Welcome. Thank you for joining our 2022 Analyst Presentation. I hope that you and your families are safe and healthy. Today, we are excited to update you on the significant progress we have made, transforming Mattel into an IP-driven, high-performing toy company. We also look forward to highlighting for you the tremendous opportunities for the company in 2022 and beyond. I would like to begin by recognizing the hard work the entire Mattel global team has done to get us to where we are today. The organization once again stepped up and overcame multiple challenges over the past year. We stayed committed to Mattel's purpose to empower the next generation to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential, and were guided by our mission to create innovative products and experiences that inspire, entertain, and develop children through play. 2021 was a pivotal year for Mattel.
We achieved an 18% increase in net sales in constant currency, our highest growth rate in decades. We exceeded $1 billion of adjusted EBITDA, doubled our free cash flow, and our balance sheet is on the verge of reaching investment-grade credit metrics. We grew market share for the second consecutive year globally and in every measured market in 2021 per NPD. Our full-year performance was broad-based. We grew in six of seven categories, in each of our three power brands, as well as American Girl and in three of four regions. Our products continued to resonate with consumers at levels we have not seen in years. It was also a year where, in spite of major supply chain disruption and significant retail closures, we demonstrated the strength and resilience of our operations and global platform.
From design and development, through manufacturing and production, to creating demand and working in close collaboration with our retail partners, we exceeded expectations and executed strongly on all fronts. Exiting 2021, as we start the new year, Mattel is firmly in growth mode. Before we talk about 2022, let's recap the incredible performance by our team over the last few years since we launched our transformation strategy in 2018. We restructured our category management organization, empowered leaders to leverage Mattel's expertise, infrastructure, global resources, and leading franchises to drive growth across multiple brands at scale. We implemented the Mattel Playbook very successfully. The combination of brand purpose, design-led innovation, cultural relevance, and executional excellence has enabled us to put the company on a strong growth trajectory. We redesigned our supply chain and reduced complexity in the system as part of our capital-light approach.
We expect even more benefits to come from optimizing our manufacturing footprint as we increase productivity of plant infrastructure and drive higher performance across the entire supply chain. We reshaped our commercial teams, evolved demand creation, and took an all-channel approach with the combination of the global reach of more than 488,000 brick-and-mortar stores where our product is sold, together with world-class e-commerce capabilities and growing D2C channels. We significantly strengthened our culture. We have created a working environment fueled by leadership behaviors of innovation, collaboration, and execution. For that, Mattel has been recognized for its workplace culture by several important organizations, including Forbes, Fast Company, and the Great Place to Work Institute. We are proud to have made so much progress on culture and employee well-being and continue to prioritize this important area.
We also significantly increased cash flow, reduced debt, and improved the balance sheet, enhancing flexibility to invest in the business, drive profitable growth, and execute capital allocation strategies that aim to increase long-term shareholder value. Turning to our financial performance over the last four years, Mattel today is a much stronger company, as evidenced by the significant improvement across multiple key financial metrics. Net sales stabilized and then accelerated, achieving 18% growth in constant currency in 2021. Adjusted gross margin improved a significant 1,040 basis points. Adjusted operating income turned positive and improved by $966 million. Adjusted operating margin improved by 18.2 percentage points to 14%. Adjusted EBITDA improved eightfold to more than $1 billion. Adjusted EPS improved by $2.50. Free cash flow improved by more than $650 million, and debt-to-adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio improved significantly to 2.6x in 2021. Our strategy has worked.
We restored profitability and then improved it. We regained top-line growth and then accelerated it. We shifted from a manufacturing mindset to becoming IP-centric. Looking at all that has been achieved, Mattel today is an IP-driven, high-performing toy company. Our turnaround is now complete. With that, we are evolving our strategy to grow Mattel's IP-driven toy business and expand our entertainment offering. We see significant opportunities in our toy business to accelerate top-line through scaling our portfolio, growing our franchise brands, and advancing our e-commerce and D2C business, and to increase profitability by continuing to optimize operations. We are beginning to capture the full value of our IP in highly accretive business verticals, including content, consumer products, and digital experiences, which are directly adjacent to the toy industry. While still at an early stage, we are very excited about the progress we are making. In success, this can be transformative.
This evolved strategy builds upon tangible results and a strong growth trajectory and positions us to continue to create long-term shareholder value. There is another important and exciting dimension to our investment thesis, which is the domain where we operate. The toy industry is a growth industry. It has demonstrated its resilience. Per NPD, the industry grew 11% in 2020 and 9% in 2021, in spite of major global supply chain disruption and significant retail closures during the period. The industry is expected to continue to grow as children, parents, and caregivers have made toys and play a bigger part of their lives. The industry has strong fundamentals with multiple growth drivers. Toys are a strategic category for retailers. It drives traffic and engagement both in stores and online. It is experiential and offers consumers a variety of products with accessible price points.
The industry has proven to be recession resilient, reinforcing that play has never been more important, while parents consistently prioritize spending on their children. Looking back, the industry has continued to grow for the last 10 consecutive years, reaching $88 billion in 2020 per Euromonitor. Looking ahead, the toy industry is projected by Euromonitor to grow at a 5.4% CAGR through 2025, and they estimate it will surpass $100 billion in 2023. While it is great to be part of a rising tide, at Mattel, we have not just been riding the wave. We have outperformed the industry for two years in a row and see significant opportunities to continue to gain share going forward. Let's talk about our expectations for the next couple of years. As strong as 2021 was, 2022 is expected to be stronger.
As we said on our fourth quarter earnings call, our guidance for 2022 is net sales growth of 8%-10% in constant currency, adjusted gross margin of approximately 47%, adjusted EBITDA in the range of $1.1 billion-$1.125 billion, and adjusted EPS in the range of $1.42-$1.48. As strong as 2022 is expected to be, the outlook for 2023 is even stronger. Given our confidence in our growth trajectory and expectation for continued strong momentum in the core business, we are increasing our 2023 goal for top-line growth in net sales in constant currency to high single digits from mid-single digits previously. We are updating our adjusted operating income margin goal in 2023 to approximately 16%-17% of net sales, and we are adding a new goal for 2023 to exceed an adjusted EPS of $1.90.
Achieving our 2022 guidance and our 2023 goals would mean four consecutive years of top-line growth, and we are not stopping there. A growing part of this outlook is our success in making Mattel a partner of choice for the major entertainment companies. In addition to our own IP, we now have a formidable lineup of evergreen properties for Microsoft, Nickelodeon, Nintendo, Universal, WWE, as well as Disney. The return of Disney Princess and Frozen franchises to our portfolio in 2023 is a fitting recognition of our strength and capabilities. We are excited to take these franchises, beloved stories, and characters to incredible new heights. As we look to the rest of today's presentation, Richard Dickson, our President and Chief Operating Officer, will be up next to expand on our 2022 outlook and the major drivers that will propel our growth.
Anthony DiSilvestro, Mattel's Chief Financial Officer, will then provide more color on our financial outlook and capital deployment strategy. I will then return to talk about our corporate citizenship initiatives and provide an update on our evolved strategy and entertainment offerings. Robbie Brenner, who runs Mattel Films, will share with you the latest developments in this exciting area. Now, I'd like to turn the virtual floor over to Richard.
Thanks, Ynon, and hi, everybody. It's great to be with all of you today as we kick off what's shaping up to be an incredibly exciting year for Mattel. Today, I'm confident that you'll recognize, as we do, that Mattel has turned a very big corner. Building on Ynon's introduction, 2021 was a pivotal year. Mattel completed a multi-year turnaround, reviving a portfolio of multi-generational legacy brands that are now growing consistently and energized to lead.
In an industry where the lifespan of a typical toy brand is a fleeting three to five years, Mattel has hundreds of brands that stand the test of time. Barbie, at 63, is the top global toy property of the year for the second year in a row, per the NPD Group. Barbie leads an extraordinary portfolio that's also home to American Girl at 36 and Polly Pocket at 33. Hot Wheels at 52 is the number one vehicle property in the world, driving a portfolio which also includes Matchbox at 69. At 92, Fisher-Price is the number one global property in infant, toddler, preschool, and number five overall toy property, which also includes Thomas at 77, just to name a few. I mean, how many toy companies can claim that?
For that matter, three of the top 10 properties industry-wide, per NPD, and a record-breaking 17 TOTY Award finalist nominations this year. There's a lot to celebrate. Guided by the Mattel Playbook, today, brands across our portfolio are powered by brand purpose, design-led innovation, cultural relevance, and executional excellence, which strongly suggests Mattel's best days are ahead. Because success begets success, the most coveted creators and brands are now seeking us out for seriously cool collaborations designed to grow their IP. Today, every major entertainment company in the world partners with Mattel, and other industries want in. We're creating new strategic partnerships with forward-looking companies, collaborating with visionary artists like Shepard Fairey and Nina Chanel Abney, and leading new forays into fashion with the likes of Gucci, Balmain, BAPE, Justin Bieber's Drew House, Moncler, and The Hundreds, all of which have the potential to grow entirely new verticals.
The headline being that, in addition to creating incredible toys for our own brands and entertainment partners, Mattel is developing toys for brands in industries that people never imagined as toyetic. Ynon shared with you why we're so optimistic about the toy industry and our own future, and I can tell you our optimism is also a reflection of Mattel's core strengths. A culture that is flourishing, driven by the values of innovation, collaboration, and execution. It now permeates the company in every corner of the globe. A category structure that provides focus and empowers our people to scale our portfolio. A truly remarkable collection of brands that puts the consumer at the center of all we do, ensuring that our products and experiences are innovative, in demand, and designed to empower the next generation to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential.
