Given the craze and complete fixation surrounding it during the previous summer, one would think that selling the Barbie movie to Hollywood studios was simple. Not true.
“Movies are a crazy business where you are selling something that isn’t tangible, it’s an idea,” The Times was told by renowned Australian actress Margot Robbie, who portrayed Barbie in the well-known film that took in an incredible $1.4 billion at the box office. “You don’t know how much money it will bring in, who will see it, whether they will see it, or how it will be received.”
The recent introduction of Robbie’s gin brand, Papa Salt, which was motivated by her numerous evenings spent out clubbing in London’s Clapham district, has proven to be more of a sure thing. Robbie remarked of entering the alcohol industry, “This feels a lot more straightforward, it’s easier to predict things.” “In a way that you can’t lay out a movie idea, you can lay this out on a spreadsheet.”
Put another way, selling a product is far more practical than selling a concept, and she is in business with a group of pals that include Charlie Maas, Regan Riskas, and her husband, Tom Ackerley.
From clubbing nights to crafting gin: The birth of Papa Salt
Robbie told The Times that she and “thousands of other Aussie Londoners” attended Infernos nightclub, which gave her the idea for the delicately flavored gin. Robbie used to take vanilla tea bags in her purse for these nights out.
She preferred gin and tonics over other drinks, but that didn’t mean they were always great.
“It tastes amazing all of a sudden when you stick one in a bad G&T. My purse would be strewn with them,” she remembered. “I’d buy a round and just give the tea bags to people.”
Robbie, along with the other cofounders of Papa Salt, set out to create a gin that could, in their words, “complement any soda, taste great with tonic, and make a mean martini.” They sold an “easy-drinking gin that celebrates the subtle taste of native Australian botanicals,” like a zesty wax flower, hibiscus, and citrus peel, after 59 recipes. Other complimentary aromas include oyster shell, pink peppercorn, and nutty wattleseed, an edible seed from Australia.
It wasn’t always easy to create a great-tasting alcoholic beverage, even though it was simpler to market a gin brand idea than a movie. Robbie went to Australia to meet with Australia’s most famous distiller, Brian Restall, and the two “absolutely sh**faced” over the concept for the brand. Restall, however, was quickly won over to the notion, according to a Forbes Australia story.
Margot Robbie’s career highlights and financial success
Despite Barbie’s undeniable return to prominence over Robbie last summer, she has featured in several other successful motion pictures and television series. With more than 300 episodes, she made her television debut in the Australian soap opera Neighbours. In 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street, a film that generated approximately $407 million at the box office, she portrayed the gorgeous wife of disgraced stockbroker Jordan Belfort, Naomi Lapaglia. Her other roles include Harley Quinn in the Suicide Squad films and Jane Porter in The Legend of Tarzan.
But she gained fame when she was named an Academy Award winner for her portrayal of figure skater Tonya Harding in the biopic I, Tonya. This led to her being cast as Queen Elizabeth I in the film Mary Queen of Scots.
Remarkably, though, neither she nor director Greta Gerwig received an Academy Award nomination for their roles in Barbie, a move that is regarded as one of the worst snubs in the annals of awards criticism. Barbie was the 2023 movie with the highest gross, and Robbie earned $12.5 million last year—the largest salary of any Hollywood woman.
With earnings from her roles in movies and LuckyChap Entertainment, a production company she founded with her friends and husband, Robbie’s net worth is believed to be $60 million.
As an actor, Robbie said to Marie Claire Australia in 2023, “There’s only so much you can do.” “As a producer, you get to be a part of the conversations about who is being hired and in what roles and how much they’re getting paid.”
Final thoughts
Margot Robbie’s journey from selling the Barbie movie idea to launching her gin brand illustrates the diverse challenges and triumphs of her career. While the Barbie film’s incredible success showcased her ability to bring a blockbuster vision to life, her venture into the world of alcohol with Papa Salt demonstrates a new, more substantial side of her business acumen. Robbie’s career, marked by significant achievements and a notable net worth, continues to evolve as she explores both creative and entrepreneurial endeavors.
(Tashia Bernardus)