Mattel Films is an American film studio division of the American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company Mattel. The company is focused on developing and producing motion pictures based on Mattel's iconic and globally-recognized franchises.[2] Founded on September 6, 2018 by Ynon Kreiz,[3][4] who was appointed as the CEO of Mattel that same year, the film division is part of an initiative under Kreiz to revive Mattel,[5] which was a struggling company prior to Kreiz becoming CEO, as well as bolster sales of the company.[6] It is currently headquartered in El Segundo, California, the same place as its parent company.
The film division is currently lead by Robbie Brenner who was appointed to lead and serve as executive producer of the film division on the same day it was founded.[2]
History[]
Mattel Playground Productions logo.
2013-2016: Mattel Playground Productions[]
Beginnings[]
In 2013, it was announced that the multinational toy manufacturing company Mattel had created an in-house studio division known as Mattel Playground Productions. Based out of the company’s headquarters in El Segundo, California, the division was meant to create original entertainment, based on brands that the company owned, for various platforms.[7] This included creating original films, TV shows, Web series, live events and games, but also managing how consumers were introduced to its brands across various platforms.[8] The division was lead by David Voss, a twenty-year veteran in the toy and entertainment business at the time, serving as senior vice president.[9]
Films[]
The film side of the division was lead by Julia Pistor[10] who served as producer and executive producer of feature films.[9] Pistor previously served as head of the film division HIT Movies, a film division of the children's entertainment company HIT Entertainment, which got bought out by Mattel. Theatrical films announced under Playground Productions included adaptations based on Barbie (in partnership with Sony),[11] Masters of the Universe (in partnership with Columbia Pictures),[9] Hot Wheels (in partnership with Legendary)[10] and Max Steel (in partnership with Dolphin Films and Open Road Films)[9][10][7] with only the latter coming into fruition under the banner. Max Steel opened on October 14, 2016 and finished at eleventh place at the box office with generally unfavorable reviews.
Mattel Creations absorption[]
In January 2016, Voss left the division for the monthly mystery-box subscription service Loot Crate to be chief creative officer.[12] That same year on March 31, Mattel Playground Productions was absorbed into Mattel Creations, a division that would bring three of their internal content production units together, with the other two being HIT Entertainment and American Girl.[13] Theatrical films announced under the Mattel Playground Productions banner would be shelved and moved into what some consider the division's successor.
2018-: Mattel's revival and Mattel Films[]
Robbie Brenner and Ynon Kreiz Fortune Brainstorm 2019 (Photo by Fortune Magazine)
During the existence of Mattel Playground Productions, the company of Mattel struggled as a whole, including a total revenue plunge from $6.5 billion in 2013 to $4.5 billion in 2018 and a profit of more than $900 million in 2013 became a loss of $533 million.[14] In April 2018, Ynon Kreiz, a member of Mattel's board since 2017, became CEO of Mattel, replacing Margo Georgiadis, after the continued weak sales. When becoming the new CEO, one of his initiatives was to revitalize the company included the launch of Mattel Films, a film division of Mattel that would focus on developing and producing motion pictures based on the company's franchises. Prior to joining Mattel, Kreiz had more than two decades of experience in the media and entertainment industries, particularly children’s entertainment.[15]
Acclaimed film producer Robbie Brenner was appointed to head the division, on the day the film division was announced, as executive producer reporting to Kreiz.[16] The revived division's first two projects announced were to be Barbie and Masters of the Universe live-action films that were in previous development[17] under Mattel Playground Productions. A few days later, the division announces that Kevin McKeon had been hired as Supervising Producer and eventually became vice president shortly after. McKeon worked with Brenner previously as a production executive at Unburdended Entertainment where Brenner was principal, and at Relativity Media’s independent label Relativity Squared (R2) where he served as a creative executive. He originally served as Brenner’s assistant and worked with her during the production of the Oscar-winning film Dallas Buyers Club, for which she was nominated for best picture.[18]
Since the launch of the Mattel's film division, the film studio continued to announce film adaptations that were in previous development, including Hot Wheels, and newly announced films based on brands that Mattel owned with the collaboration of various Hollywood celebrities on each announced film. The strategy of the division is to lean on third-party companies to finance each project and partner with a studio and distributor. That strategy helps to mitigate the company’s financial risk however the film division is still involved in the projects.[19]
On March 3, 2022 it was announced that Marcy Kelly, who penned the script for a live-action film adaptation of UNO, landed a deal with the film division to write more films across their upcoming slate[20][21]
Productions[]
Feature films[]
| Title | Release Date(s)/Year(s) | Type | Production partner(s) |
Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbie | July 21, 2023 | Live-action film | LuckyChap Entertainment Heyday Films |
Warner Bros. Pictures | |
| Masters of the Universe | June 5, 2026 | Escape Artists | Amazon Studios | ||
| Barney | TBA | 59% Annapurna Pictures |
TBA | ||
| American Girl | TBA | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | TBA | ||
| Big Jim | TBA | TBA | |||
| Chatty Cathy and Betsy Wetsy | Aggregate Films | TBA | |||
| Christmas Balloon | Vital Pictures | TBA | |||
| Hot Wheels | Bad Robot | Warner Bros. Pictures | |||
| Magic 8 Ball | TBA | TBA | |||
| Major Matt Mason | Playtone Weed Road Pictures |
Paramount Pictures | |||
| Matchbox | Skydance Media | TBA | |||
| Polly Pocket | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Good Thing Going |
TBA | |||
| Thomas & Friends | 2Dux² | TBA | |||
| Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots | One Race Films | Universal Pictures | |||
| UNO | Quality Films | TBA | |||
| View-Master | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | TBA | |||
| Wishbone | Universal Pictures | TBA |
References[]
- ↑ Skydance Media and Mattel to Develop Matchbox Live-Action Motion Picture
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mattel Launches New Theatrical Film Division
- ↑ Mattel's Turnaround Strategies Under CEO Ynon Kreiz
- ↑ Mattel’s Revival Plan: Bet on Barbie, the Movie
- ↑ Ynon Kreiz - Mattel Inc. | Los Angeles Business Journal
- ↑ Mattel CEO hopes film division will revitalize the struggling toy company
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Mattel to Create Original Entertainment Through Playground Productions Banner (EXCLUSIVE)
- ↑ Mattel’s Bold Plan to Take Control Back From Hollywood
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Mattel Launches Playground Productions, a Creative Storytelling Division Focused on Multiplatform Entertainment
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Julia Pistor, VP Entertainment/Executive Producer, Playground Productions, Mattel
- ↑ Sony Pictures Entertainment And Mattel Announce Plan To Bring The Iconic Character Of Barbie To Life On Screen
- ↑ Former Mattel SVP to head up creative at Loot Crate
- ↑ | Mattel Creations Formed To Centralize Toy Giant’s Theatrical, TV & Digital Content
- ↑ It’s Hollywood Barbie’s Moment (and She’s Bringing Her Friends)
- ↑ Mattel’s CEO Georgiadis heads to Ancestry. Toymaker taps Ynon Kreiz to replace her
- ↑ Mattel Launches New Theatrical Film Division
- ↑ Mattel's New CEO Starts Movie Unit to Jump-Start Film Franchises
- ↑ Mattel Films Taps Kevin McKeon As Supervising Producer
- ↑ Mattel looks to movies, digital gaming and NFTs for its next leg of growth
- ↑ ‘Uno’ Scribe Marcy Kelly Inks Deal With Mattel Films
- ↑ The Writer Of The UNO Movie Has Signed Up To Write More Movies About Things That Shouldn't Be Movies
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