Labubu fans dote over ugly-cute doll trending at Comic-Con
'Blind boxes' are sealed boxes containing a surprise item that is usually part of a themed collection.
Naomi Galban, from San Diego, waited in line on Sunday at the Pop Mart booth in the San Diego Convention Center for a chance to get her first Labubu.
'Every time I go to a Pop Mart store, they're sold out,' the 24-year-old told Reuters. She hoped to buy one for her little sister.
Emily Brough, Pop Mart's Head of IP Licensing, spoke to Reuters on Thursday about Labubu fans at Comic-Con.
'We love to see how fans are personalizing it (Labubu) for themselves,' Brough said next to the Pop Mart booth.
While Brough noted that there were many people with a Labubu strapped to their bags and backpacks at Comic-Con, the doll's popularity did not happen overnight. Labubus had a huge boost in 2019 after Pop Mart began selling them, and in 2024, when Blackpink's Lisa, who is Thai, created a buying frenzy in Thailand after she promoted Labubu on social media.
Pop Mart saw sales skyrocket in North America that same year, with revenue in the US in the first quarter of 2025 already surpassing the full-year US revenue from 2024, Pop Mart said.
When he created Labubu, Lung gave the character, who is female, a backstory inspired by Nordic mythology.
He called her and his other fictional creatures 'The Monsters.'
Diana Goycortua, 25, first discovered Labubu through social media, and before she knew it, it felt like a 'game' to try and collect the dolls.
'It's a little bit of gambling with what you're getting,' the Labubu fan from San Diego said on Sunday while waiting at the Pop Mart booth, concluding that her love for the character made it worth trying blind boxes.
Goycortua already has three Labubus, and was hoping to score her a fourth one at Comic-Con.
For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @arabnews.lifestyle
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
10 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Book review: Following a vicious attack, a woman solves her own murder in Holly Jackson novel
After the shattering conclusion of Not Quite Dead Yet, author Holly Jackson addresses her readers this way: '…and breathe. Sorry. I know that was intense.' This is the first adult suspense novel by Jackson, the author of popular young-adult fiction including A Good Girls Guide to Murder, and it is emotionally wrenching from start to finish. The unforgettable protagonist is Jet Mason, a 27-year-old woman still living with her parents in Woodstock, Vermont. She's can't seem to get her life started – has never finished anything, including law school. 'I'll do it later,' she always says. 'I have plenty of time.' But she doesn't. Returning home after a Halloween party, she is attacked, her skull smashed with a hammer. When she wakes up in the hospital, she receives shocking news. Her surgeon was unable to remove a tiny bone fragment resting against a major blood vessel in her brain. If it remains there, it will cause a fatal brain aneurysm within seven days. If they try to remove it, they must act now, but she has only a remote chance of survival. Her doctor tells her that she must choose. Jet decides against surgery. With just seven days left, she is determined to finally finish something. Before she dies, she will solve her own murder. Leaving home to escape her mother's constant pleas to have the surgery, Jet teams up with Billy, a sweet young man who has loved her since they were children, and together they set out to unmask the killer. Jet never imagined that she had enemies, but before long, the police have arrested JJ, a former boyfriend who had never gotten over her. All but sure the police got it wrong, Jet persists, uncovering a series of family and small-town secrets that reveal an abundance of motives and suspects. The result is a fast-paced, intensely suspenseful race against time populated by an impressive collection of well-drawn characters. And in the end, the young woman who never finished anything emerges as a model of intelligence, courage, resilience, and decency.
