Platinum-Blond Hair Salon Requests Reach Unprecedented Heights

Warner Bros. has shelled out roughly $150 million to market "Barbie" — slightly more than the film's production budget — and that money appears to have been well spent. Aside from the boosts to Warner Bros.'s own bottom line and those of beauty salons worldwide, the "Barbie" effect can also be seen when viewing search engine and social media metrics for the early summer months. TikTok users have created more than three million posts with the #Barbie hashtag in the past month, and Google Trends shows a more than 300% increase in "Barbie"-related searches in July 2023 compared to July 2022.

The film's massive marketing campaign includes a limited-edition Xbox console, a special-edition Balmain hoodie priced at $1,350, and a "Barbie"-themed Boston Harbor cruise. And while it's not a part of Warner Bros.'s official marketing push, someone calling himself Ken has built a hot-pink Malibu DreamHouse and has listed it on Airbnb, although bookings are unavailable as of this writing. 

With the film still racking up rave reviews (it has a 90% approval rating from critics and an 87% from fans at Rotten Tomatoes), expect Barbiemania to carry on well through the summer, leaving a trail of dyed blond tresses behind it.