Star Wars Boosted Global Licensed Merchandise Sales By 4.2%

It’s no secret that Star Wars merchandise goes above and beyond for fans as Disney rolled out an [...]

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(Photo: Disney)

It's no secret that Star Wars merchandise goes above and beyond for fans as Disney rolled out an impressive array of toys for the franchise's newest film, The Force Awakens. One only has to step into to a store's toy aisle to find miniature R2D2 figurines or lightsabers, and with the unprecedented viral fame following Chewbacca Mom's popular Facebook video, Star Wars merchandise is on the up-and-up. And, according to the Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association, the film boosted its overall global sales last year by 4.2%.

In a report released by the association before its Licensing Expo in Las Vegas got underway, Star Wars: The Force Awakens showed up big time as one of the industry's MVPs. While the report does not detail the specific contributions of the film's merchandising, LIMA's Senior VP of Industry Relations Marty Brochstein said the movie was a key factor in their sales' boost.

He said, "You had an epic-ly popular franchise being marketed for the first time by Disney, which made a massive effort." Specifically, Brochstein referenced the film's merchandise promotions like 'Force Friday' which Disney held on September 4th 2015. Way ahead of the film's impending release, Disney pioneered its first ever live toy unboxing event to a global audience as various Youtube stars uploaded videos of them opening Star Wars toy for interested fans.

Considering the massive success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it's not surprising to see the film influencing the toy market in such a way. The film was by far the highest grossing title of last year, and even more so, the newest Star Wars installment ranks within the top 3 highest grossing films ever with a $2.07 billion earning.

While unrelated to Star Wars' merchandise, Brochstein said that licensed toys were made more popular as well due to Universal's Minions. The animated film, which pulled in $1.16 billion worldwide, took the world by storm last year as the little, nonsensical beings flooded theaters, Twitter feeds, and toy shelves. "The merchandising for both the films was really effective because the movies had become part of the cultural conversation," Brochstein said. "There's an emotional connection to the properties."

And he's definitely right about that. With the original Star Wars trilogy debuting back in the 1970s and the Minions making their first appearance in 2010's Despicable Me, fans have a long love for the two franchises. And, apparently, with that love comes licensed apparel, plushies, and dozens of action figures.

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