If you thought you had your thrill and then fill of the hype surrounding the blockbuster “Barbie” film this summer, get ready for part two of the hot pink takeover.
The film, which has grossed $1.44 billion since its July 21 debut in theaters, is now the top choice for Halloween costumes, according to local sales associates in Tallahassee. Other choices competing for the top spot are Wednesday Addams of “Addams Family” fame, Chucky of “Child’s Play”, and the tried and true witch costume.
Alana Masslieno, a Florida A&M University student, plans to dress as Western Barbie this year. She says she chose Barbie because she enjoyed the outfits in the movie and pink happens to be her favorite color.
“This year, one of my guy friends will be dressing up as Western Ken to match my Barbie costume,” the 21-year-old said. “As soon as I saw the movie this summer, I knew what one of my Halloween costumes was going to be.”
Spending on Halloween-related purchases, from candy corn to costumes, is expected to generate $12.2 billion for retailers this season, according to the National Retail Federation’s study conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, USA TODAY reported.
In Tallahassee, the two Spirit Halloween stores, 1694 N. Monroe St., and 1574 Governors Square Blvd., are filled with animatronics, home décor, holograms, and wide variations of costumes and accessories.
The Spirit Halloween on North Monroe Street has storage units outside of its location to keep its overstocked merchandise.
Last Halloween, the store received weekly shipments of 200 to 600 boxes of merchandise. This year, due to overstocked items and a new location, they receive about 50 boxes once or twice a week.
Costume prices for adults range from $35 to $50 at both store locations. For children, prices fall between $20 and $30. Costumes also are available at most retailers and even Goodwill, where costume bargains are advertised at its Apalachee Parkway location.
Roddie Piva, the assistant manager at the North Monroe location, says compared to last year, people are staying away from the traditional costumes and going more toward licensed costumes from different television series and films.
“Spirit tends to stick with what is popular,” Piva said. “I think it coincides with the movies and TV shows being released like “Scream,” for example. Customers go for what’s on demand because of what’s popular in the media.”
According to Google’s Frightgeist site, the five top costumes are Barbie, Spider-Man, followed by princesses, witches, and fairies. This mirrors what is trending in Tallahassee this season.
Kim Fahmie, a sales associate at Spirit Halloween in the former Bed Bath & Beyond building on Governors Square Boulevard, says other top costumes are characters from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” as well.
Ramzy Sessions, a sales associate at North Monroe Street, says couple costumes like “peanut butter and jelly” or “toast and avocado” are also trending.
Karsyn Fletcher and Russell Lewis are romantic partners who live in Tallahassee. The couple says they love dressing up together each year during the spooky season.
“This Halloween, we are going as the two burglars from ‘Home Alone,’ ” Fletcher said while shopping for a crowbar accessory at Spirit Halloween. “Last year, we were Chucky and Tiffany from the ‘Chucky’ series.”
The couple also gave their predictions on what the most popular Halloween costumes will be this year.
“I imagine there will be many Barbie costumes, but we’ve been seeing a lot of butterflies, fairies, and Michael Myers costumes too,” Lewis said, referring to the star of the “Halloween” movie.
The most popular Tallahassee costumes for adults and children
According to sales associates, here’s what’s popular for age groups in Tallahassee:
Adults:
- Barbie
- Wednesday Addams
- Witches
Children:
- Bluey
- Barbie
- Spider-Man
Democrat writer Mikiyah Everett can be reached at Meverett@gannett.com