Mattel's Creatable World doll at Mattel's headquarters on September 5, 2019.
Angie Smith for TIME; Dolls: © Mattel

Pandemic boredom has been good for Mattel, the company behind some of the world’s most iconic toy brands, including Barbie and Hot Wheels. Its 2020 online sales were up 50%, as dolls, games and puzzles flew off virtual shelves. Even so, CEO Ynon Kreiz no longer sees Mattel as a toy-manufacturing company. Instead, he says, what they do is IP, with dozens of film and TV projects in development and production in partnership with major entertainment companies and big-name actors. (Think a Barbie movie, co-written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, and starring Margot Robbie, and Uno and Whac-A-Mole game shows.) “The opportunity for us is to expand beyond the toy aisle,” Kreiz tells TIME.

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