This company is thriving, proving that nobody knows toys better than Mattel. Moments ago, Ynon introduced Mattel's updated strategy to grow our IP-driven toy business and expand our entertainment offering. There are three ways we'll grow our IP-driven toy business. The first is to scale the entire portfolio to deliver even greater top-line performance. Historically, Mattel's three power brands, Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Fisher-Price, have contributed most to our growth. These are huge billion-dollar-plus franchises that lead their respective categories, span product segments, and have high intrinsic value to consumers. Our shift to category management empowered our teams to leverage Mattel's expertise, infrastructure, global resources, and leading franchises. This structure is driving growth across multiple brands at scale. It's quite deliberate that the world-class team behind the Barbie success story is managing our entire dolls category, and that same management model applies in every category where we operate.
Yet we know that there is still plenty of opportunity to scale our business within each category by expanding our power brands to new segments: Barbie Family, Hot Wheels RC, Fisher-Price Collector. With our expertise, scale, and capabilities, our power brands can play to win on multiple dimensions and thrive continuously. Revitalizing and relaunching catalog IP, Matchbox, and Masters of the Universe proved our proficiency. Monster High is next, and the queue behind it across categories is just as exciting. Developing new brands. Mattel has created some of the most iconic brands in history, and we're going to do more of that. Adding and expanding partner IP. We're creating incredible businesses partnering with some of the best brands in the world, and we will keep going. Entering new white space.
We study categories where we believe Mattel can stake a position by adding something unique, and then we go for it. Plush has been a great example with much more to come. Expanding our footprint, we continuously build on our global omnichannel distribution, which is best in class. We do this in many ways, from deepening our partnerships with the world's best retailers to developing big markets where we underindex and building new distribution models like direct-to-consumer. It's all about making sure consumers can find our products whenever and wherever they shop. The second way we'll accelerate top-line is by growing our franchise brands. Mattel owns lots of distinctive brands that have a rich heritage, high awareness, and a large fan base. These are brands that have the potential to connect meaningfully across multiple consumer touchpoints to drive significant business both in and out of the toy aisle.
By the end of 2021, we had nine Mattel brands that exceeded $100 million in revenue and more that are on their way to reaching that threshold. We call these franchise brands. Other than our three power brands, they include American Girl, Polly Pocket, Mega, Uno, Masters of the Universe, Thomas & Friends, Matchbox, and Monster High, just to name a few. A great portfolio that we will grow by continuing to lean into the Mattel Playbook. The more franchise brands we own and the more they grow, the more that we can strengthen, diversify, and scale our portfolio. Just imagine what's coming as we activate even more catalog IP to become our next franchise brands, and as we evolve these franchise brands to one day become billion-dollar power brands.
The opportunities for growth are stunning because, as far as we have come, we're even more excited about what's to come in this next chapter of new growth for Mattel. Third, Mattel's focus on advancing e-commerce and DTC is aligned with consumer trends and providing additional ways to grow. E-commerce is a key part of our omnichannel strategy, and we are strengthening our capabilities, working collaboratively with our retail partners and growing right alongside them. DTC, however, is a playground we own entirely, and in the past few years, we've stepped up by building global best-in-class digital destinations for Mattel brands that connect with and inspire consumers, showcase our IP in new ways, and benefit Mattel financially. AmericanGirl.com, which you're all familiar with, has become an amazing hub for all things American Girl, and it's helping to grow and accelerate the franchise.
This quarter, a comprehensive reimagining of the site that's been building over the past two years will be complete with a visitor experience that's externally engaging as it is internally smart. We've optimized the customer journey, upped personalization with geo-targeted content, chat, and a doll customization program, enhanced play with a remarkable metaverse that hosts a truly incredible immersive museum and bookstore, and we've optimized checkout, adding more ways to pay, including mobile. Underpinning it all are strategic investments in infrastructure, including analytics that will allow us to learn from the optimized site to provide even greater customer experience, as well as inventory and order management systems to modernize our fulfillment and distribution capabilities. MattelCreations.com is Mattel's collector DTC and home to all of our collector sites.
A destination for fans of all ages, MattelCreations.com is a portal to pop culture where collectors gain access to exclusive premium product content and an enthusiastic community of like-minded fans. It's awesome, and there's already a lot of momentum. Check this out. I couldn't possibly think of a better partner to do it with than Mattel. I guarantee that people are going to wonder what's next. I can't tell you how many people texted me about our Hot Wheels Gucci car. Following on the success of Mattel Creations, we're also developing a Mattel Shopper DTC that's complementary and incremental to our existing retail models across bricks and mortar and e-commerce. An exciting hub for everyday toys. It's a unique value proposition that will include curated items, personalized video messaging, gifts, and a loyalty program, and we'll have more updates in the coming months.
With that introduction, let's get started with a deeper look at growth category by category, beginning with dolls. Mattel has the leading doll portfolio in the world and the best talent creating the best ideas in the industry. No one knows dolls better than we do, and it shows. Last year, Barbie was the number one global dolls property in 2021 and the number one doll property in the U.S. every week of 2021 per NPD. Polly Pocket had its biggest year in more than a decade. Monster High collector dolls sold out and lit up social media with the news of the brand's big comeback. Of course, we're incredibly proud to welcome Disney Princess and Frozen back to Mattel's castle. Now, that's just a few of the headlines.
Our doll portfolio had a remarkable 2021 with growth that outpaced the toy industry and lifted Mattel's share of the $8.3 billion global dolls super category to more than 26% per NPD. We are seeing Mattel shape the dolls super category in game-changing ways with a powerful portfolio of doll brands that inspire and complement versus compete with one another to drive broad-based success. That suggests a huge growth opportunity for Mattel, given Euromonitor's forecast that dolls and accessories will be the highest growth category in the entire industry through at least 2025. Our doll portfolio is a good window into how Mattel's evolved strategy works, how scaling our portfolio, growing franchise brands, and advancing e-commerce and DTC combine to accelerate top-line. Barbie, our brilliant power brand, is already ahead of the curve, driving momentum that is consistently delivering top-line growth. Barbie has never been in a better position.
Created to inspire the limitless potential in every girl, Barbie's powerful brand purpose is resonating beyond childhood more than ever, an inspiration to girls and moms, and a muse to the world's most talented artists, designers, influencers, and entertainers. Today's Barbie doll is an icon that represents the very best of pop culture. It's a tall order to lead a brand like Barbie and an even bigger challenge to keep it relevant and growing. Yet, guided by the Mattel Playbook, that's exactly what we're doing. Here are some of the key drivers of the brand's incredible success last year. Barbie's DreamHouse, a signature item and genius system of play, got a major renovation in 2021 and was the number one item in the U.S. in Q4 for the second year in a row per NPD.
In Barbie's family, we launched Little Sister Chelsea and Barbie's best friend Brooklyn with great product and great animated movies on Netflix and broadcasters all over the world. Barbie Extra, a hyper-cool statement maker created for older girls, continued to be a hit toy, as was TOTY award-winning Barbie Color Reveal, an innovation we're scaling to expand beyond dolls into vehicles and building sets. Last year, we also launched a doll can help change the world, a powerful campaign rooted in neuroscientific research that proves that doll play nurtures important social skills like empathy. Let's take a look.
Hey. Hey, Ms. Young Girl who goes to school in the morning. Any questions? Welcome to our house. I like your dog. It's cute. Hi, Mom. Yes, that is a very good point.
This is an evolution within our award-winning Imagine the Possibilities campaign that continues to connect Barbie's brand purpose to parents and key influencers on a very emotional level with great impact. 2021 was a huge year for Barbie that grew and expanded this extraordinary power brand, and that was just a glimpse. Barbie is a build-on-strength story that just gets better and better, as you're about to see. Now, is there any bigger way to kick off 2022 than Barbie at the Super Bowl?
Barbie really wants this Dream house. It's got stunning views and a slide. Barbie's ready for fun. So cool. And Barbie found out about this Dream house with an alert from Rocket Homes. She did? It is a super competitive market. Everyone wants to buy the Dream house. Better off a betty. I'll go 10 over asking. Cash off for Carl. Straight cash.
House flip for Skipper. Let's tear it to the studs. You vultures, you're going to start a bidding war. This is less than ideal. Oh, no. Don't worry. Barbie has a verified approval that shows her finances are backed by Rocket Mortgage. So Barbie wins. But we need a house. Oh, I found a fixer-upper castle on Rocket Homes. It has good bones but really bad neighbors. I like his vibe. Get your Dream house all in one place with Rocket Homes and Rocket Mortgage for a better way to find and finance Rocket Can. Thanks for helping. No problem. It's good for my glutes.
Mattel is an expert at eventizing anniversaries to create demand, and the 60th anniversary of Barbie's Dreamhouse will be the latest example, a perfect demonstration of the Mattel Playbook in practice.
Purpose led us to partner with brands like Rocket Mortgage and Habitat for Humanity that are doing for grown-ups what the Barbie Dreamhouse does for kids, enabling their dreams to come true. Design-led innovation drove the creation of a very special 60th anniversary Dream house. Cultural relevance put our Dreamh ouse in the Super Bowl, the biggest TV event of the year, and it was all executed with excellence. With that kickoff, here are some highlights of what's coming next. Barbie Extra is building out, adding major wow with new miniature dolls and playsets called Extra Minis. Take a look.
I'm a big deal. Extra. Height is real. Extra. Fashion appeal. Extra. Ayy, ayy, ayy. Like a beat drop. Come on and get these extra vibes. What? Miniaturized. She's a mini doll with major fashion. Her size may be a fraction, but she's got that Oh My Mini.
Major trend alert. She's a mini doll with major fashion. Her size may be a fraction, but she's got that Oh My Mini. Extra vibe. Yeah, she's got that Oh My Mini. Are you ready, dolls? Oh My Mini. Bring the meeting. Yeah, we run this. Fashion run this. What's your fashionality? I'm a big deal. Barbie Extra. Oh My Mini.
Our mermaid line will have a really fun, innovative assortment. Camping is a hot trend right now, and Barbie is all over it with a seriously cool camper featuring a 32-inch slide. A great example of insights into action. Here's another one. Cutie Reveal, our brilliant new surprise and reveal line inspired by cosplay, a form of performance art that's hot in both fashion and entertainment. Our dolls capture the trend perfectly, blending plush, doll, and fashion play in a totally amazing toy. You've got to see this.
