From Playroom To Box Office: What India Can Learn From Barbie’s Hollywood Leap

The success of Barbie movie presents a template for Indian movie studios and toy companies to replicate the template. With the growth of the toy and game industry in India and the vast Indian movie market, there is immense potential to jointly drive growth with a multiplicative effect in both sectors, write Prof. Abhishek and Gunjan Dandotiya

21 July, 2025, marked two years of release of the Barbie movie, which was produced by Mattel Films, the in-house studio of Mattel Inc. In the US market, the Warner Bros. distributed movie saw ticket pre-sales of over USD 50 million, which helped the movie collect USD 162 million in its opening weekend and USD 258 million by the end of the first week. The Barbie movie surpassed the USD 1.36 billion box office collection of The Super Mario Bros., which was also released in 2023 and was the first video game-based film to cross USD 1 billion. The Barbie movie grossed USD 1.38 billion within one month of release and had a box office collection of around USD 1.5 billion worldwide by the end of 2023. It became Warner Bros.’ highest-grossing film of all time, overtaking Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which was released in 2011 and had gross receipts of USD 1.34 billion. Besides the commercial and cultural phenomenon of the year, the movie drove a 9 per cent YOY increase in sales for Mattel between July and September 2023, including a 27 per cent jump in sales of Barbie dolls.

Over the last fifty years, there have been numerous toy-based movies in the US, like Toy Story, Transformers, G.I. Joe, etc. Such examples of toy and game-based films, along with the unprecedented success of the Barbie movie, provide an opportunity for Indian studios and producers to copy the template and produce toy and game-based films. While the Western world is replete with successful examples of toy and game-based films, even after two years of the Barbie movie release, we could not find any comparable Indian examples of such collaboration between movie studios and toy and game brands. It is surprising to see a lack of any such precedence in India despite the presence of popular toys such as Kondapalli dolls (Andhra Pradesh), Kathputli puppets (Rajasthan), and Channapatna toys (Karnataka), besides many folklore-inspired toys and games.

Even Indian mythology is full of stories about the tradition of sports spirit involving toys and games. For example, some mythographers claim that Mandodari, wife of Ravana (a character from the epic Ramayana), invented chess to engage Ravana and his army. Furthermore, in the epic Mahabharata, the “game of dice” (Dyutakrida) was the heart of the great war between Pandavas and Kauravas. Toy heritage also has footprints from the Indus Valley Civilization in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro archaeological sites. These sites uncovered toy carts, the iconic dancing woman figurine, and whistle-shaped parrots. We see numerous such examples where, for centuries, folklore has inspired Indian toy and game features and themes, which were reflected by mythology, cultural narratives, and religious beliefs. For example, Ludo is said to originate from the ancient Indian game Pachisi.

The Indian toy and games market saw a resurgence during COVID-19, when most of us had to spend time indoors. Toys and games revenue in India increased by 77 per cent from USD 299.1 million in 2019 to USD 528.38 million in 2022. Revenue in the toys and games sector is expected to reach USD 1.09 billion by 2029. On the other hand, the domestic movie market, as per the FICCI FRAMES report, is estimated at USD 1.45 billion (Rs 120 billion) in 2023 and is expected to grow to USD 1.72 billion (Rs 146 billion) in 2026. Given the growth of the toy and game industry in India and the vast Indian movie market, there is immense potential to jointly drive growth with a multiplicative effect in both sectors.

Toy and game-based movies help drive the sales of toys, besides bringing in additional income from box office collections. One crucial and extra source of income is from sales of movie-specific toys and merchandise, which are specially sought by kids and youth alike and may have collector’s value. In the Indian context, we see examples of movie-influenced merchandise sales, though early efforts were informal and incidental. For Example, Mr. India (1987) became a pop-culture phenomenon, and the popularity of the villain character Mogambo led to clothing lines with imprints of the “Mogambo Khush Hua” quote. The invisibility gadget featured in the movie was popular in children’s games, school skits, and local comic book parodies. Similarly, Amitabh Bachchan’s action-hero persona in various films led to an influx of informal merchandise such as wall calendars, lunchboxes, and comic books.

The movie Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994) signalled the potential of merchandise opportunity as the purple colour sari worn by Madhuri Dixit became the rage and influenced Indian weddings and family culture, with many brides demanding and wearing purple colour sari. In this century, the popularity of Jaado (an alien character in the film) based merchandise during the release of Koi Mil Gaya (2003), which was considered the first Indian superhero movie, was a foundation for the Krrish movie franchise, which made the Krrish mask and black costume popular among children.

