An instant classic that just may have spawned Hollywood’s next obsession wonders what it was made for on streaming

Say what you will about the market-driven storytelling of the MCU, the unfettered cynicism of a few too many Sony films, and the too-frequent anti-competence of every other streaming original. In all the muck, there remain countless bodies who are doing some fantastic creative work in the realm of cinema, and when homeruns are hit, the people listen.

Margot Robbie’s production company LuckyChap is one such body, and it was largely responsible for this niche little film called Barbie, the Greta Gerwig-masterminded fantasy comedy that decimated the box office, made the Oscars pretty in pink, and has since enjoyed the ups and downs of streaming relevance.

And right now, it’s up. Per FlixPatrol, Barbie is having a great day as the ninth most-watched film on the United States’ Netflix film charts at the time of writing, succeeding the likes of a 10th-place We’re the Millers, but falling short of the Megan Fox sci-fi thriller Subservience (fourth place) and the Taron Egerton actioner masterclass Carry-On (first place)

The film stars Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie, a doll living in the matriarchal Barbieland, and who’s always in a constant state of having the best day ever. One day, however, she starts thinking about death (like a total weirdo, of course), which leads her on an adventure to the real world in order to find the child that plays with her, in hopes of curing the child’s (and, by extension, her own) existentialism. Traveling with her is Ken, who gets a few too many ideas about how Barbieland could be different after spending some time in California.

As one of 2023’s major cultural boons alongside its box office rival Oppenheimer, Barbie is a film that has been analyzed and dissected top to bottom from just about every angle. Many viewers immediately vibed with its infectious personality, but time will prove that it’s Barbie‘s unwavering love for humanity — one that understands flaws and emotional lows as gifts, that skews the matriarchy as measuredly as the patriarchy, and that trusts its audience to bring sincerity to the viewing experience — that will truly cement its place in cinematic history.

Beyond that, it may also go on to be remembered as that film that kicked off the most bizarre trend that Hollywood may ever play host to; high-concept proceedings wrapped up in classic toys, board games, and other such novelties.

Daniel Kaluuya, for instance, is still hard at work on his “surrealistic” Barney movie, while some of LuckyChap’s future ventures include a Monopoly movie, and a Sims adaptation from former Loki head director Kate Herron. Elsewhere, Hasbro Entertainment has a deal with Sony to make a Clue film (which will be produced by Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort label), while Paramount has the rights to a Play-Doh film. Vin Diesel will also be starring in a live-action Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie down the line.

Does this all sound completely dystopian? Yeah, maybe a little, but if Barbie has shown us anything, it’s that a thin IP is more than capable of ballooning into a genuinely great story, so long as it actually cares about being a story. Another way of saying that is that these movies will be awesome so long as they don’t suck, so let’s just see what happens.