Margot Robbie reportedly made a whopping $50 million from starring in and producing “Barbie,” according to a new Variety report that claims the film’s sequel is in crisis.
Sources told Variety that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has refused to pay the salaries negotiated for the core “Barbie” team, which includes Robbie, her co-star Ryan Gosling, director Greta Gerwig, and her co-writer husband, Noah Baumbach.
The studio has allegedly made more than six offers in the three years since “Barbie” came out. However, all of them have been rejected by the creative team.
The latest offer, per Variety, was Warner Bros.’ “highest ever.” One source described the amount as “life-changing money.”
But another source disputed that claim, insisting the individual compensation offered to Robbie, Gosling, Gerwig and Baumbach is not as “historic” as the combined figure.
The alleged financial asks include “pay bumps in upfront fees and generous increases in back-end participation” for the core team of four minus Baumbach, who would only get “a fee hike.”
Gosling, 45, is reportedly asking for $20 million to reprise his Oscar-nominated role as Ken in the sequel.
One insider claimed that if Warner Bros. can’t reach an agreement with the foursome, the “Barbie” movie rights will go to toy company Mattel, which can license the brand to another studio.
Aside from confirming Robbie’s “Barbie” payday, sources told Variety that Gerwig, 43, made “tens of millions of dollars” from the 2023 film.
Gerwig and Baumbach have an idea for a sequel, Variety confirmed, but the couple reportedly won’t tell Warner Bros. about the concept or start writing it until the contracts are signed.
Page Six has reached out to reps for Robbie, Gosling, Gerwig, Baumbach and Warner Bros. for comment.
After “Barbie” earned $1.4 billion worldwide, the team — including Gerwig — spoke about the possibility of making a sequel.
“My North Star is ‘What do I deeply love? What do I really care about?’ Like, ‘What’s the story underneath this story?’” the filmmaker said at Time’s Women of the Year event in March 2024.
“And I think with ‘Barbie,’ the story underneath this story was I loved Barbie,’” Gerwig noted. “If I find the undertow, then we get it. If I don’t find an undertow, there’s no more.”
Gerwig added that she “loved” making “Barbie” with the cast and crew and “the idea of getting to be with that group of people again is very exciting.”
Robbie, meanwhile, previously told the Associated Press that she “can’t imagine” making a follow-up to the blockbuster film.
“I think we put everything into this one. We didn’t build it to be a trilogy or something,” she said in November 2023. “Greta put everything into this movie, so I can’t imagine what would be next.”