We find a few examples from Indian television where producers have seen the synergy between television shows and merchandise sales. Shaktimaan (1997), India’s first superhero TV show, created a full-fledged merchandising wave with action figures, costumes, comic books, and school accessories, following the steps of what major Hollywood characters’ IPs had been doing for decades. Similarly, television shows such as Chhota Bheem and My Friend Ganesha, which reflect elements of Indian religious heritage, also found merchandising success. These examples demonstrate the potential of building a synergy between movie studios and toy and games companies.

So, what will it take for Indian toy and movie companies to collaborate with Indian movie studios and producers to set up strategic toy-film integration seen in global franchises such as Transformers or Barbie? This requires understanding the strategy Mattel and Warner Bros. adopted for the Barbie movie, which led to its success.

To replicate the success of Barbie, Indian studios and toy brands must come together to build imaginative, culturally rich, and commercially viable content. The Barbie movie employed nostalgia as an emotionally driven engagement tool by adopting design elements, colour schemes, vintage fashion, and cultural references drawn from Barbie’s past, which renewed emotional connections with fans who had earlier played with Barbie. On similar lines, traditional toys, such as Channapatna figures, Kathputli puppets, Thanjavur dolls, and Kondapalli dolls, can be reimagined as animated or live-action characters with distinct personalities and narratives. These characters can embody themes such as mythology, fantasy, rural dreams, gender equality, and environmentalism to build a culturally-rich narrative. We have examples like S. S. Rajamouli, director of the Baahubali franchise, who has openly acknowledged the influence of Amar Chitra Katha comics in developing the characters and imagery of Baahubali movies.

Mattel also used the release of the Barbie movie as an opportunity to launch a new range of Barbie products, which were modelled on Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, actors playing the lead characters of Barbie and Ken in the movie. These products, specific to the movie release time, are often portrayed as collectibles and build up the revenue stream.

In India, animation studios such as Green Gold TV (producers of Chhota Bheem) frequently use this strategy to roll out new merchandise. In the case of a few movies, we have seen supermarkets often dedicating themed sections for merchandise related to popular films. However, this opportunity is largely missed due to a lack of proactive collaboration between toy companies and movie studios.

Many movies have cross-brand collaborations where studios partner with other companies to expand related product lines and introduce new stock-keeping units of the product lines. This phenomenon was also seen for the Barbie movie, which strategically established partnerships with more than 165 major and emerging brands across different sectors. These partnerships brought additional revenue and helped amplify the movie’s reach, which turned it into a blockbuster. Indian movie studio and toy company partnerships can turn a toy movie into a successful business by cross-industry tie-ups with fashion, home décor, food, school accessories (i.e., backpacks, stationery, and lunchboxes), hospitality, and education brands.

We have examples like fast-food chains such as McDonald’s, which offer movie-based collectibles through their kids’ meals. The producers of Baahubali collaborated with food giant Nestle to launch limited edition packs of Munch. The release of the Baahubali movie saw many Indian restaurants launching “Baahubali Thali,” which capitalized on the movie’s success. Similarly, Ra.One movie had a promotional tie-up with Sony PlayStation to develop a game based on the movie’s characters.

In the digital space, we also see examples of movies inspired mobile games and digital collectibles, which tap into the growing interest in digital merchandise. While these examples illustrate that efforts for partnerships have been made in India, there is a lack of a sustained and integrated approach that can convert the movie into a broader commercial and cultural phenomenon.

Despite the evolution of the Indian toy industry and a rich toy heritage, movies based on Indian toys are in the nascent stage. By combining deep-rooted Indian cultural toy heritage with strong storytelling, high production values, and strategic marketing involving cross-brand promotions, Indian studios have the potential to create cinematic experiences that are both globally appealing and culturally rooted. Indian film studios such as YRF, Dharma, Red Chillies Entertainment, or OTT-backed players can partner with toy brands such as Funskool, Toy Zone, or Desi Toys to co-create content and merchandise. Such partnerships can also involve working with established Indian animation studios such as Green Gold Animation, Reliance Animation, Toonz Animation, or Cosmos-Maya to create high-quality visuals and emotionally engaging storytelling.

The success of such ventures will boost India’s toy and entertainment industries and spread Indian cultural narratives on the global stage. With the right vision, investment, and partnerships, India can create its own Barbie-like phenomenon, transforming traditional toys into a powerful tool to promote identity and inspire generations.

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