All new Barbie Cutie Reveal. Whoa, what is this? Cutie. I got the bunny. So soft. Wow, there's a Barbie under there. There's even more in here. Mini pets. Such a cutie. Aw. And fluffy fashion with rainbows on the other side. Cutie color change. Night, night. I want all these Barbie cuties. Barbie Cutie Reveal, dolls sold separately. With Barbie, you can be anything.
Barbie was already the number one doll brand in social media when we created the TikTok channel. Now, Barbie and Brooklyn are influencers doing what the hottest TikTokers do. Our TikToks feature original content and collaborations with awesome fashion and beauty creators. Take a look.
Where are they on Monday? Where are they on Tuesday? Where are they on Wednesday? Where are they on Thursday? Where are they on Friday? Where are they on Saturday? Where are they on Sunday?
Pop culture enthusiasts and collectors are a growing audience for toys. They're motivated by exclusive, hyper-relevant items, and Barbie is in their sights in all the best ways. Last month, Barbie launched an unprecedented partnership with luxury fashion house Balmain. Our collaboration created a limited-edition high-fashion unisex collection like no other that straddled both the physical and digital worlds and included apparel, doll fashions, and Barbie's first NFTs. Barbie and Balmain achieved more than a quarter of a billion impressions and won coveted retail space at high-end fashion retailer Neiman Marcus, a success that elevates Barbie's fashion credibility and encourages new collaborations that we could scale for even greater impact. Barbie's Inspiring Women series is another successful and growing segment created to celebrate remarkable women who broke barriers. This line is authentically Barbie, grounded in purpose and meaningful to both girls and grown-ups.
In honor of Black History Month, we just launched an Ida B. Wells doll. Wells was a pioneering journalist, suffragist, and a founder of the NAACP. It was our honor to work with her great-granddaughter to tell the incredible story of Ida B. Wells through our doll, and we'll have even more dolls to come later this year. As you know, toys are only part of the Barbie story. Today, Barbie is an inspiring force in pop culture, a franchise brand that transcends toys, evolving, growing, and importantly, mattering in ways no other doll brand does or can. That is a tremendous foundation we'll build on as we continue to unlock Barbie's full potential. As I mentioned, Polly Pocket had its biggest year in more than a decade.
Polly is a franchise brand in our doll portfolio, the number eight global doll property per NPD, and the number two global small doll property in a very competitive segment. The original micro doll, Polly is an amazing brand with tremendous potential, as we're seeing in the segment that she invented. Today's girls have moms who grew up with Polly, so as we revitalize the brand to excite a new generation, we're also giving their moms new reasons to choose Polly. Last year, design-led innovation continued to freshen product formats, driving growth of Polly playsets, including Core Compacts. Our new Spin 'n Surprise Waterpark was a hit, as was our Rainbow Funland Theme Park playset, which we supported with a popular Season 3 series for Polly on Netflix and broadcasters all over the world. This year, our line of Polly Pocket dolls will reflect even greater diversity.
Polly's iconic compacts will provide even more innovative ways to play with items like Flamingo Party and Gumball Bear. We have expanded our 3-inch system of play with new playsets that lean into fashion and reinvented the Pollyville system of play to incorporate vehicle play. For collectors, we are tapping '90s nostalgia and expanding our newly launched Polly Pocket Keepsake Collection. Look for Polly Pocket Season 4, as well as an impressive slate of new content for YouTube, where Polly is the number seven girls brand with more than 3 million subscribers. Last year, we were beyond excited to announce that Mattel had been chosen as the global toy partner for Karma's World, an amazing series inspired by the daughter of Chris Ludacris Bridges. The series is a high-energy, coming-of-age story featuring Karma Grant, an aspiring music artist and rapper with big talent and an even bigger heart.
We admire her for finding her voice and using it to change her world. The Netflix series debuted last fall, and our incredible doll line is coming later this year. We especially love the authentic details, including her amazing hair. She is such an inspiring character. Take a look.
My dream is to be a rapper. It's a beautiful day up in my neighborhood. I'm with my family, crowd of kids, but I'm feeling good. Swiveling dolls, all my words pass the margins. Switches on the beat, Miss Washington's in the garden.
This year, Monster High will be the comeback story of the category, one of the best-selling fashion dolls of all time and one of the biggest toy brands ever. We can't wait to reintroduce this brand. It's monstrous Mattel IP with an inclusive, purposeful message of belonging that's even more relevant today.
We have a great model for relaunch, as Masters of the Universe proved, and Monster High is following that model with buzzworthy design collaborations to spark social media, must-have limited-edition collector product via Mattel Creations to reengage fans and light up the conversation, amazing content to reintroduce our characters and drive purchase, and truly incredible kid-targeted product based on that content. We have already begun to lean into our playbook. As a result, social mentions for Monster High were up 80%. Collector dolls like Skeletor from Mattel Creations sold out immediately, and our Beetlejuice and Gremlin dolls sold out in minutes, launching on ownable, culturally relevant days like Friday the 13th and Halloween. This year promises to be even more thrilling. We just introduced Haunt Couture from Mattel Creations, featuring our original Monster High characters dressed in high-end couture looks, and new characters will follow throughout the year.
Our Skeletor series, which reinterprets popular horror cult classics through a Monster High lens, will introduce new partnerships with launches at ownable moments to drive buzz. This fall, we will debut a first-ever Monster High live-action musical movie and a new animated series with Nickelodeon. We will introduce an awesome fashion doll line in conjunction with the new animated series centered around the core ghouls. An outrageously fun year ahead for Monster High. As Ynon mentioned, we couldn't be happier to welcome Disney Princess and Frozen back to Mattel, where we want them to live happily ever after. Our innovative new line debuts in 2023. It's really special, and we can't wait to share it with the world. Mattel and Disney have a long history that goes back to our founders, Ruth and Elliot Handler, and Walt Disney himself.
Over the years, we've collaborated in every toy category where Mattel plays, treating Disney IP as our own and growing substantial businesses. The Disney Princess and Frozen franchise offers a wealth of characters and stories to build on. With the power of Disney+ and its accessible 24/7 stream of programming, there is a whole new world of consumer engagement to leverage. Our relationship, combined with Mattel's leadership in dolls and proven playbook, made this moment possible. We couldn't be more excited. As I said in my opening, no one knows dolls better than Mattel, and we can't wait to write this new chapter together for Disney Princess and Frozen. American Girl is another playbook success story in the making. Over the years, you've watched us evolve this beloved brand to new relevance. Guided by the Mattel playbook, our purpose statement centers the brand.
American Girl aspires to be a trusted partner in building girls of strong character through engaging stories and immersive play experiences. We put premium details back in the box. We reconnected the brand to girls and their parents. We built out an incredible DTC e-commerce site with new leadership who brought new expertise to Mattel that has made AmericanGirl.com a digital destination. We enhanced the immersive experiences American Girl has always been known for in store and recently online. Our turnaround strategy is working, and we're thrilled to see this brand really resonating again. Last year, gross billings were up 4% for the year as consumers engaged with our omnichannel experience, including our digital flagship and brick-and-mortar retail. The number of new customers was up, now seven consecutive quarters, as was average household spend, which shows consumers are now more deeply engaged with this franchise.
American Girl grew in nearly every doll segment, including Girl of the Year and World by Us, a brand new contemporary doll and book line that celebrates diversity and reflects what it means to be an American girl today. In fact, American Girl made a powerful statement on diversity and inclusion throughout 2021. Fashion partnerships with Harlem's Fashion Row and Prabal Gurung celebrated World by Us with looks for girls and their dolls, an amazing collaboration that generated tons of attention with nearly 1 billion impressions in top fashion and entertainment outlets. We introduced a Smart Girls Guide to Race and Inclusion as part of our popular Smart Girls series. We launched Conversations for Change, a new digital series created to amplify diverse young voices who are determined to make the world a better place. This year, we expect continued growth across all doll segments in store and online.
Our 2022 Girl of the Year, Corinne Tan, is a Chinese-American who's already generating a lot of buzz. Corinne loves skiing, being a big sister, and training her new puppy as a search and rescue dog. Like many young people, she's also finding the courage to speak against racism. Her story really resonates. Her debut was huge, including an exclusive on Good Morning America, a feature in The New York Times, and stories across other major outlets, followed by a first for Mattel, a shoppable livestream. All combined, these efforts generated more than a billion impressions the week that she debuted. Let's take a look.
Now, with the GMA tradition revealing the new American Girl, Girl of the Year doll. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Corinne Tan.
Stand up, raise your face to the sky. Come on now, together, we can take it higher.
Come on together, we can take it higher. Come on now, take the best one higher. Stand up, raise your face to the sky. Come on now, together, we can take it higher. Come on together, we can take it higher.
Zoe and I are so excited to celebrate American Girl's 2022 Girl of the Year doll, Corinne Tan. I didn't grow up with dolls that looked like me, and it's so special that Zoe gets to have one that looks just like her.
We can take it higher. Come on together.
We're going to reveal the newest Girl of the Year for American Girl right here at the chalet. We can take it higher. Come on together, we can take it higher.
Later this year, we'll announce a dazzling new doll in our historical character line whose story was written by a brilliant New York Times bestselling author.
We've got exciting news coming on accessories and playsets. Our DTC offering, as I mentioned, will complete its replatforming. In digital, we'll continue to expand American Girl content with TikToks and new episodes in our Conversation for Change series. The team has done a remarkable job turning this brand, reimagining every facet of the business and to be newly relevant to today's American Girls. Now, we're eager to see this beloved franchise build on strength and go even further. Mattel Vehicles category broke some major records last year. In fact, 2021 was the biggest year ever for our vehicles portfolio. Hot Wheels sped past $1 billion in sales. That's right, $1 billion in sales. Its fourth straight record year. Matchbox, energized by relaunch, grew as we told you it would. Disney Pixar cars also grew, a particularly big deal given 2021 was a non-movie year for the franchise.
