The Masters Makes $1m per Hour in Merch Sales

Plus: Glossier needs more money and Steve's Lava Chicken

Welcome to Small Talk, an email I serve out every Monday morning exclusively to our Breakfast Club members in NYC and Charleston. The premise is simple: my top of mind topics for the week’s worth of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners ahead anytime some chatter is required. From now on, I’ll be sharing it with subscribers of The Supersonic as well. Enjoy, and crib topics as necessary.

It’s another busy week, especially as things ramp up with Blackbird Club, so I’ll keep this one brief.

For consideration …

• Chicken jockey!
  While it might not be my preferred piece of cinema, I’d be remiss to ignore the staggering success of the Minecraft movie. The global haul stands at a sweet $550M, but what’s truly impressive is how the movie has captured the cultural zeitgeist — at least that of teenage boys. Part of said cultural commotion is the Jack Black number “Steve’s Lava Chicken,” which has become a mega meme within an already meme-heavy movie. Released early on socials, fans have glommed onto the tune, as well as the flick’s other ridiculous moments, singing along, throwing buckets of popcorn, and prompting theaters to issue warnings to audiences. Rolling Stone calls it this generation’s Rocky Horror Picture Show. That said, the movie industry continues its slump. Excluding the pandemic, Q1 was the worst Hollywood’s seen since 1996, and original movies (i.e. non franchises and remakes) are not garnering audiences. One film surely to be divisive is Eddington, horror/anxiety auteur Ari Aster’s latest, which dropped its doomscrolling-happy trailer this morning. It’ll make its debut at Cannes next month.

• Boom boom budgeting
  Glossier, Emily Weiss’ millennial pink beauty brand that was valued at close to $2 billion back in 2021 is rumored to be back to raising money, albeit for a much lower valuation — sources say well south of $1 billion. Is this really the final nail in the girl boss era? Perhaps, or it could also be the fact that young women are “recession proofing” their lives by cutting out discretionary spending. The looming threat of a recession could threaten the current boom boom era, and finding saving hacks (ahem, Breakfast Club) is certainly prudent. Or, maybe people aren’t broke but just suffer from “money dysmorphia?”

• Merch mania
  Thankfully, some status symbols are affordable, if you purchase them in time. Take the Trader Joe’s viral tote, now back in four different pastel colors in time for Easter. You can nab one for $2.99 at Trader Joe’s. If not, you’ll have to scour secondary markets like eBay, where they’re already fetching $400. Of course the og iykyk merch has to be that belonging to The Masters. Only available at Augusta National during the tournament, merch sales rake in $70 million over seven days, or $1 million an hour. And, yes, naturally there is a secondary market for this stuff, which one outfit is exploiting. Here’s a family who would be going to Augusta IRL: the Ratliffs, of White Lotus Season 3 fame. The fictitious family of five certainly loved themselves some Duke merch, something that—in case you missed it—the actual University is none too pleased with.

Quicker hits …

• This Italian train? Che bella.

• Behold: Roger Federer as a frosted-tipped teen in his bedroom.

• The fashion crowd dines at Raf's on the DL.

Enjoy your week.

BL

Ben Leventhal
Founder + CEO
Blackbird