Margot Robbie has found many ways to make a name for herself within the entertainment industry. Last year, she starred in hit movies, including Barbie, which crushed at the box office as part of the Barbenheimer craze. She also has her own production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, which she runs alongside her husband, Tom Ackerley, and others. Now, following the footsteps of fellow A-listers like George Clooney, The Rock, and Ryan Reynolds, the Aussie actress will also dive into the alcohol game. And, so far, she finds working within the business to be “easier than selling a movie.”
The Academy Award nominee still plans to show her beautiful face on the big screen through the upcoming film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey and in future movies, of course. But she, too, has seemingly been enticed to throw her hat into the ring when it comes to the booze business. Margot Robbie spoke to The Times about developing her own gin brand, Papa Salt, which was launched in London last week. Here’s why she believes working within in the alcohol industry is “easier” than selling a movie:
Movies are a crazy business where you are selling something that isn’t tangible, it’s an idea. You have no idea how much it’s going to make, who’s going to see it, if they’ll see it or how it will be received. This feels a lot more straightforward, it’s easier to predict things. You can lay this out on a spreadsheet in a way that you can’t lay out a movie idea.
I can understand what the movie producer is talking about. The film industry can be very unpredictable due to a variety of factors. Even if you believe in your idea, subjective audiences ultimately decide the fate of a movie’s success. Just recently, The Fall Guy was projected to earn $30-35 million at the weekend box office, but the summer blockbuster presented an underwhelming show of only $27.7 million despite positive reviews from critics. In the Babylon star’s estimation, the business model for alcohol is a bit more straightforward.
The idea for Papa Salt came from both Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley sharing a love of gin with their friends Josey McNamara, Charlie Maas, and Regan Riskas Maas. The problem was that they couldn’t find a gin in LA that they really liked. Then, Robbie followed a tip given to her by a backpacker- add vanilla tea bags to help with the taste. This is all the more reason why may see the Wolf of Wall Street actress carry vanilla tea bags in her purse now whenever she goes clubbing. Ultimately, the gin was born out of Robbie’s desire to give customers a real taste of what a day at the beach in Australia is like via sip of gin. Though she didn’t want it to simply be known as “Margot Robbie’s gin” but “five best friends’ gin” to show this was a team effort more than anything.
As mentioned, the Barbiecore trendsetter is just one A-list celebrity jumping on the alcohol game bandwagon like many who came before her. In 2013, George Clooney co-founded Casamigos Tequila, which was sold to British alcohol company Diageo in 2017. The Rock is also has his own brand, Teremana Small Batch Tequila. In fact, there was even a little competition between the two as Dwayne Johnson compared his brand to Clooney’s as having sold a million cases in a year compared to Casamigos’ 170,000 cases annually.
Ryan Reynolds also got into the game by acquiring a stake in Aviation American Gin. His brand was so popular that even a fan used it to make a Green Lantern gin by mixing it with Mountain Dew. With the alcoholic beverage industry being such a massive success for celebrities, it’s no wonder many of them are willing to take part in it.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Margot Robbie manages to find success with her latest endeavor. But, despite the challenges that come with being a producer, she’s still continuing to bring forth projects that interest her like My Old Ass starring Aubrey Plaza and a film inspired by classic toy Monopoly. She’a also involved in the movie adaptation of The Sims. If I were Robbie right now, I’d probably toast my continued success with a bit of that gin.
Make sure to watch the Margot Robbie co-produced movie My Old Ass, which opens in select theaters on August 2 as part of the 2024 movie schedule and will later be available for Prime Video subscribers to stream.