Traditionally, vehicles is Mattel's highest share category with 30% of global sales. In 2021, we drove it even further to over 32% per NPD. An amazing year for us and the entire Vehicle Super category, which grew 9% to $4.2 billion. Now, let's take a look at what fueled this incredible performance and where each brand is headed this year. Hot Wheels, which has been number one in vehicles for decades, creates the vehicles of everyone's fantasies. A few years ago, when we acknowledged the untapped potential in this brand, we weren't only thinking about how far we could grow Hot Wheels, but also how far Hot Wheels could grow the entire category. Mattel's brand leadership has done a truly remarkable job. Our Hot Wheels business has been on fire for five years now, led by a team that has taken the brand to places we never imagined.
This team is phenomenal at what they do. This very same group is also focused on Matchbox and Disney and Pixar cars. Last year, Hot Wheels' strategy was centered on making an even bigger push into e-commerce. We created new compelling offerings specific to the channel and got much more aggressive about distribution. As a result, Hot Wheels diecast cars were the top-selling toy of the year by number of items, both globally and in the U.S. per NPD. Beyond diecast, we leaned into our two fastest-growing segments, Hot Wheels Mario Kart in partnership with Nintendo and Hot Wheels Monster Trucks, a thrill segment with its own content and live events.
We were focused more than ever on the growing collector segment, specifically young adult and adult collectors, with an expanded assortment for our DTC, including new collaborations with culturally relevant creators and the first NFT from a major toy brand. We scaled the Hot Wheels Legend Tour to reach more people than ever. The strategy was a total success, as you've seen in the numbers. Almost every segment grew significantly from diecast singles to tracks and playsets, Monster Trucks, and licensed entertainment. Our collector segment, which included collaborations with Tesla, Gucci, Luis Fonsi, IWC, and the first-ever Hot Wheels Garage NFT, blew out in minutes. As a result, both memberships and sales grew threefold, demonstrating that Hot Wheels can be a powerfully relevant brand for adults that drives incremental revenue
Our hybrid physical-digital world model for Hot Wheels Legends Tour enabled us to expand globally to 11 countries and five continents. Have a look.
Come on. Since 2018, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour has been bringing together custom car builders from around the globe, all competing for a chance to have their car immortalized as a Hot Wheels toy car. Authenticity, creativity, and garage spirit, that's what it takes to win. In 2021, we were back at it with virtual and live stops spanning across 11 countries. Thousands of custom cars, epic brand partnerships, and amazing media partners. The results were massive: 30 million content impressions and 2.5 billion PR impressions. Our biggest sales traffic ever, driven in store and online. 108% in-store sales lift, 50% Walmart.com sales lift. After thousands of vehicle submissions from 11 different countries, multiple stops, it's time to announce the winner.
Congratulations to the Volvo PHEV 100. Coming for you in 2022, more stops, more cars, more media partners, and more influencers. Who will be the next Hot Wheels legend?
This year, we expect Hot Wheels will continue to grow. Each year, there's a lot to love in Hot Wheels toys. Here are some of our favorites. Die-Cast cars will feature the new Hummer EV from General Motors, the sleek new Lotus Emira, a fresh take on Kit in honor of the 40th anniversary of Knight Rider, and even a diecast model of the hot new Barbie Extra car. Our Hot Wheels City playsets have been redesigned as an intuitive grid system that connects to a new flexible city track for a better-than-ever build-play experience. New packaging and World of Play marketing will highlight the many ways you can create your own Hot Wheels city.
We have lots of new items in our Hot Wheels Monster Trucks line. This fall's Wreck-'n'-Raceway is inspired by our enormously popular Monster Trucks Island YouTube content. In this line, we're also excited to launch Color Reveal and a new diecast, including Monster Truck versions of a Ford Raptor, the iconic Fast and Furious Dodge Charger, and many others. Perhaps our most exciting announcement in Monster Trucks this year is Hot Wheels' expansion into RC. RC is a big category within vehicles, and Tesla Cybertruck RC was the proof point we needed to show that RC could be a big growth driver for us. This year's launch kicks off with our unstoppable Tiger Shark, a 1/10 scale RC of the most popular trucks from the Hot Wheels Monster Truck Live Tour.
The innovative Terrain Stomp Technology is seriously cool, and we're creating RC in multiple scales, as well as an amazing feature-based version of the Hot Wheels Twin Mill. Of course, this major expansion into RC will also extend to licensed partners. In addition to the previously announced Hot Wheels RC Batmobile inspired by next month's The Batman Movie from Warner Bros., we'll have new product to support Disney and Pixar's Lightyear and Universal's Jurassic World Dominion. For Universal's Jurassic World Dominion, we've created an incredible RC Jeep Gladiator and an action-packed Hot Wheels boosted track set featuring the new dinosaurs. For collectors, we'll continue to expand our Hot Wheels Redline Club with more than 20 planned drops this year. Yes, watch for new NFTs. Moving on to Matchbox.
When Mattel restructured around category management, we saw an opportunity to rethink the brand, applying our playbook to carve out a uniquely compelling purpose and design-led innovation strategy to differentiate it from Hot Wheels. Since then, it has been gratifying not only to see Hot Wheels succeed, but how that success has helped focus and inspire growth in our other vehicle brands just as we knew it would. While Hot Wheels creates the vehicles of everyone's fantasies, Matchbox is about real-world vehicles, a fast-growing brand with a distinctive lane of its own. The brand's global Drive Your Adventure campaign relaunched Matchbox with a highly successful series for YouTube that drove 21 million views to become a top-performing vehicle series of 2021. In product, we tuned our line of everyday diecast vehicles and connectable playsets to inspire realistic vehicle play in familiar city settings like fire stations and airports.
Matchbox collector cars like Routemaster Bus and the '65 Land Rover Gen II Safari sold out. The relaunch is clearly working, with the brand up 25% in gross billings. This year, we will keep driving, expanding the world of Matchbox with amazing new diecast vehicles, including more diecast electric vehicles and Earth-friendly packaging to encourage environmentally conscious behaviors. We will have even more products and initiatives, including exclusive collector items to introduce on Earth Day. We are launching playsets inspired by the outdoors like this erupting volcano. New Matchbox collector cars from Mattel Creations are already selling out. On YouTube, we will continue our Matchbox Adventure series with fun excursions to visit popular global destinations. Check this out.
Come on, Buster. Give me some juice. Whoa! Oh, yeah. Perfect landing. Mason James, world-famous explorer, is in a race against time. Big yikes. The Mount Kala volcano.
Another couple of minutes, and this whole valley could be on fire. Let's get that treasure.
Disney and Pixar Cars is a character-based global franchise inspired by the beloved movie series. Last year, we saw this business grow, a nice way to commemorate the 15th anniversary of this wonderful vehicles franchise. The journey to growth speaks to Mattel's expertise in developing and managing evergreen brands. It was all the better because we achieved it in a non-movie year, which is never easy to do. Product and marketing focused on characters from the original Cars movie, one of the most watched Pixar films ever, and celebrated core themes of friendship, humor, and, of course, racing. This year, Cars will launch a new animated series on Disney+ worldwide, Cars on the Road, a tremendous opportunity for our toy business, as you can imagine.
New Cars product in the first half of the year will celebrate the friendship between Lightning McQueen and Mater, the hero characters of the franchise. In the second half of the year, as the series launches, we'll introduce new diecast vehicles and playsets inspired by the series so that kids can play out their favorite moments from home. We love this brand. Yet another strong Mattel Disney partnership, and we look forward to another successful year. Fisher-Price is the largest player in the highly complex global infant, toddler, preschool category. At last year's Toy Fair, we announced that this power brand had stabilized, and we were pleased to share on our recent earnings call that Fisher-Price, including Thomas & Friends, grew in 2021 and is well-positioned to accelerate that growth this year.
Infant, toddler, preschool is an $8.5 billion global super category per NPD, and Mattel's share of category is more than 13%. As a reminder, Fisher-Price has four components. Fisher-Price Core is the largest and includes Baby Gear, Newborn and Infant, Laugh & Learn, Little People, and Imaginext. Fisher-Price Friends is our licensed partner segment. Thomas & Friends is our beloved content-driven preschool franchise brand. Power Wheels is the world's first electric ride-on vehicle, an entire business of battery-powered cars for young kids. Success in this category requires a steady stream of thoughtful product innovation combined with powerful messaging to remind parents just how essential play is right from the start. I'm pleased to say it's all coming together for Fisher-Price. In 2021, design-led innovation inspired one of the best product lineups ever. Our infant, toddler, preschool category gross billings were up 5%, with hits across the portfolio.
Our Kick and Play Piano Gym assortment was the category's top-selling toy in the U.S., and Fisher-Price Corn Popper was a top-selling toy by class in the U.S., as was our Little People Caring for Animals farm per NPD. Beyond that, we saw great innovation across our Laugh and Learn, Linkimals, and Imaginext lines. Power Wheels delivered a strong Q4 with expanded items and distribution. Thomas is back on track, and a big congratulations to the team who created highly compelling product and content. We were especially encouraged to see the new Trains and Cranes Super Tower do so well. It is the Thomas equivalent to Barbie's Dreamhouse and Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage, a system of play designed to engage consumers in multiple ways and sell even more product, in this case, trains. One last note on 2021.
Like many of our brands, Fisher-Price has found an enthusiastic audience in adult collectors. Last year's product was phenomenal at driving cultural relevance. Little People celebrated inspiring women, famous sports figures, and cult TV series like The Golden Girls. We're just getting started. Ted Lasso, anyone? Also, for collectors and in partnership with Best Buy, Fisher-Price took the Chatter Telephone, one of the world's most iconic baby toys, and reimagined it as a Bluetooth-connected handset for grown-ups. It was a huge hit that completely sold out. I mean, look at this. Let's be kids, right? This year, as we look to expand Fisher-Price's leadership in the category, we'll continue to lean into the Mattel playbook and build on strong momentum to accelerate growth. Design-led innovation inspired by trends and consumer insights will continue to drive product design. Here are a few of our favorites.
