Mattel to make American Girl movie after Barbie success

LOS ANGELES – Mattel said on Dec 13 it was planning to make a live-action feature film based on its American Girl doll line with Paramount Pictures and Temple Hill Entertainment, after the box-office success of its Barbie movie earlier in 2023.

Shares of the toymaker rose marginally in extended trading after it also said screenwriter Lindsey Anderson Beer, who wrote the Netflix film Sierra Burgess Is A Loser (2018), would write the screenplay and produce the film.

Barbie, which was released in July, starred Australian actress Margot Robbie and Canadian actor Ryan Gosling.

The movie recorded the biggest opening of the year,

which Mattel in October said was expected to contribute more than US$125 million (S$166 million) towards its dolls segment’s key gross billings measure in 2023.

American Girl was founded in 1986 by Ms Pleasant Rowland, a teacher-turned-entrepreneur who set out to celebrate girlhood with beautiful dolls and adventurous books that would nourish a child’s imagination and provide education and entertainment.

Paramount Pictures, a unit of media and entertainment company Paramount Global, has produced several film franchises including Mission: Impossible (1996 to present), while Temple Hill Entertainment has produced film series including The Twilight Saga (2008 to 2012). REUTERS