Al Arabiya
15 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Celebrity birthdays for the week of Aug. 3-9
Actor Martin Sheen turns 85 on Aug. 3. Singer Beverly Lee of The Shirelles turns 84. Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart turns 84. Movie director John Landis turns 75. Actor Jo Marie Payton (Family Matters) turns 75. Actor Philip Casnoff (Oz Strong Medicine) turns 71. Actor John C. McGinley (Scrubs) turns 66. Bassist Lee Rocker (Stray Cats) turns 64. Actor Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary) turns 64. Singer-guitarist James Hetfield of Metallica turns 62. Singer Ed Roland of Collective Soul turns 62. Actor Isaiah Washington (Grey's Anatomy Soul Food) turns 62. Keyboardist Dean Sams of Lonestar turns 59. Guitarist Stephen Carpenter of Deftones turns 55. Musician Spinderella of Salt-N-Pepa turns 54. Actor Brigid Brannagh (CSI Army Wives) turns 53. Actor Michael Ealy (Think Like a Man Barbershop) turns 52. Violinist Jimmy De Martini of Zac Brown Band turns 49. Actor Evangeline Lilly (Lost) turns 46. Actor Mamie Gummer (The Good Wife) turns 42. Singer Holly Arnstein of Dream turns 40. Actor Georgina Haig (Once Upon a Time) turns 40. Bassist Brent Kutzle of OneRepublic turns 40. Rapper D.R.A.M. turns 37. Actor Tina Cole (My Three Sons) turns 82 on Aug. 4. Actor Billy Bob Thornton turns 70. Actor Kym Karath (The Sound of Music) turns 67. Actor Lauren Tom (Joy Luck Club Men in Trees) turns 66. Producer Michael Gelman (Live with Kelly and Ryan) turns 64. Actor Crystal Chappell (Guiding Light) turns 60. Drummer Rob Cieka of Boo Radleys turns 57. Actor Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-O Lost) turns 57. Actor Michael Deluise (Gilmore Girls NYPD Blue) turns 56. Rapper Yo-Yo (Miss Rap Supreme) turns 54. Singer-actor Marques Houston of Immature turns 44. Actor-turned-princess Meghan Markle (Suits) turns 44. Actor-director Greta Gerwig turns 42. American Idol runner-up Crystal Bowersox turns 40. Actors Dylan and Cole Sprouse (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody Grace Under Fire) turn 33. American Idol runner-up Jessica Sanchez turns 30. Actor Loni Anderson turns 80 on Aug. 5. Actor Erika Slezak (One Life To Live) turns 79. Actor-turned-journalist Holly Palance (Under Fire The Omen) turns 75. Singer Samantha Sang turns 74. Guitarist Eddie Ojeda of Twisted Sister turns 70. Actor Maureen McCormick (The Brady Bunch) turns 69. Guitarist Pat Smear of Foo Fighters turns 66. Country fiddler Mark O'Connor turns 64. Actor Mark Strong (The Imitation Game) turns 62. Director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) turns 59. Actor Jonathan Silverman (The Single Guy) turns 59. Country singer Terri Clark turns 57. Actor Stephanie Szostak (A Million Little Things) turns 54. Cellist Eicca Toppinen of Apocalyptica turns 50. Drummer Whit Sellers of Old Dominion turns 47. Actor Jesse Williams (Grey's Anatomy) turns 45. Actor Albert Tsai (Dr. Ken) turns 21. Actor Devin Trey Campbell (Single Parents) turns 17. Actor-director Peter Bonerz turns 87 on Aug. 6. Actor Louise Sorel (Days of Our Lives) turns 85. Actor Ray Buktenica (Rhoda) turns 82. Actor Dorian Harewood turns 75. Actor Catherine Hicks (Seventh Heaven) turns 74. Singer Pat MacDonald of Timbuk 3 turns 73. Actor Stepfanie Kramer (Hunter) turns 69. Actor Faith Prince is 68. Singer Randy DeBarge of DeBarge turns 67. Actor Leland Orser (ER) turns 66. Actor Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) turns 63. Country singers Peggy and Patsy Lynn of The Lynns turn 61. Actor Jeremy Ratchford (Cold Case) turns 60. Actor Benito Martinez (American Crime The Shield) turns 57. Country singer Lisa Stewart turns 57. Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense) turns 55. Actor Merrin Dungey (Summerland Alias) turns 54. Singer Geri Halliwell Horner of Spice Girls turns 53. Actor Jason O'Mara (Life on Mars) turns 53. Actor Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air The Departed) turns 52. Actor Soleil Moon Frye (Sabrina The Teenage Witch Punky Brewster) turns 49. Actor Melissa George (Alias Grey's Anatomy) turns 49. Singer Travis Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes turns 44. Actor Leslie Odom Jr. (stage: Hamilton TV: Smash) turns 44. Bassist Eric Roberts of Gym Class Heroes turns 41. Humorist Garrison Keillor turns 83 on Aug. 7. Actor John Glover (Smallville) turns 81. Actor David Rasche (Sledge Hammer!) turns 81. Country singer Rodney Crowell turns 75. Actor Caroline Aaron (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) turns 73. Actor Wayne Knight (Seinfeld) turns 70. Singer Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden turns 67. Actor David Duchovny (Californication The X-Files) turns 65. Actor Delane Matthews (Dave's World) turns 64. Actor Harold Perrineau (Lost Oz) turns 62. Jazz pianist Marcus Roberts turns 62. Country singer Raul Malo of The Mavericks turns 60. Actor David Mann (Madea films) turns 59. Actor Sydney Penny (The Thorn Birds All My Children) turns 54. Actor Greg Serano (Power) turns 53. Actor Michael Shannon (George and Tammy The Flash) turns 