Meditation Mouse is a calming toy for toddlers designed to teach self-soothing techniques through guided meditation and breathing exercises. This item perfectly captures the wellness trend, which is big with everybody, and particularly parents of young kids. Linkimals, a hit baby toy for three years now, will expand its reach to toddlers. This is a good example of what we mean by scale portfolio. On average, we know that families have four Linkimals and that they're keeping them longer. So this is a familiar brand that we can now extend easily. In Little People, Barbie's Little Dreamhouse, and Hot Wheels Racing Loops are other examples that show how we're scaling our portfolio, reimagining two of the hottest toy brands for an even younger audience. There's a lot of opportunity to co-create for new audiences from within our portfolio, and going forward, you'll see us do more of it.
New preschool toys from Imaginext will support three of this summer's highly anticipated theatrical releases: The Batman from Warner Bros., Universal's Jurassic World Dominion, and Disney and Pixar's Lightyear, which strengthens our preschool offering. We're also creating toys based on Santiago of the Seas, an interactive animated series from Nick Jr., and for Gus, the Itsy Bitsy Knight, a series in Europe. Thomas Trains and Engines just get better and better. Inspired by the new series, we're introducing an all-new look for our Thomas engines. We created a fun launch and loop maintenance yard where Thomas does a full 360 loop just like he does in the show. We'll continue to support our amazing Trains and Cranes Super Tower. I mentioned that powerful messaging is the other part of the equation for Fisher-Price.
That is because Fisher-Price is one of the most emotionally driven brands in the world, a trusted partner to parents through the earliest milestones in parenthood. Our anthemic Let's Be Kids campaign is anchored by a wonderful brand film that is going global to remind parents of the magic kids see when they play with toys. Let's take a look. It is beautiful work, as you can see, rooted in purpose that transcends borders and cultures to speak to parents the way only Fisher-Price can. A great window into the potential that we see in this incredible brand. Games and puzzles had a good year in 2021, largely because collector and trading card games like Pokémon did so well. This is a $7.7 billion category per NPD.
It's dominated by evergreen brands, and Mattel, with more than 5% share of category, had some of the best: UNO, Pictionary, Scrabble in one of the most powerful portfolios of branded game IP in the industry. Last year, UNO was the number one card game globally per NPD. Pictionary drew its third consecutive year of record growth, and Scrabble, where Mattel owns the rights internationally, scored its second year in a row of growth. In 2021, franchise brand UNO turned 50 and never looked better. Guided by the Mattel playbook, UNO is mastering design-led innovation and cultural relevance to redefine the notion of a legacy brand. The proof is in the year. We worked with extraordinary creators from the worlds of art, sports, and fashion, creating must-have decks that sold out in minutes.
Media mogul and V-Friends creator Gary Vaynerchuk worked with us on a collaboration that reimagined V-Friends NFT characters as collectible UNO cards with unique foil inserts, UNO's most successful launch to date for Mattel Creations. We proudly kept our promise to make all standard UNO decks cellophane-free by year's end, and we are working towards making UNO's non-standard card product more sustainable. UNO's 50th was also an occasion to create a new tradition, the UNO Championship Series. Much like our highly successful Hot Wheels Legends tour, we eventized a series of brand experiences, in this case, tournaments, that built to a main event in Las Vegas. Check it out.
I am so excited to be here today to say congratulations to the top UNO players competing at the championship.
An astounding 2 million people participated to crown the first-ever UNO champion, all live-streamed on UNO's brand new and already popular TikTok channel. A big year to celebrate UNO that underscores the transformative power of the Mattel Playbook. This year, product segmentation will inspire all new ways to play. We'll scale the brand into a bigger assortment of card-based extensions for DOS, UNO Dare, UNO Flip, UNO All Wild, and new collaborations to fuel cultural relevance. We'll continue to expand competitive play through the UNO Championship Series. Like other Mattel brands, UNO will target the collector market. VeeFriends was a great example, and we think UNO Ultimate, Marvel, a character-infused version of UNO that features very cool, highly collectible foil cards, can be an even bigger follow-on. Now moving on to Pictionary.
Last year, we grew Pictionary with an innovative Harry Potter-themed variation on our TOTY Award winner, Pictionary Air. This was the game's first-ever licensed extension, and it was a big hit that helped lead Pictionary to its third consecutive record year. Later this year, we'll have another exciting announcement for Pictionary Air and Pictionary the TV show, which Ynon will tell you more about. Beyond UNO and Pictionary, we have an amazing portfolio that will scale to grow, including Scrabble, Apples to Apples, Bounce- Off, Blokus, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Whac-A-Mole, and Magic 8 Ball, just to name a few. In the building sets category, Mega built its way back to growth in a big way last year. This franchise brand is a proud number two in building sets and accrues share globally within the $7.1 billion global category per NPD.
Last year, Mega was up 16% in gross billings with better global distribution and innovative products that leveraged both partner IP and Mattel IP. Winning items included Mega Bloks Big Building Bag, the number one item in junior construction in the U.S. per NPD. In licensed partnerships, we launched great IP targeting kids with the building sets featuring Paw Patrol to support the August launch of Paw Patrol: The Movie and Pokémon. For adult builders, we launched Halo: Warthog Rally to align with the debut of Halo Infinite. Our Tesla collaboration from Mattel Creations was a sellout with thousands of units sold just in the first hour. As a result, we are seeing Mega quickly evolve to become a strong competitive choice for consumers in a category full of opportunity. Last year, we welcomed Glenn Abell as Global Head of Construction at Mattel.
Glenn most recently ran a competitor toy company, and before that, he was a 16-year veteran of LEGO. We're thrilled to have his expertise and leadership as Mega prepares to accelerate top-line growth this year with an evolved look and highly innovative new products. We've simplified the brand framework with a new logo and packaging that will hit sites and shelves starting this fall. New products will lean into design-led innovation and cultural relevance. Some of those we're most excited about include our reimagined Mega Bloks table with a new feature designed to help preschoolers build and smash in fun ways. Mega Bloks wagon encourages them to build and spill as they pull the wagon. Mega Bloks Green Town, new this year, is designed with sustainable materials to teach sustainable behaviors.
For kid builders, we're very excited to launch Barbie and Hot Wheels building sets, a great demonstration of scale portfolio. We'll also introduce Pokémon Adventure Builder. For adult collectors, we're launching new items with Hot Wheels Monster Truck, as well as Motion Pikachu, a building set that features an innovative gear system that enables Pikachu to run. Of course, great new collaborations from Mattel Creations that you'll hear more about later this year. We see the building sets category as an important growth opportunity for Mattel. Plush has been another success story of the Mattel playbook. In just two years, Mattel went from nowhere in Plush to number four in the U.S. and number five globally per NPD. We did this amongst dozens of players that have been at it for decades.
Ours is a great acceleration story in the $3.2 billion global Plush category, which NPD notes was up 24% last year. In 2020, you'll recall we set a high bar for ourselves and the industry with the Child 11-inch Plush inspired by the enormously popular Star Wars, The Mandalorian series for Disney+. It became the number one selling item in the Plush category in the U.S. per NPD. Our innovative creation helped us win some of the best new and existing licenses in the category: The Book of Boba Fett for Disney+, Minecraft, and Marvel Powerhouse Spider-Man, all huge scores that delivered amazing growth for Mattel Plush last year.
This year, we'll scale capabilities even further, designing for highly anticipated theatrical releases, including Universal's Jurassic World: Dominion and Minions: Rise of Gru, Disney and Pixar's Lightyear, and Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, as well as this guy, E.T., who at 40 has seriously never been cuter. I mean, come on. Mattel action figures had a record-breaking 2021 with powerful performances across the portfolio that drove the highest shipping numbers we've seen in years. Mattel grew its share in the $4.1 billion action figure category per NPD. It's great to see our brands, especially as challengers in this space, succeeding. As you recall, our portfolio is made up of incredible partner IP, including Jurassic World, Toy Story, Minecraft, and WWE, evergreen entertainment powerhouses that we manage as our own, and the amazing Masters of the Universe, Mattel's very own now newly reinvigorated franchise brand.
Action figures is almost entirely led by big-budget theatricals, which means it often ebbs and flows with new releases. Toyota content years are almost always good for business, but what about the occasional year where there's no movie? Part of what makes Mattel such a valued partner is that we're proving through category management and the application of our playbook that we can develop evergreen franchises and grow even in non-theatrical years, something we're doing by delivering highly innovative must-have toys and working closely with our partners to strategically support those properties. Last year, there was no better proof point than Universal's Jurassic World, which in a non-movie year nearly doubled its gross billings.
Our Scorpius Rex, inspired by Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous from DreamWorks Animation, was an awesome item that helped drive Jurassic World performance overall, a great demonstration of the power of partnership and Mattel's ability to drive an evergreen brand to consistently outperform expectations. Disney and Pixar's Toy Story was another franchise where we continued to drive volume without a movie last year. This year, we've got Lightyear. Check this out.
A year of work for a four-minute flight. Isn't that something? We're already a few hours, sir. Let's go find out if this— We've got a breach in the perimeter. Thank you. I was like your mission log. After a full year of being marooned on this planet, our first test flight is a go. Let's get everyone home. Good luck, Captain. We're counting on you. Roger that. There's a star fighting in the sky. Hello, Buzz.
I am Sox, your personal companion robot. We'd like to come and—we're being pursued by a—just a massive robot. Fighting in the sky. That was utterly terrifying, and I regret having joined you. But Buzz, the children are there! Lightyear! Let all the children do it. I can provide sleep sounds if you like. I have several options: Summer night, ocean paradise, whale calls. No, no. White noise is fine. Very well. Good night, Sox. Good night, Buzz.
