STOCKHOLM--The Lego brick has topped the Barbie doll--at least for now.

Denmark's Lego A/S said Thursday that revenue in the first six months rose 11% boosted by "The Lego Movie" products, making it the biggest toy company in the world both in terms of revenue and profit ahead of Barbie-maker Mattel Inc.

The jump puts Lego slightly ahead of Mattel in sales for the first six months of the year. But it is still early days in the race for the global toy-making crown for the full year. The busiest time for toy makers is the second half, ahead of the holiday season.

Mattel disappointed investors and analysts in July with weaker-than-expected first-half sales, hit by flagging Barbie revenue. Mattel has since plowed into the toy-brick business itself, buying a Canadian rival to Lego earlier this year. Lego's boost relied heavily on sales of products related to the movie, and it is unclear whether momentum for the box-office hit and the branded products will carry through the rest of the year.

"It remains to be seen how the [The Lego Movie] line will continue to develop," Chief Executive Jørgen Vig Knudstorp said. The movie, which will launch on DVD in the second half of 2014, had grossed $468 million world-wide as of Aug. 21, 2014.

First half-sales rose to 11.5 billion Danish kroner ($2.03 billion) from 10.4 billion kroner in the same period last year, the company said.

The Danish privately-held company, which has estimated that on average every person in the world owns 86 Lego bricks, said China saw the most significant growth in Asia, with sales up more than 50% in the first six months.

Lego's growth comes despite continued difficulty in the toy business as children turn more to tablets and consoles during play time.

Lego's first-half results narrowly places it in first place ahead of toy maker Mattel Inc., which in February bought Canada's Mega Brands Inc. for $366 million--a move into construction toys that puts the California-based company in direct competition with Lego.

Matell posted results in July that badly missed estimates and sent shares lower, mainly because of weak Barbie doll sales.

Lego's net profit increased by 14% in the first six months of 2014 to 2.72 billion kroner. Operating profit in the first six months grew to 3.63 billion kroner compared with 3.24 billion kroner last year.

Write to Jens Hansegard at jens.hansegard@wsj.com

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