Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Inks First Look with Warner Bros. After ‘Barbie’ Success

Warner Bros. is staying in business with Margot Robbie, the star and producer of 2023 box office champion Barbie. The studio has set a first look film deal with LuckyChap, the banner Robbie runs with Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara.

Barbie stands as Warners’ highest grossing film of all time with $1.45 billion. It became a cultural phenomenon and landed eight Oscar nominations, including for best picture.

The deal is another feather in the cap for Warner Bros. film bosses Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, who have focused on courting top talent, signing Tom Cruise to a much ballyhooed (but non-exclusive) deal, and bringing Ryan Coogler’s next movie to the studio (wooing him with a deal in which the rights revert to him after a period of time).

These public facing moves have helped counter negative sentiment parent company Warner Bros. Discovery and CEO David Zaslav have earned in creative circles for controversial decisions to shelve films such as Batgirl, Coyote vs. Acme and Scoob! Holiday Haunt.

Robbie, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, proved that she had producing chops with 2017’s I, Tonya, LuckyChap’s first film. It earned her a best actress nomination for playing figure skater Tonya Harding. The company went on to produce Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, both from filmmaker Emerald Fennell. Its latest project, My Old Ass, debuted at Sundance last month and was acquired by Amazon MGM Studios.

“Margot, Tom and Josey have built a unique home for storytellers at LuckyChap, where filmmakers are doing incredible work in a supportive and creatively freeing environment. As we build our theatrical film slate, Warner Bros. Discovery continues to invest and commit to working with the greatest partners in front of and behind the camera and LuckyChap is certainly among the very best,” said De Luca and Abdy in a statement. “We are excited to have Margot, Tom and Josey join our extended family, making movies of all sizes and genres for moviegoers the world over.”

Added LuckyChap’s partners in a statement: “We founded LuckyChap to fight for projects and filmmakers we believe in.  We are thrilled to be cementing our long-standing relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery. David, Mike and Pam share our commitment to storytelling and the theatrical experience. We can’t wait for what’s to come.”

LuckyChap is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, attorney Jeff Bernstein and Narrative.