The heat behind Minecraft continued with double-digit growth in POS, and WWE returned in a big way. In fact, 2021 was the best year for WWE action figures since 2016. Multiple pay-per-view specials fed fan enthusiasm, and in October, Mattel and WWE were pleased to announce a multi-year extension of our global toy licensing agreement.
In owned IP, last year, we said that the relaunch of Masters of the Universe would be one to watch, and it was. Decades after He-Man and Skeletor first squared off, this property is hot again, far outpacing our expectations. Masters of the Universe Origins figures are a top 10 item in the category in the U.S. per NPD. Exclusive collector products sold out in minutes. Kevin Smith's Masters of the Universe Revelation lit up original fans and collectors all over again. As we recently announced, there is a big movie in the making, which we're developing with Netflix. You'll hear more about that later today. We have just earned two coveted TOTY Award nominations, one for Action Figure of the Year and the other for License of the Year. Amazing.
This year, we believe we have the potential to drive a second year of record-breaking performance for Mattel action figures. Masters of the Universe has great kid-targeted content via Netflix. We will support with action figures and vehicles that feature all new, very cool power attacks based on the new series. Look out for our new Castle Grayskull, an awesome system of play updated with incredible features like removable turrets with working projectiles, a mechanized drawbridge, power-up flames, a trigger-activated trap door, and 20 light and sound combinations. Who's got the power now? Beyond MOTU, this year, Mattel will have the best hand in the category to own summer, anchored by three highly anticipated theatrical releases: Universal's Jurassic World: Dominion and Minions: Rise of Gru, as well as Disney and Pixar's Lightyear.
For each franchise, we're continuing to capitalize on their iconic IP with design-led innovation that maximizes play value and collectibility, and the work is impressive. Just take a look at how we're bringing the world of dinosaurs to life in a new way with core items that include our new Slasher Dino, new T-Rex, and new vehicle play to anchor Universal's Jurassic World: Dominion. Let's take a look.
Exciting new adventures, the coolest vehicles and gear, and terrifying new dinosaurs. Jurassic World: Dominion is here. A dinosaur is out of containment. Let's go find her with the Capture and Crush truck. There's a Velociraptor now. Fire the tranquilizer dart. Direct hit. That slowed her down. Now use the crane to get her back to safety. Oh, no. We're under attack and falling apart. Look, it's the Slasher Dino with lunging chomps and slashing attacks. Whoa, she's destroying the capture vehicle.
Better make a run for it. Quick, hide. Oh, we've got bigger problems now. It's the Thrash and Devour T-Rex, and she looks hungry. Oh, watch out. She's devouring anyone in her path. Look as she thrashes him about. Unbelievable. The T-Rex is Jurassic World's fiercest carnivore. And don't you forget it. You can play out exciting new adventures, too, with the Sound Slash and Slasher Dino, Capture and Crush truck, and Thrash and Devour T-Rex, all new from Jurassic World: Dominion.
Season four of Universal's Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous launched on Netflix in December. This animated sci-fi series follows six teens at a state-of-the-art adventure camp, which has been overrun by dinosaurs. This season, our heroes have just escaped the island only to meet new dinosaurs and all new adventures. We've got great product coming inspired by the show.
We now have new unbelievable Minions figures inspired by the movie. These include a sing-and-babble assortment of Minions that react and talk to each other, just like in the film, an action assortment tied to the third act of the movie, which I can't say any more about just yet. Yes, we've refreshed Fart Blaster, the top item in the franchise, and it's outrageous. Check this out. Our new Fart and Laughs Blaster features more than 25 sounds and a hypnotizing—get this—fart cloud. What can I say? It smells like a hit. It's an extraordinary and fun time to be at Mattel, as you could see. We have an amazing portfolio. Our brands are healthy, and our people are motivated to lead like never before. Today, we told you that Mattel is firmly in growth mode, in a growth industry.
We've shown you why we believe our strategy to scale our portfolio, grow franchise brands, and advance e-commerce and DTC will accelerate top line going forward. We've given you a glimpse at the ideas that will drive that growth this year: purpose-driven, design-led creations that are culturally relevant and beautifully executed to be meaningful to kids and kids at heart. Momentum in this industry continues to be strong with parents prioritizing spending on their kids and grown-ups discovering the fun in collectibles. As a leading global toy company, Mattel is mastering the moment. We're also thinking long-term, determined to shape the future of play, continuously stretching and scaling our brands to find the bridges between traditional toys and what's next: the metaverse, NFTs, AI, VR, and beyond. No doubt about it, the playground is expanding, further evolving the definition of toy.
Mattel will be at the forefront of that evolution in both the physical and digital worlds, in playrooms and on screens for kids of all ages. Now I'll toss it to Anthony for the financial update. Anthony.
Thanks, Richard. Hello, everyone. It's great being with you today and sharing our exciting plans for Mattel. Richard covered in detail many of the category building blocks for our growth strategy, and I want to start my presentation with some additional color to our 2022 guidance. Our product innovation, category strength, global supply chain, and best-in-class commercial capabilities, along with the ability to create demand in an increasingly complex environment, are working very well. The momentum we have established over the past few years and strong results strengthen our conviction that we will continue to increase our volume and grow market share in 2022.
This is in line with our evolved strategy to grow our IP-driven toy business and expand our entertainment offering. Recapping the 2022 financial guidance that we provided on our recent fourth-quarter earnings call, and which Ynon just outlined, we expect to deliver 8%-10% net sales year-over-year growth for 2022 in constant currency. This top-line guidance is built on a very strong 2021 and based on multiple growth drivers. We expect growth in our leader categories: dolls, vehicles, and infant toddler and preschool. Within these categories, our power brands—Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, and Thomas —as well as American Girl—are also expected to continue to grow.
We also expect growth in our challenger categories as a whole, driven primarily by action figures, which will benefit from entertainment partnerships and major theatrical tie-ins, including Jurassic World: Dominion with Universal and Lightyear with Disney and Pixar, and building sets, which will benefit from new product innovation and increased distribution. With solid revenue momentum coming into the year, we do expect to start the year with strong top-line performance in the first quarter, while margins will be negatively impacted by cost inflation. Adjusted gross margin is expected to decline slightly to approximately 47% as we continue to be impacted by significant cost inflation, which is forecasted to have a greater impact in 2022 than the 400 basis point impact in 2021.
More than half of the anticipated inflation is on ocean freight, with the balance from a combination of higher raw material costs for resin and zinc, as well as higher wage rates in our key supply chain markets. This negative impact will be mostly offset by savings from the Optimizing for Growth program and additional pricing actions. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to increase by 9%-12% to a range of $1.1 billion-$1.125 billion in 2022. In spite of the gross margin decline, forecasted growth in adjusted EBITDA exceeds sales growth as we continue to increase profitability, with SG&A declining as a percent of net sales, while advertising and promotion remains relatively flat as a percent of net sales. We believe our advertising strategy is very effective as we have gained share for six consecutive quarters and continue to focus on investing in our brands to drive growth.
We will continue to effectively manage our SG&A expenses as we scale the business, invest for growth, and deliver cost savings. Over the last few years, we consistently reduced adjusted SG&A expenses as a percent of net sales, declining from 31.1% in 2017 to 24.2% in 2021, a significant 690 basis point improvement. Adjusted EPS is expected to increase to a range of $1.42-$1.48, representing year-on-year growth of 9%-14%. The EPS growth rate is benefiting from increased profitability and lower interest expense as we plan to use excess free cash flow to reduce debt in the near term. This will be partly offset by an expected increase in the adjusted tax rate by several percentage points as compared to 2021's adjusted tax rate.
Capital expenditures are forecast to be in the range of $175 million-$200 million as we strategically invest to increase manufacturing capacity in our owned dolls and vehicles facilities to support the anticipated growth in these categories. While we are committed to a capital light model, our scale and capabilities give us a significant competitive cost advantage, and this targeted strategic investment is expected to increase productivity and yield a highly accretive return on invested capital. We will continue to be disciplined in our approach to capital expenditures and look to optimize spending as we grow the business. The Optimizing for Growth program was announced in 2021 with a goal to deliver $250 million of cost savings by 2023. We have made significant progress and are on track to deliver the 2023 target. In 2021, we generated $97 million of savings exceeding our expectations.
We expect to generate $80 million-$90 million of savings in 2022, which is reflected in our earnings guidance. The program is designed to improve operations and drive greater productivity to accelerate growth and, at the same time, reduce our cost base. This will further improve our speed to market and streamline several key processes, including design, development, and marketing. The composition of the savings has not changed. Approximately 50% of the program savings are expected to benefit cost of goods sold, 40% to benefit SG&A, and the remaining 10% within non-working advertising. To implement the program, we continue to expect one-time cash costs of $100 million-$125 million over the three-year period. As Ynon said, we have continued to improve our free cash flow generation. In 2021, we generated $334 million of free cash flow, doubling the prior year.
We utilized approximately $400 million of cash in the refinancing of $1.2 billion of the 6.75% notes due 2025 and repaid an aggregate of $300 million. Together, these actions will generate $59 million of annualized interest savings. We converted an increasing percentage of adjusted EBITDA into free cash flow as our conversion ratio reached 33% in 2021. Looking ahead, cash generation will benefit from both forecasted increases in adjusted EBITDA and the conversion of an increasing percentage of adjusted EBITDA into free cash flow. Over time, we believe our free cash flow conversion ratio can exceed 50%. The improved free cash flow conversion is driven by the reduction in interest expense associated with refinancing and debt reduction in the near term, cash tax savings associated with the utilization of net operating losses and other tax attributes, and effective management of our working capital and capital expenditures.
