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For mallgoers at Westfield Garden State Plaza, it was Barbie’s world and they were just shopping in it.

After months of marketing and brand collaborations, the movie version of Mattel’s famous toy hit theaters July 21 and fans across the country were ready, showing up clad in all shades of pink, and driving the Warner Bros. film to a $162 million opening at the box office. 

Recognizing the buzz that “Barbie” is generating, the busy Paramus shopping mall marked Barbie’s live action debut on the big screen with “The Ultimate Pink Party,” an event that drew more than 4,000 attendees – double what was anticipated.

Along with music, photo opportunities with Barbie and Ken lookalikes and a complimentary Barbie painting class, the July 22 festivities included giveaways to the first 250 people of pink tote bags filled with exclusives from AMC Theatres, Sephora, Lego, Chick-Fil-A, Fabletics, Toobydoo and other retailers.

Wesley Rebisz, the mall’s senior general manager, told NJBIZ, “We created ‘The Ultimate Pink Party’ in celebration of the Barbie movie as a way to enhance customer engagement surrounding the buzz related to the film and to support all of our tenants that have related offerings including our 16 screen AMC Theatres.”

“While Westfield Garden State Plaza has always been known as a premiere retail destination, we’ve continued to enhance our customer offerings with more experiential activations including our Sunday Farmer’s Market, the opening of our Garden Social space and an ever-expanding array of dining options. In addition to supporting our shoppers, we are committed to supporting our retailers and with so many of them offering Barbie promotions and merchandise, we knew everyone would love a Barbie party,” he said.