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.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.
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.Barbie is Mattel’s most profitable franchise, with operating profit margins north of 21%, UBS analyst Arpiné Kocharyan said in a recent note.
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.