With the significant growth of adjusted EBITDA and the utilization of free cash flow in 2021 to reduce debt, our leverage ratio has improved dramatically, finishing 2021 with debt to adjusted EBITDA of just 2.6x . As we've stated previously, our objective in the near term is to utilize free cash flow to reduce debt and return to investment-grade metrics. Near-term capital allocation priorities are based on our expectation to significantly improve cash flow going forward. The number one priority is to make investments to drive organic growth. This will include strengthening core capabilities such as direct-to-consumer, digital marketing, e-commerce, and expanding digital experiences such as NFTs. We will also accelerate demand creation to drive category and geographic growth, as well as channel expansion. We will make targeted strategic capital investments to increase our manufacturing capacity where we have a significant competitive cost advantage.
Our second capital allocation priority is to further reduce financial leverage in order to achieve and retain an investment-grade rating. Our target is a leverage ratio in the range of 2-2.5x debt to adjusted EBITDA, which we expect to achieve in 2022. Achieving an investment-grade rating will provide us greater financial flexibility, access to additional liquidity, and reduce our cost of capital. One example is being able to transition from our current asset-based credit facility to an unsecured credit facility supporting a commercial paper program, a flexible structure with more liquidity and lower costs. Our third priority, with the benefit of a stronger balance sheet, is to pursue M&A and other corporate development opportunities, which we believe will advance our strategy, improve our growth profile, and generate attractive financial returns.
Fourth, we will repurchase shares as an effective and flexible capital deployment tool to manage our capital structure. Under our current authorization, we have approximately $200 million of capacity. Our near-term capital allocation approach provides us greater financial flexibility to manage our capital structure, to invest in growth opportunities, and create long-term value for our shareholders. As Ynon said, given our exceptional performance in 2021 and expectation for an even stronger 2022, we have increased our goal for 2023 to grow net sales by high single digits in constant currency. This is compared to our previous goal of mid-single digit growth. On profitability, our goal is to achieve an adjusted operating income margin of approximately 16%-17% of net sales.
Savings from the Optimizing for Growth program and the scale benefit of top-line growth will be key contributors to achieving this objective, while we expect inflation to moderate in 2023. With significant improvements in profitability, cash flow, and the balance sheet, we are transitioning to EPS as a key financial metric. To that end, we are introducing an additional goal to achieve adjusted EPS of over $1.90 in 2023. As our 2021 results and 2022 outlook clearly demonstrate, our financial position continues to get stronger. We have evolved our strategy from turnaround to growth. We believe Mattel is in an excellent position to continue its upward trajectory and create shareholder value. Thank you. I will now pass you back to Ynon.
Thank you, Anthony, and thank you, Richard, for these exciting presentations and for your leadership at Mattel.
While we continue to advance our strategy and increase shareholder value, we also take our role as a responsible corporate citizen very seriously. Our aim is to contribute to a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable future. Last year, we published our citizenship report, including updated environmental, social, and governance strategy and goals, and shared some of the progress we have made. Our ESG strategy is built around three key pillars representing the areas where we believe Mattel can have the greatest impact: sustainable design and development, responsible sourcing and production, and thriving and inclusive communities. The first pillar, sustainable design and development, is about what we do. This is about developing innovative products and experiences that are better for the world by integrating sustainable materials and principles of product stewardship and circular design into our products and packaging.
Our sustainable design and development goal is to achieve 100% recycled, recyclable, or bio-based materials in both our products and packaging by 2030. In 2020, we exceeded 95% recycled or FSC-certified content in the paper and wood fiber used in our products and packaging. For this and other achievements, Mattel was honored by the Forest Stewardship Council with the 2021 Leadership Awards of Excellence. We have launched several sustainable products, as well as the Mattel Playback Initiative in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K. This is a toy take-back program to recover and reuse materials from old Mattel toys for future products. The second pillar, responsible sourcing and production, is about the how. Here, we look to optimize resource use in our business and manufacturing operations to reduce their environmental impact and promote ethical sourcing practices and worker health and safety.
Our goals are to reduce absolute scope one and two greenhouse gas emissions by 50% and achieve zero manufacturing waste by 2030. We have already taken significant steps towards reducing energy consumption and absolute greenhouse gas emissions across our manufacturing footprint. The third pillar, thriving and inclusive communities, is about those we impact. Here, we look to create positive social impact through purposeful play and by supporting communities where we live, work, and play. We continue to make steady progress towards our global diversity, equity, and inclusion goals of increasing representation of women and diverse talent at Mattel. Importantly, we have achieved 100% base pay equity for all employees performing similar work globally. Our updated strategy serves to build upon a solid foundation and reflects our ongoing commitment to corporate citizenship in a rapidly changing world.
With nine brands exceeding $100 million in annual gross billings and a world-class catalog of iconic IP, we are now shifting into high gear to expand our entertainment offering. In addition to the significant value to be created from the toy side of the company, there is additional potential upside to come in capturing the full value of our IP. Expanding our offering in content, consumer products, and digital experiences will allow us to do just that. Our goal is to build and grow these businesses to be accredited and commercially successful in their own right. Of course, having multiple touchpoints with the consumer will also be very beneficial to our toy business. In success, this can be transformative for Mattel. Mattel Films and Mattel Television are key areas of growth.
In the midst of a proliferation of streaming platforms and ubiquitous distribution, known, trusted brands with a large built-in audience are becoming more important than ever. The mandate to the team is to make quality content that people want to watch. We believe this is key to attracting the highest caliber talent, appealing to the widest possible audiences, and making us a partner of choice for the major studios and leading distribution platforms. In just three years since launching Mattel Films, we have announced the development of 14 live-action motion pictures from our treasure trove of IP. At the helm of Mattel Films is Academy Award nominee Robbie Brenner, who has brought tremendous expertise, industry relationships, and creative acumen to Mattel. I'd like to welcome Robbie to talk more about the movies in development and soon in production at Mattel Films. Over to you, Robbie.
Thanks, Ynon. At Mattel Films, we've been thrilled to attract top talent and studio partners who, like us, see incredible opportunity to create exciting movies based on our franchises and captivate audiences around the world. Our flexible partnership approach has allowed us to work with the right studio on the right terms, on the right project, and bring on board the best in development, production, financing, marketing, and distribution. A capital-light model also allows us to pursue multiple movies at the same time and get them to market faster, while also creating opportunity for meaningful economic upside to yield financial success. I'm excited to share that two of our biggest projects move into production this year: Barbie and Masters of the Universe. Barbie is in pre-production right now in London, with principal photography starting next month.
In partnership with Warner Bros. and LuckyChap Entertainment, the film will star Academy Award nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, with Academy Award nominee Greta Gerwig directing, who also wrote the screenplay alongside her husband, Academy Award nominee Noah Baumbach, and is being produced by Academy Award nominee David Heyman, the acclaimed producer behind the Harry Potter series, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Marriage Story. We have been eager to share more of the vision of the film from this amazing team. There's no one better to hear it from than Greta herself.
Thank you, Robbie, and hello, everyone. I'm here in London prepping for the first-ever live-action film about none other than Barbie. I'm excited to be partnering with the best: Warner Bros. alongside Margot Robbie's LuckyChap Entertainment, David Heyman, and of course, Mattel.
The film stars the incomparable Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, and I can't wait to unveil the rest of the cast who will make up Barbie's diverse and vibrant world. Barbie is an incredibly nostalgic brand for so many, but we want to give audiences an updated view of Barbie. While I don't want to give anything away about the storyline just yet, I can tell you that this Barbie world is completely unexpected. We're so excited to start shooting next month, and fingers crossed that the film will be out in 2023. I can't wait for you to see this movie. Much more to come. Thank you.
Thank you, Greta. We are so proud to be partnering with you to bring Barbie to life for film audiences all around the world.
Another exciting Mattel Films project is Masters of the Universe, one of the biggest toy brands of the '80s, which helped shape the imaginations of an entire generation of kids and encouraged them to become the best version of themselves. The fan fervor for the return of Masters of the Universe was evident this past year with our two series on Netflix. It was a natural extension of the relationship to make Netflix the home of the franchise's film. The live-action motion picture is expected to begin production this summer with rising talent Kyle Allen starring as He-Man. We are so fortunate to work with the incredibly talented Nee Brothers, who are directing this project. Here is what they had to say about Masters of the Universe.
Hey, I'm Aaron Nee.
I'm Adam Nee.
We are thrilled to be talking to you about this Masters of the Universe film we're making. Masters of the Universe is how we learn to tell stories. It was the original role-playing, world-building experience for us, playing with these toys, imagining that we were these characters living in this world.
You know, when you're a kid, you feel so powerless, like all of your decisions are being made for you, and you could live in this fantasy with He-Man who would claim the power, and you, as a child, would live that dream through that character and those toys.
That empowerment and that vivid world is what we want to bring to this. It's a superhero story, but it also has this deep human primal experience underneath it that is kind of the stuff of mythos. It is the stuff of legend.
There is a richness and a vividness and a funness to the project.
Even though there are so many Masters of the Universe fans, we want to bring a movie to a new generation. We have done this as a superhero origin story where young Adam, played by Kyle Allen, is kind of the eyes for the audience to relearn Eternia and relearn this bright, beautiful world.
I cannot imagine a better person to embody that character than Kyle Allen, because he is so relatable and at the same time remarkable. He is an incredible athlete, but he is also charming and charismatic.
A lot of kids are going to have little Kyle Allen dolls soon.
You know, when we were kids, we grew up playing with these toys, and it's just such an honor and a privilege to be making a movie with Mattel where the things that we were fantasizing and dreaming about as children, we are now going to bring to the big screen.
Thank you so much, Aaron and Adam. We are so excited to be working with you. Beyond Barbie and Masters of the Universe, we have a dozen more projects in active development and more projects in the pipeline. There is no shortage of enthusiasm from our partners, such as Tom Hanks for Major Matt Mason, Lena Dunham and Lily Collins for Polly Pocket, Vin Diesel for Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Peter Farrelly for Wishbone, Daniel Kaluuya for Barney, Marc Forster for Thomas & Friends, Michael Chaves for Magic 8 Ball, and the list goes on.
