Warner Bros. faces a December deadline to retain the rights to the Barbie franchise as contract negotiations with director Greta Gerwig and stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling stall over salary demands and profit-sharing terms, according to reports by The New York Times. The 2023 blockbuster grossed more than $1.4 billion globally and secured eight Oscar nominations, making it one of the most successful releases in studio history.
Contract Negotiations Stall Over Salaries and Box Office Cuts
According to two people familiar with the talks cited by The New York Times, studio executives have spent months negotiating with the core creative team without reaching an agreement. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav reportedly rejected proposed pay packages that included a massive $20 million upfront payday for Gosling alongside a cut of the film’s profits tied to specific box office thresholds.
A Warner Bros. spokesperson disputed parts of that characterization in a statement provided to The Independent. The studio stated that over a three-year period, a half-dozen offers had been extended to the creative team behind the original movie without an approved framework ever being established. Representatives for the talent declined the most recent proposal, which the studio described as one of the largest it has ever made for a film, and no counteroffer has been submitted.
Did you know?
The original Barbie film entered an elite box office tier by grossing over $1 billion, joining just 53 movies in cinema history to cross that threshold without adjusting for inflation, according to historical tracking data cited by The Independent.
The Mattel Rights Deadline and Production Stakes
Under licensing agreements, the intellectual property rights to Barbie will revert back to Mattel if Warner Bros. fails to secure a deal with the principal talent by December, The New York Times reports. If the rights revert, the studio cannot move forward with any of the original elements established in the first film, according to the Warner Bros. spokesperson.
Robbie, who produced the project through her company LuckyChap Entertainment alongside her husband Tom Ackerley, earned approximately $50 million in combined salary and box office bonuses, according to three sources cited by Variety. LuckyChap maintains an ongoing partnership with Warner Bros., with projects including an adaptation of Wuthering Heights set for early 2025, Oceans scheduled for June 2027, and Nasty under the studio’s Clockwork label.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Barbie sequel facing delays?
Talks have stalled due to disagreements between Warner Bros. leadership and the core creative team regarding upfront salary demands, profit-sharing targets, and overall pay packages, according to reporting by The New York Times.
What happens to the movie rights in December?
If Warner Bros. cannot finalize a deal with the principal talent by December, the rights to the Barbie franchise revert to Mattel, meaning the studio cannot use original elements from the 2023 film in any future projects, per The New York Times.
How much did the first Barbie movie make?
The film earned more than $1.4 billion at the global box office, making it the biggest movie directed by a woman in cinema history.
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