I likedBarbie. I like Margot Robbie, I like Greta Gerwig, I like Noah Baumbach, and I like what they were all able to accomplish together within the confines of a corporate branding exercise. I would like to see more movies like Barbie, though not in the way that Hollywood seems to think.
People Love Barbie. Why Not Monopoly?
Last week at CinemaCon, it wasannouncedthat Margot Robbie’s production company LuckyChap Entertainment will be bringingMonopolyto the big screen in collaboration with Lionsgate and Hasbro Entertainment. This isn’t all that surprising, given Hollywood’s penchant for taking the most surface-level lessons possible from every successful venture. People loveBatman? Time to fill multiplexes with movies starring 1940s pulp heroes like The Phantom and Dick Tracey. TheMCU’s interconnected storytelling has been a success? That must mean audiences long to witness the dawn of a Dark Universe! Oppenheimer made nearly a billion dollars? Someone, greenlight a dozen more movies about scientists, quick!
There is no success so strange that Hollywood executives cannot find something extremely literal to take away from it. Robbie being attached to another toy movie is an unfortunate side effect of that law playing out.
One important caveat: Monopoly isnotthe only kind of movie that Robbie is producing. LuckyChap also worked onSaltburn, an original movie that did okay in theaters and blew up as soon as it hit streaming. The company takes bets on interesting projects like the upcoming coming-of-age comedy film My Old Ass and the Margaret Qualley series Maid onNetflix. It also has more straightforwardly commercial movies on its slate like an adaption ofThe Simsand, yes, Monopoly. But it seems to have a good balance of projects, putting into practice the old Hollywood adage “one for them, one for me.”
A Movie Being Announced Doesn’t Mean It Will Happen
Another important caveat, Margot Robbie has been attached to IP movies that didn’t materialize in the past. In 2020, a Pirates of the Caribbean reboot was announced with Robbie set to star, but in 2022 shetold Vanity Fairthat it was “dead in the water.” She’s currently attached to anOceans 11 prequel, too. People in Hollywood get attached to plenty of things that don’t end up working out. I’ve been skeptical of the rush to turn toys into movies after Barbie, and the Monopoly movie may never even happen.
In general, Robbie seems to be a smart producer who carefully balances original, interesting ideas with IP-driven projects that can be gigantic hits if they connect, like Barbie. But, Hollywood’s rush to get toys and board games on the big screen is soboring, and it will be really disappointing if that becomes Robbie’s niche.
She’s a great performer, and she gives her all in everything. She’s balanced big IP movies likeSuicide Squadwith original work from interesting auteurs. Those filmmaker-driven projects have a mixed track record, but whether they hit (The Wolf of Wall Street, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood) or flop (Babylon), they’re usually at least interesting.
I left Amsterdam off that list because it’s the rare Robbie project with very little to recommend it.
But, it’s a shame that someone as talented as Robbie has become the face of two dispiriting industry trends; first, a superhero lead in two Suicide Squad movies and Birds of Prey, now as the producer of multiple toy movies. There are better lessons to take from Barbie’s success, and I hope Hollywood begins to learn them soon.
