Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Caroline Ellison testified against Sam Bankman-Fried, Oprah enters the Ozempic era, and Fortune senior writer Alicia Adamczyk writes about the cultural impact of the Barbie movie, as discussed on Day 2 of Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit. Enjoy your Wednesday.
– The power of pink. I wasn’t expecting to cry while watching the Barbie movie, but then again, I also wasn’t expecting to watch an at-times hysterical and at others profoundly moving meditation on what it means to be human when I sat down in the theater a few months ago.
The ticket sales speak for themself: Worldwide, the movie’s box office haul is approaching $1.5 billion, making it one of the biggest films of the year and the highest-grossing global release in Warner Bros. history. Clearly I wasn’t the only one moved by the film.
Yesterday, during a conversation with Fortune’s Michal Lev-Ram at the Most Powerful Women Summit, Robbie Brenner, president of Mattel Films, and Lisa McKnight, executive vice president and chief brand officer of Mattel, Inc., highlighted what made the film so resonate. “It’s a story about humanity,” McKnight said. “We elevated Barbie beyond a doll to an idea.”
It helps that Barbie is an iconic toy with decades of cultural cache, of course, and that Warner Bros. poured an estimated $150 million into the marketing. But as McKnight and Brenner noted, it mostly worked due to the creative team—namely, writer/director Greta Gerwig and actress/producer Margot Robbie—who helped bring it to life and make it a unique story and moviegoing experience.
Of the many fascinating aspects of the Barbie movie—The outfits! The set design! The practical effects!—one I’ve been stuck on is how much fun Gerwig was able to have, poking fun not just at mansplain-ations of The Godfather and bad dates, but at Mattel itself. Though McKnight noted the company was “very involved” in the creative process, the movie didn’t feel like one long ad for the toy. Provocative, inspiring, and authentic were some of the words Brenner used to describe the film.
“It’s not about selling toys, it’s about telling the best stories,” Brenner said. “If you’re not making something that feels out of the box and different and sticky, then you have no business making content.”
Since Barbie’s resounding success, there’s been plenty of chatter about which toy movie studios might try to turn into their next billion-dollar hit, and films based on Polly Pocket, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, and Hot Wheels are already in the works.
Brenner has some advice for Lena Dunham, Vin Diesel, and JJ Abrams, who are attached to those films—as well as anyone else looking to create the next cultural touch point. “When you take those big swings, that’s when life rewards you,” she said.
Alicia Adamczyk
alicia.adamczyk@fortune.com
@AliciaAdamczyk
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify Mattel’s role in the film production.
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Taking the stand. Caroline Ellison, the ex-girlfriend of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and the former head of Alameda Research, told a New York court yesterday that Bankman-Fried directed her to take billions from FTX customers to fund Alameda investments and pay off debt. Ellison, who pled guilty to wire fraud and numerous other charges related to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, is considered the prosecution's star witness. Washington Post
- Yo-yoing share price. Shares of WeightWatchers International jumped around 11% on Monday after board member Oprah Winfrey praised drugs like Ozempic as “an important and viable option” for losing weight. Previously, the company’s stock dropped when Winfrey downplayed the importance of such drugs. Wall Street Journal
- Mine control. Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest person, is using her wealth to become a power player in the industry that's powering electric vehicle production. After making another investment in lithium mine Liontown Resources, Rinehart could now block Albemarle, the world's biggest lithium producer, from taking over the mine. Financial Times
- Staying engaged. Executives at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women conference talked about the best ways to lure stubborn Gen Z employees back to the office, which Etsy’s CHRO Kim Seymour argues is imperative for career growth. Christina Wootton, chief partnerships officer at Roblox, and NYCNext cofounder Maryam Banikarim say that engaging in-person workers with events, panels, and collaboration are ways to keep engagement up. Fortune
- Stepping back. X CEO Linda Yaccarino will no longer speak at next week’s Wall Street Journal Tech Live conference, a decision she claims was made to prioritize “X platform safety” in the midst of global geopolitical violence. The Journal’s conference would have been an opportunity for Yaccarino to pivot public opinion after a criticized appearance at The Verge’s Code Conference two weeks ago. The Verge
Movers and Shakers: Advent International appointed Kahina Van Dyke as an operating partner. Vudoo named Nathalie Curtis-Lethbridge its global chief growth officer and managing director for EMEA and North America.
ON MY RADAR
Carey Mulligan on going “all in” with Bradley Cooper for Maestro Vogue
The Kamala Harris problem The Atlantic
The meaning of Madonna The New Yorker
PARTING WORDS
“We have unprecedented wealth, historic wealth that’s coming into our hands, and so our ability to put that money to work is really going to make a huge difference.”
—Investor and Portfolia founder Trish Costello at Fortune's Most Powerful Women conference yesterday, speaking about the growing number of women now investing and planning financially
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