11 December 2024
Newsdesk
Barbie The Movie: In Concert™ will receive its European premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in March, with the score and songs played live on stage by an all-women orchestra: the Barbie Land™ Sinfonietta.
Barbie The Movie: In Concert on Wednesday 5 March will see the film screened in full, as its soundtrack is performed live on stage. The Barbie Land™ Sinfonietta will be conducted by Macy Schmidt, a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree who orchestrated the score for the event, and recently became the first woman-of-colour orchestrator in Broadway history.
Schmidt said: “Music lends so much heart and excitement to the Barbie film; between the stunning and clever orchestral score and the iconic pop soundtrack, music is carrying us through the story. I’m particularly excited to have partnered with Mattel as I’ve long been inspired by Barbie’s purpose statement: ‘to inspire the limitless potential in every girl.’ It couldn’t be more fitting to have an all-women orchestra bringing this film’s message to life onstage, and we are immensely honoured to have our European premiere in such a storied venue as the Royal Albert Hall.”
Josh Silverman, Chief Franchise Officer at Mattel, said: "Mattel is thrilled for fans of all ages to join us for this immersive Barbie experience, combining Mattel's dedication to entertaining and delighting fans with an epic celebration of Barbie the Movie, bringing the fantastic film to life like never before. The talents of Macy Schmidt and The Barbie Land™ Sinfonietta guarantee an unparalleled and unforgettable adventure.”
The full-length feature film, Barbie, received more than 450 industry nominations and 120 wins, including eight Academy Award® nominations and the Oscar for Best Original Song. Music from Barbie was nominated for 11 GRAMMY Awards ®, with three wins secured in key categories, including Song Of The Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media (Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, “What Was I Made For?”), and Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media.
Mattel Films’ first theatrical production, Barbie was released worldwide on July 21, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The highest-grossing film of 2023 and the highest-grossing in Warner Bros. history, Barbie was directed by Greta Gerwig from a screenplay written by Gerwig & Noah Baumbach. Warner Bros. Pictures Presents a Heyday Films Production, a LuckyChap Entertainment Production, an NB/GG Pictures Production, a Mattel Production, Barbie. The film is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Films in Concert launched in 2009, building on the venue’s history as a place to experience cinema with live musical accompaniment during the heyday of silent film. In the past 15 years, it has curated a programme of beloved films whose unforgettable scores have been performed by the likes of the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Chineke! Orchestra.
Titles have ranged from vibrant musicals (Singin’ in the Rain, West Side Story) to canonical classics (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Godfather) and contemporary blockbusters (Interstellar, Skyfall). The premiere of Jurassic Park in Concert broke all box-office records, selling out its 20,000 tickets in just 24 hours.
Creatives who’ve appeared at the shows have included stars Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick), Sigourney Weaver (Aliens) and Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), directors James Cameron (Titanic) and Sir Sam Mendes (Skyfall), and composer David Arnold (Casino Royale).
Matthew Todd, Director of Programming at the Royal Albert Hall, said: “Next year’s Films in Concert calendar is looking spectacular. This sell-out series is about celebrating classic cinema and the art of the film score, by bringing movie music to centre stage. Whether you lean towards a zeitgeist-defining comedy like Barbie, fancy an evening of uproarious action cinema, or are in the mood for strapping yourself into a DeLorean and travelling to 1955, we can help – and we’ll throw in an orchestra too.”
Tickets for Barbie The Movie: In Concert, priced from £25, are on sale for the venue’s Friends and Patrons from 10am on Thursday, and open to the wider public 24 hours later, at www.royalalberthall.com.
The record-shattering, full-length feature film joins RRR; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; a 25th anniversary presentation of Gladiator; and a special screening marking 40 years of Back to the Future in the venue’s Films in Concert line-up for 2025. The Sinfonietta is a global network of all-women orchestras renowned for reimagining the music of popular culture in a symphonic setting.
Barbie The Movie: In Concert is produced and licensed by Overture Global Entertainment on behalf of Mattel, Inc. and Warner Bros. Pictures.
