “Barbie Girl.” At the urging of the “Babylon” actress, the 1997 hit was included on the “Barbie” soundtrack — reworked as a “Barbie World” duet featuring rappers Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice.“I was like, ‘Greta, how are we going to incorporate this song? We can’t do a Barbie movie and not have a nod to Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl.’ It has to be in there,’” Robbie told a reporter.

The Barbie World keeps expanding!

Barbie is a surprisingly profound film, more philosophical and existential than one initially would expect from a franchise rooted in plastic fashion dolls that became a cultural icon in the late 1950s. This was a period in time when young girls were in desperate need of role models, and Barbie came along as a vehicle to convey the message of independence, which is the theme of Greta Gerwig’s film.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Check out the brain on Barbie! Sure, she’s just a doll, but that doesn’t mean she has to be an airhead. Therein lies “Lady Bird” director Greta Gerwig’s inspired, 21st-century solution to bringing one of America’s most iconic playthings to life on the big screen. Combine that with the casting of Margot Robbie in the title role, and “Barbie” is already starting out on the right, perfectly arched foot. So what if this high-concept comedy falls a bit flat in the final stretch? Barbie’s strength as a brand comes from her aspirational appeal. While some have rightly criticized the doll for setting unrealistic beauty standards, Barbie also showed girls they can do and be anything, as different models have portrayed her as president, a rocket scientist, even trans. You know who else sets unrealistic beauty standards? Movie stars. Like Barbie, they serve as role models, which is what makes Gerwig’s take on the ultra-popular toy line so darn smart. Robbie might be a dead-ringer for Barbie, but her moxie powers the performance. Gerwig has made the kind of family film she surely wishes had been available to her when she was a girl, sneaking a message (several of them, really) inside Barbie’s hollow hourglass figure.

The “Barbenheimer” opening weekend is finally upon us!

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Barbenheimer” is officially here, and the battle between the bomb and the bombshell is about to ignite the box office. Greta Gerwig’s cotton candy-colored “Barbie,” starring Margot Robbie as the plastic, fantastic doll, is expected to generate a huge $95 million to $110 million from 4,200 North American theaters over the weekend. Given the omnipresence of “Barbie” (the marketing is practically inescapable, with enough memes and marketing tie-ins to last a lifetime), initial estimates are all over the place. Warner Bros. is projecting a more conservative $75 million to start, while rivals and exhibitors believe the PG-13 movie could make as much as $140 million between Friday and Sunday.

It’s summer movie season and there’s a big box office battle brewing this weekend!

Barbiecore is the trend of summer 2023, and for good reason. We’ve all fallen in love with Margot Robbie, Issa Rae, Dua Lipa and the rest of the long list of Barbies in Greta Gerwig’s soon-to-premiere film. They’ve all been seen rocking pink looks on the red carpet (and in film snippets), but they’re not the only ones.

After months of waiting, the movie event of the year is finally imminent: Barbenheimer.

Barbie is on track to be the film of the summer, if not the entire year, and we haven't even seen it yet. This movie is already giving us everything we never knew we needed in our life until now, from a Dua Lipa Barbie anthem to John Cena as a merman to .

The very online showdown between Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” all started with a date: July 21.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Tom Cruise’s latest blockbuster “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” is showing strength at the international box office, collecting an impressive $155 million from 70 markets. Along with an estimated $80 million at the domestic box office, “Mission: Impossible” has grossed $235 million globally through its first five days of release. That’s a mighty worldwide tally, especially for the seventh installment in a 27-year-old action franchise. Imax screens contributed $25 million, including a new franchise-record of $14 million overseas. The only trouble is the movie, which finds Cruise’s durable hero Ethan Hunt defying death as he flies off a mountain on his motorcycle, scales a runaway train and maneuvers a tiny car through the bustling streets of Rome, was incredibly expensive to make. Due to COVID-related starts and stops and other pandemic-era safety measures, Paramount and Skydance spent $300 million before marketing costs. So even as Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” open on July 21, “Dead Reckoning Part One” needs to continue resonating at the global box office to turn a profit in its theatrical run.

Not even Ken can please everyone.

The Barbie movie is fast approaching — but titular star Margot Robbie didn’t know if it would ever come to fruition.  

