Margot Robbie Pitched Barbie to Studios By Saying It Would Be a $1 Billion Movie

After years of being in the works and months of becoming a pop culture phenomenon, the Barbie movie is almost in theaters. Barbie stars and is executive produced by Margot Robbie — and her passion for getting the project off the ground manifested in a unique way. In a recent interview with Collider, Robbie revealed that when she was originally asking studios to greenlight Barbie, she argued that the movie could make a $1 billion. While that might sound a bit hyperbolic, Barbie's most recent box office projections could ultimately prove Robbie's point in earnest.

"I think my pitch in the green-light meeting was the studios have prospered so much when they're brave enough to pair a big idea with a visionary director," Robbie explained. "And then I gave a series of examples like, "dinosaurs and [Steven] Spielberg," that and that, that and that – pretty much naming anything that's been incredible and made a ton of money for the studios over the years. And I was like, "And now you've got Barbie and Greta Gerwig." And I think I told them that it'd make a billion dollars, which maybe I was overselling, but we had a movie to make, okay?!"

"Can you imagine that first meeting?" Robbie said of Jurassic Park. "They're like, "Dinosaurs? I don't know, I mean, yeah? That might turn out kind of silly." And then here we are decades later being like, "That's the greatest movie ever.""

Will There Be a Barbie Sequel?

As Robbie teased in a previous interview with TIME, the possibility of a Barbie sequel is definitely open, depending on the film's box office performance.

"It could go a million different directions from this point," Robbie argued.

How Many Mattel Movies Are in the Works?

According to a new report from The New Yorker, there are a total of 45 Mattel-related movies in the process of getting made, including (but not limited to) Barney, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket, and He-Man. Other projects that have been announced to be in development over the years include American Girl, Big Jim, Chatty Cathy and Betsy Wetsy, Magic 8 Ball, Matchbox, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Thomas & Friends, Uno, View-Master, and Wishbone.

"Barbie is one of the most iconic franchises in the world and we are excited to partner with Warner Bros. Pictures and Margot Robbie to bring her to life on the big screen," Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO of Mattel, said in a statement when the film took shape. "We look forward to building on this collaboration with Warner Bros. Pictures as we tell the stories of our beloved brands. Mattel Films is on a path to demonstrate the enormous potential of our brand portfolio, as we continue to execute on our strategy of transforming Mattel into an IP-driven, high performing toy company."

What Is the Barbie Movie About?

In Barbie, to live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie, which hits theaters on July 21st. Barbie stars Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren. Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach, based on Barbie by Mattel.