We have so much more to come from Mattel Films. Stay tuned, and thank you.
Thank you, Robbie. Incredible momentum. We're excited to reimagine these iconic franchises for the big screen. Mattel Television is also thriving. In 2021, we debuted more content than in any prior year based on our own iconic IP. Nine series and specials, highlighted by the relaunch of the Masters of the Universe series, two more new animated Barbie movies, and an all-new Thomas & Friends series. Masters of the Universe: Revelation debuted last year as the number one kid series in the U.S. on Netflix, where it reached the top five overall series in 20 markets.
The second series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, a CG animated series, introduced the world of Eternia to a whole new generation of younger fans and debuted as a top 10 kid show in more than 20 markets. We're excited to share that the series will return for an all-new season on Netflix on March 3rd. By the power of Grayskull, here's a look at He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
With that sword, Grayskull will soon be ours. Do hold! Bring the sword to the champion. What champion? By the power of Grayskull, I have the power? I have the power! What did it feel like? You turned into a big old He-Man. Were you still you on the inside, but you looked like him on the outside?
Or was he the same on the outside as he was on the inside, and you were somewhere else entirely? Ow! That's a lot of questions. The Masters' nemesis have arrived. The power of Grayskull is alive. Who's there? Why, Adam, don't you recognize your Uncle Keldor? This is our fight too. Not at least the Master of Technology? Master of Magic. Master of the Wild. Master of Demolition. Apologies, this is all just very exciting. Like a story of old. By the power of Grayskull! We have the power! Saving Eternia is up to us. Rise my dark masters and wreak havoc! To know oneself is to truly become a Master of the Universe. A Master of the what now? Behind this gate lies great power. We must approach with caution. Adam! Wait up. Wait up!
The Barbie animated movie specials continue to delight fans of all ages.
We premiered two specials on Netflix last year, Barbie and Chelsea: The Lost Birthday and Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams, both making the top 10 of all of Netflix movies, not just for children. There's more magic to come in 2022. Barbie: It Takes Two is a new animated series that will launch on broadcasters and streaming services globally this spring and picks up where Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams left off. Let's take a look.
It's showtime. Barbie and Barbie are back. That's the Barbie spirit in a brand new series. Love the sound of that. This is huge. With fun new friends. We've got you. Buon appetito. Oh no. New music and exciting new adventures. Hey, that's my Lucky Pen. Bring that back. I can't even write. Can't stop us. Barbie: It Takes Two, coming soon.
Additionally, the hit musical special Barbie: Princess Adventure, which debuted on Netflix's top 10 list in 2020, was released theatrically in China last month on more than 6,000 screens. This marks the first time Barbie content has ever been available in theaters in China. Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go, launched in 2021 with an entirely new creative approach to the beloved classic franchise. The series aired on Cartoon Network and Netflix in the U.S., and we significantly expanded global distribution of the franchise to over 150 countries with a new season coming this year. Here's a look at the new Thomas.
All engines go! Hold on to your axles. I'm so excited I can barely keep my wheels on the tracks. Thomas and his friends are back. Let the fun begin! Join Thomas, Mia, Percy, Diesel, and Connor. That's what I'm talking about! Wee! On the tracks. Wow!
For new music, big laughs, and even bigger friendships. Sky high! Totally awesome! Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go, available now.
Polly Pocket and Fireman Sam will launch new seasons in the spring and fall of 2022, respectively, on linear television and streaming platforms around the world. Deepa & Anoop, a new preschool series and the first Mattel Television content based on original IP, will launch in summer of 2022. The Monster High: All New Animated Series and Live Action Television Movie Musical will launch on Nickelodeon in the fall of 2022, in tandem with the introduction of an exciting toy line which Richard discussed. Nickelodeon shares our passion for Monster High and its purpose-driven message, having also been our partners when we introduced the content more than a decade ago.
Here to tell you more about why they are excited about Monster High is Brian Robbins, President and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon.
Thank you, Ynon, and hello, everyone. Nickelodeon is incredibly excited to work with our terrific partners at Mattel for an all-new take on Monster High for today's kids and families around the world. We are working in lockstep together on virtually every creative aspect to produce a live-action movie musical and an animated series based on this iconic franchise that tells the story of the children of the most famous monsters and creatures, while reflecting the values of inclusivity, friendship, and mutual respect. Just like the shows and characters on Nickelodeon, the Monster High brand has always stood for creating a more accepting world where everyone can feel proud to be their authentic selves.
I think we can all agree that these are the messages kids need a lot more of these days. We can't wait for the fans to fall in love all over again with Monster High, and we're looking forward to all the new audiences this fantastic franchise will bring in. It all starts this fall on Nickelodeon and Paramount Plus, so look out for more great news from us. Thank you, and thanks to everyone at Mattel, and now back to my friend Ynon.
Thank you, Brian. With its message of inclusivity and belonging, Monster High is even more relevant than ever. We are proud to partner with you once again on this incredible franchise. Mattel Television is expanding beyond live action and animation into unscripted game shows.
We've leveraged our legendary games library to develop a slate of game shows highlighted by the all-new Pictionary game show hosted by Jerry O'Connell. After a test run over the summer, Pictionary was quickly greenlit for a full season, which will run in the third quarter on FOX broadcast stations across the country. In 2022, we will deliver more compelling episodic content to delight children and families around the world. While we continue to grow in film and television, we have also turned up the volume and expanded our music activities with 24 new music releases in 2021, spanning the Mattel portfolio. This includes songs from Barbie, Thomas & Friends, American Girl, Fisher-Price, Masters of the Universe, and the first music ever released from Hot Wheels. There is more to come in 2022.
Consumer products is an important part of our growth strategy, leveraging the strength of our brands to drive additional revenue and profit through licensed partnerships. It also allows us to complement our toy offerings and expand consumer engagement with our brands. We believe there is an opportunity to significantly grow this line of business in the coming years. To do this, we're actively looking to add new partners, enter new categories, grow our retail footprint, and most importantly, innovate. We look to leverage our cultural relevance and collaborate with best-in-class partners in other categories such as L'Oréal, General Mills, ZARA, and Nike. Our recent example of this is the UNO and Nike launch in 2021, where Mattel partnered with the NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo, an avid UNO player, to launch an UNO and Nike shoe and clothing collection.
An additional driver will be our direct-to-retail partnerships, which are bespoke programs where we license our brands directly to retailers who can offer consumers branded products across multiple non-toy categories. We will also look to new executions in location-based entertainment to provide an immersive brand experience, such as transporting fans onto the island of Sodor as part of a day out with Thomas, or into the sound and action of our Hot Wheels Monster Truck live show. Let's take a look.
Hot Wheels, we're gonna shake the ground and make it live. Let me hear you scream it out. Hot Wheels, Hot Wheels. We're gonna come to life and raise them up. Hot Wheels, Hot Wheels.
Digital experiences present another significant opportunity to leverage high levels of engagement with our iconic brands.
This includes digital games, both mobile and console, connected play, which brings together the virtual world with physical products, and the metaverse, including the growing space of NFTs. Digital gaming alone represents a $170 billion industry in a growing vertical that Mattel has only just begun to explore. In digital games, we're actively ramping up our offerings through a variety of licensing partnerships, game tie-ins, and standalone releases, and are looking to expand our own games across PC, console, mobile, and web-based platforms. Previous releases include Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures and Hot Wheels Unleashed, which sold over 1 million games in its first quarter of release. In 2022, we are planning even more digital fun. Mattel163 partnership with NetEase is growing strongly. Since its inception in 2018, the JV has grown to over $100 million of revenues in 2021 from the release of just two games.
UNO and Phase 10 have collectively generated more than 160 million downloads and have over 1 million daily active users. Our third game, Skip Bo , which had a limited release in late 2021, will launch globally in early 2022. Beyond games, we're looking to bridge physical and digital play. Examples include Pictionary Air, that uses AR to extend play, and the Jurassic World app, which brings our physical toys to life in the digital space. This is an exciting new and evolving area of consumer engagement with more to come. The metaverse opens up a significant domain for major brands, which have built-in communities with a passionate fan base, high awareness, and collectibility value. This is a digital realm where consumers will interact, build social connections, and define new ways of play in an immersive experience.
For owners of major franchises like Mattel, bringing together the physical and virtual worlds can be a game changer. NFTs are one example of this exciting opportunity. Mattel was the first toy company to launch NFTs, with three of our most historic Hot Wheels vehicles reimagined into digital collectibles for a whole new audience last summer. Last fall, we launched a new range of Hot Wheels NFT collectibles comprised of 17,000 trading card packs that sold out immediately. Just last month, we launched a Barbie NFT collection with Balmain, partnering with a fashion house to create an experience for both the physical and digital worlds. We have several additional launches planned for 2022 as we expand in this exciting new arena of consumer engagement. In conclusion, 2021 was a pivotal year for Mattel. Our turnaround is complete.
We have evolved our strategy in our now growing Mattel's IP-driven toy business and expanding our entertainment offering. As strong as 2021 was, 2022 is expected to be stronger. As strong as 2022 is expected to be, the outlook for 2023 is even stronger. Our brands are resonating at levels we have not seen in years. We have become a partner of choice for the major entertainment companies and have a formidable lineup of evergreen properties to drive future growth. The toy industry is growing, and we are gaining share. As the owner of one of the strongest portfolios of children's and family entertainment franchises in the world, we are more confident than ever in our ability to capture the full value of our IP and expand our entertainment offering in content, consumer products, and digital experiences.
We are about to reach investment-grade credit metrics, and our capital structure will soon be another growth lever. We have developed a culture that is driven by innovation, collaboration, and execution. We are committed to Mattel's purpose to empower the next generation to explore the wonder of childhood and reach the full potential, and to our mission to create innovative products and experiences that inspire, entertain, and develop children through play. As always, we are focused on growing long-term shareholder value. Thank you again for your interest in Mattel. Stay well.