51. Actor Charlize Theron turns 50. Drummer Barry Kerch of Shinedown turns 49. Actor Eric Johnson (Fifty Shades Darker Smallville) turns 46. Actor Liam James (TV's Psych films The Way Way Back) turns 29. Actor Nita Talbot turns 95 on Aug. 8. Actor Dustin Hoffman turns 88. Actor Connie Stevens turns 87. Country singer Phil Balsley of The Statler Brothers turns 86. Actor Larry Wilcox (CHiPS) turns 78. Actor Keith Carradine (Madam Secretary) turns 76. Drummer Anton Fig (Late Show With David Letterman) turns 72. Actor Donny Most (Happy Days) turns 72. Keyboardist Dennis Drew of 10000 Maniacs turns 68. Actor-turned-investment banker Harry Crosby (Friday the 13th) turns 67. News anchor Deborah Norville turns 67. Guitarist The Edge of U2 turns 64. Drummer Rikki Rockett of Poison turns 64. Rapper Kool Moe Dee turns 63. Singer Scott Stapp of Creed turns 52. Country singer Mark Wills turns 52. Actor Kohl Sudduth (TV's Jesse Stone movies) turns 51. Guitarist Tom Linton of Jimmy Eat World turns 50. Singer J.C. Chasez of N Sync turns 49. Actor Tawny Cypress (Heroes) turns 49. Singer Drew Lachey of 98 Degrees turns 49. Singer Marsha Ambrosius (Floetry) turns 48. Actor Lindsay Sloane (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) turns 48. Actor Countess Vaughn (The Parkers Moesha) turns 47. Actor Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) turns 45. Actor Meagan Good (Think Like a Man) turns 44. Guitarist Eric Howk of Portugal. The Man turns 44. Actor Jackie Cruz (Orange Is the New Black) turns 41. Actor Ken Baumann (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) turns 36. Singer Shawn Mendes turns 27. Actor Bebe Wood (The Real O'Neals) turns 24. Jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette turns 83 on Aug. 9. Comedian David Steinberg turns 83. Actor Sam Elliott turns 81. Singer Barbara Mason turns 78. Actor Melanie Griffith turns 68. Actor Amanda Bearse (Married… With Children) turns 67. Rapper Kurtis Blow turns 66. Former Today co-host Hoda Kotb turns 61. Actor Pat Petersen (Knots Landing) turns 59. Actor Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) turns 57. Actor Eric Bana (Star Trek The Hulk) turns 57. News correspondent Chris Cuomo turns 55. Actor Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!) turns 55. Bassist Arion Salazar (Third Eye Blind) turns 55. Rapper Mack 10 turns 54. Singer Juanes turns 53. Actor Liz Vassey (CSI All My Children) turns 53. Actor Kevin McKidd (Grey's Anatomy) turns 52. Actor Rhona Mitra (Nip/Tuck Boston Legal) turns 50. Actor Jessica Capshaw (Grey's Anatomy The Practice) turns 49. Actor Ashley Johnson (The Help) turns 42. Actor Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect Twilight) turns 40.
Asharq Al-Awsat
21 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Labubu Fans Dote Over Ugly-Cute Doll Trending at Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con is the latest location where the ugly-cute dolls named Labubu have been trending, with fans carrying the plushies globally popularized by celebrities Rihanna, Lizzo, Dua Lipa, and Lisa from the K-pop group Blackpink. The wide-eyed and grinning doll was created in 2015 by Hong Kong artist and illustrator Kasing Lung. In 2019, Lung allowed them to be sold by Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company that sells collectible figurines, often in "blind boxes". "Blind boxes" are sealed boxes containing a surprise item that is usually part of a themed collection. Naomi Galban, from San Diego, waited in line on Sunday at the Pop Mart booth in the San Diego Convention Center for a chance to get her first Labubu. "Every time I go to a Pop Mart store, they're sold out," the 24-year-old told Reuters. She hoped to buy one for her little sister. Emily Brough, Pop Mart's Head of IP Licensing, spoke to Reuters on Thursday about Labubu fans at Comic-Con. "We love to see how fans are personalizing it (Labubu) for themselves," Brough said next to the Pop Mart booth. While Brough noted that there were many people with a Labubu strapped to their bags and backpacks at Comic-Con, the doll's popularity did not happen overnight. Labubus had a huge boost in 2019 after Pop Mart began selling them, and in 2024, when Blackpink's Lisa, who is Thai, created a buying frenzy in Thailand after she promoted Labubu on social media. Pop Mart saw sales skyrocket in North America that same year, with revenue in the US in the first quarter of 2025 already surpassing the full-year US revenue from 2024, Pop Mart said. When he created Labubu, Lung gave the character, who is female, a backstory inspired by Nordic mythology. He called her and his other fictional creatures "The Monsters." Diana Goycortua, 25, first discovered Labubu through social media, and before she knew it, it felt like a "game" to try and collect the dolls. "It's a little bit of gambling with what you're getting," the Labubu fan from San Diego said on Sunday while waiting at the Pop Mart booth, concluding that her love for the character made it worth trying blind boxes. Goycortua already has three Labubus, and was hoping to score her a fourth one at Comic-Con.
