Will Ferrell Reacts to ‘Barbie’ Success and Why it Deserves ‘Every Accolade’ (Exclusive)

Will Ferrell says he believes the cast and crewmembers of Barbie deserve “every accolade” coming to them. 

The actor, 56, talked with ET’s Nischelle Turner from the red carpet of the Los Angeles premiere for May December — which the Elf star served as an executive producer on. In 2023, the comedian has also produced the final season of HBO’s Succession, Hulu’s Quiz Lady, and Searchlight’s Theater Camp. 

During the discussion, Ferrell said it was so good to finally be back after the 118-day SAG-AFTRA strike, which prevented him from talking about or promoting films he appeared in, including Barbie. Now, able to talk about the summer blockbuster, the beloved actor says he is so happy that the movie became a massive hit. 

“I love that people flocked to see it and they deserve every accolade,” he told ET. “I’m so happy for Greta [Gerwig] and for Margot [Robbie] and Ryan [Gosling],” he said. “When I read that script, I was like ‘this is going to be huge.'” 

Ferrell, who plays Mattel’s CEO in the film, described his reaction to first stepping into the pink-filled world of Barbie and Ken and how his instincts told him from early on that the movie would make an impact. 

“When I walked onto those sets and saw that Mattel was actually letting this happen, I thought ‘Oh my gosh, this could have a real chance to be one of those zeitgeist things that has a real cultural statement.'” 

By early September, Barbie had made more than $1.4 billion worldwide at the box office.

Outside of the box office, earlier this week, Barbie: The Album — the star-studded accompaniment to Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking blockbuster — picked up a Grammy nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and 10 other nominations. 

Four of the five nominees in the Best Song Written for Visual Media went to tracks from Barbie — “I’m Just Ken,” “Dance the Night,” “What Was I Made For,” and Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World.” The only outsider is Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The film has also received major Oscar buzz, with Variety predicting nominations in the categories of Outstanding Adapted Screenplay, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Film and more. 

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