Have you caught a case of Barbie fever? Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the  movie premiere is just days away. Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and directed by Greta Gerwig —whose resume includes Oscar-nominated and  (among others) — the rom-com is bound to become the hottest movie of the summer and potentially the decade.While we count down the days until the July 21 premiere, we're preparing for the -double feature by shopping all things Barbiecore. Between Margot Robbie's awe-inspiring press tour outfits and the many, many Barbie collabs released in the last few months, there's no shortage of outfit inspiration. To help you nail the Barbiecore trend, we've rounded up 25 fabulous pieces to channel your inner Barbie girl.From a rhinestone-studded claw clip and pink platform heels to a replica of Barbie's iconic black and white swimsuit, here's our favorite pink picks for a stunning Malibu makeover.Perfect for channeling Barbie by the pool, the Eleanor Jelly Slide is an elevated take on a water-resistant sandal.Channel Barbie at the gym with a pair of sweat wicking, breathable leggings.The ultra-trendy claw clip is even more adorable in shimmering marble with a rhinestone Barbie logo. Inspired by Margot's '80s rollerskating outfit, the one-piece features a backless design that will make you the main character in the swimming pool or on the beach.An affordable alternative to the Versace pumps worn by Beyoncé, these 5-inch Barbie heels are surprisingly comfortable thanks to a two-inch double platform.Kipling is best known for its high-quality, comfortable backpacks, and this -themed style is no exception.

Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa, who landed a role in the new Barbie film, has shared some 'behind the scenes' snaps from attending the premiere in London on Wednesday as he brushed shoulders with his idol Greta.

Margot Robbie is still a vision in all things pink on the Barbie press tour.

Christopher Nolan is totally into Barbenheimer.

Barbie film to be shown in the country’s cinemas, but have asked Hollywood distributors to blur the lines on a child-like drawing of a world map, which allegedly shows China’s disputed maritime claims.The film about the Mattel doll – directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling – is set to open in the south-east Asian nation on July 19.The censors began examining Barbie last week after Vietnam reportedly banned the film over scenes featuring a map showing the so-called nine-dash line, which China uses to justify its claim to the South China Sea.Beijing claims territorial ownership over almost the entire South China Sea, despite rival claims from other south-east Asian countries, including the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.However, after “meticulous” scrutiny of the film, Philippine censors were satisfied that the “cartoonish map” did not depict the nine-dash line.“Instead, the map portrayed the route of the make-believe journey of Barbie from Barbie Land to the ’real world’, as an integral part of the story,” the censorship board said (via The Guardian).“Rest assured that the board has exhausted all possible resources in arriving at this decision as we have not hesitated in the past to sanction filmmakers/ producers/distributors for exhibiting the fictitious ’nine-dash line’ in their materials.”Despite being satisfied, the censors have still asked Hollywood studio Warner Bros. to “blur” the controversial lines on the map.

Billie Eilish is bringing on the nostalgia with a new Barbie capsule collection. 

Sam Smith couldn’t please the sky-high fashion expectations of the Barbieverse.

Margot Robbie has expressed her excitement for the upcoming Barbie movie, describing it as a celebration of "the real-life Barbie". The actress, who stars as the iconic doll alongside Ryan Gosling, praised director Greta Gerwig, stating that she is "everything" and "can do anything".

Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag Margot Robbie stunned in a red corset mini dress for the Barbie photocall following the highly-anticipated film's London premiere.The actress, who plays the titular role of Barbie, wowed at the photocall as she changed from her lavish Barbie-inspired premiere gown, into a red satin mini dress, which laced up at the back. Margot was all smiles as she posed in the glam dress both solo and with her fellow cast members and the film's director Greta Gerwig.

Molly-Mae Hague didn't hold back when it came to her latest public appearance as she put on a dazzling display at the UK's star-studded Barbie premiere. The European premiere of the new movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling took place on Wednesday night (July 12).

The stars of Barbie are stepping out once again in London!

Zack Sharf Digital News Director As thousands of moviegoers gear up for double features of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” one person taking joy in the “Barbenheimer” craze is Nolan himself. Although his movie will be battling “Barbie” at the box office, Nolan recently told IGN that “it’s terrific” to have both summer tentpoles open on the same day. “Summer, in a healthy marketplace, is always crowded, and we’ve been doing this a long time,” Nolan said. “I think for those of us who care about movies, we’ve been really waiting to have a crowded marketplace again, and now it’s here and that’s terrific.” Cillian Murphy, who stars in the title role of “Oppenehimer,” agreed with Nolan, telling IGN: “I think it’s great. I mean, I’ll be going to see ‘Barbie.’ I can’t wait to see it. I think it’s just great for the industry and for audiences that we have two amazing films by amazing filmmakers coming out the same day. Could spend a whole day in the cinema, what’s better than that?”

America Ferrara is all in on “Barbie”.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Ashley Graham is looking back at her life as a Barbie doll. No, the supermodel isn’t in Greta Gerwig’s new “Barbie” movie, but Mattel made a doll in her likeness in 2016. “The first things that came to mind were thick thighs, lower belly fat, round arms [and] cellulite,” Graham recalls requesting of the toy company on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “And I got to do everything except for the cellulite. … Maybe it was too hard to figure out how to do that with the computer.” But Graham was very happy with the final product: “It wasn’t like, ‘Hi, Curvy Barbie.’ It was just Barbie.”