Looking For Star Wars: The Force Awakens Toys? Duh, You're a Crazy Fan Now.

Merchandise will make $3 billion in 2015 alone.

You've probably seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens by now so you're probably clicking around the interwebs trying to see if you can still buy some sweet Kylo Ren gear in time for Christmas. You can, and you have the original Star Wars franchise to thank for that.

Up until the release of Star Wars: A New Hope, film merchandising never made a lot of money. From io9 blog:

Before Star Wars, toy companies waited to see if a movie was a hit before releasing a bunch of toys. The most popular licensed toys were based on TV shows and comic books. Mickey Mouse and his Disney friends had been cashing in since the 1930s. Comic strips like Popeye were popular and television shows like Star Trek and Superman, did well too. G.I. Joe was big, along with Barbie , and lots of the toys people still know and love today. But very few were from movies and even fewer, if any, were from movies currently in theaters.

Because excitment for Star Wars stuck around for so long, toys, games, and books hit the shelves when fans were hungry to own a part of that galaxy far, far away.

In fact, Star Wars was so popular in 1977 that Kenner, the original company that made the toys, sold carboard versions of their Star Wars products just to curb demand during the holiday toy rush:

Kenner famously sold an empty box called the "Early Bird Certificate Page." The box had no toys in it, just a few stickers and stuff along with a certificate kids could fill out and send in to be among the first to get Star Wars toys when they were released. It was a huge success.

The sale of Star Wars merchandise is something Disney probably thought about when it bought Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.05 billion. According to Forbes.com, analysts say Star Wars merch will make around $3 billion in sales in 2015 alone:

"Since its introduction in the late '70s, Star Wars has been one of the biggest franchises for licensed products in the entertainment business," Marty Brochstein, senior vice president of industry relations and information for theInternational Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association, told Forbes. "But to my memory, the level of activity surrounding this film launch has never been seen in Star Wars history or with any other movie franchise."

For more on how the Star Wars economy works, watch "The Star Wars Economy is Bigger Than You Think."

Comments

[BakedPenguin]

My friend sent me a holiday email with one of her kids in a Darth Vader helmet. Since this was a few days ago, though, I guess it doesn't count as Force Awakens merch.

[C. Anacreon]

The kid was so ugly they wanted to hide his face on the Xmas card?

[Francisco d'Anconia]

It's absolutely amazing. Can you think of anything else from pop culture that has lasted 38 years and is still able to generate the kinda madness, and profits, Star Wars does?

[BakedPenguin]

$4 billion for the rights, which is obviously just a fraction of the money involved. Really incredible.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

Jesus Christ, Reason. We get it. "Why Anchorman 2 The Force Awakens is the most important movie of the year!"

Well, here is an incomplete list of franchise-continuing movies I care about more than any future SW flick.

Zoolander 2
The Raid 3
Baywatch: The Movie (now that they've cast Alexandra Daddario)
Evil Dead 2 (the sequel to the remake, even though it looks like it won't happen)
Superman starring Nicolas Cage (even though it was canceled over 15 years ago)
That Batman / Superman / Wonder Woman thing
The inevitable Saw reboot
The Big Trouble in Little China remake
Sex and the City 3
Howard the Duck 2

[Rhywun]

They're just awed by huge piles of cash, I guess.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

I know this is a libertarian site, but all this Star Wars hype brings out the Bernie Sanders in me. "Nobody needs Star Wars makeup while children are starving."

[Rhywun]

Yeesh, what was he doing in there in the first place.

[Fist of Etiquette]

You people don't understand marketing at all, do you? Someone searching for "Star Wars toys" might just hit upon this or any of the multitude of other Reason posts on the subject, and viola you have a new free minds consumer.

These coattails are made for riding, they're gonna ride all over you.

[Acosmist]

What are you bassing that on?

[Fist of Etiquette]

BECAUSE THAT'S HOW I ENDED UP HERE, OKAY?

[Rhywun]

Now we see the violins inherent in the system.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

And the sax.

[Jerryskids]

I think he's talking about string theory.

[Fist of Etiquette]

MY BROWSER CORRECTED MY POST IT'S NOT MY FAULT. ALSO MY CAPS LOCK IS STUCK.

[John Titor]

Superman starring Nicolas Cage (even though it was canceled over 15 years ago)

You aren't fooling anyone, Jon Peters.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

What can I say? I like giant spiders.

[John Titor]

So, when are we getting a KOTOR movie? What's that, never? Oh...

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

We'll get an Old Republic era movie eventually. I'd bet credits on it.

[Los Doyers]

Movie? Fuck that. I want my KOTOR 3.

[contrarian]

Hell yes! Just finished playing through KOTOR 2 again and it was as awesome as I remembered. For a 2005(?) game it's pretty deep game, even questioning the idea that the jedi are good for the galaxy. IIRC KOTOR also started the whole "moral choice video game" thing.

[Jerryskids]

KOTOR? With Kirk and Spock and Timmy The Red-Shirt?

[Sevo]

Next up:
Trump stars in "The Force is a Loudmouth".
More coverage to follow.

[Ted S.]

Is there any ass sex in the Star Wars movie?

[contrarian]

I'm predicting that Finn and resistance pilot guy will have a relationship in the next movie.

[Rhywun]

Well, he already had a part in one of the earlier films.

[Ted S.]

No, I'm not looking for Star Wars shit.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...you're probably clicking around the interwebs trying to see if you can still buy some sweet Kylo Ren gear in time for Christmas.

No, Episiarch is still just googling Girls memorabilia to leave under the tree... FOR HIMSELF.

[Crusty Juggler]

Is this your way of saying you want us to chip in and buy you some Girls memorabilia? Which one would you, I mean Episiarch, prefer?

[Fist of Etiquette]

I'm not clicking on those links unless one of them is Brian Williams' daughter getting her salad tossed.

[Crusty Juggler]

Considering it is Girls memorabilia I think you are making the right choice.

[Crusty Juggler]

For you luckier nerds: Saber Skin, the unofficial Star Wars condom

[Ted S.]

I'll post this without comment.

Note that it's probably not quite safe for work.

[Ted S.]

This is more direct.

[DJF]

But where is my Jar Jar Binks as Sith Lord and future Emperor action figures?

[GILMORE?]

"Star Wars merch will make around $3 billion in sales in 2015 alone:'

i've seen this quoted in a few sources, but i havent actually seen a single analyst quote.

I'm curious what exactly it significant of, since the new Star Wars franchise only launched this past week - what was selling the other 11 months of the year that was so anticipatory? And its not exactly feeding DIS bottom line.... whose total net income for 2015 is still only about $1.5bn ahead of 2014.... and i doubt that's 100% Star Wars merch. I suspect someone didn't read the numbers right and is misquoting what some "Analysts" actually said. Could be wrong, just smells off to me.

[Ununoctium]

I agree. The projections are FY 2015-16, probably.

[GILMORE?]

Makes a lot more sense, and probably reflects "Total Star-Wars Related Revenues"...which would be $1.5bn for the movie/DVD sales, and $1.5-3bn in licensed merch over the following year.

[Suthenboy]

Oh look, another Star Tre...Wars article.

*yawn*

I spent half the day looking around for a new barrel for my Python. Then I sit down here and see the Dalmia article critiquing Cowen's theory that gun culture causes American militarism. Is there any hysterical claim that gun grabbers won't make? How many self professed libertarians are anti-gun?

I will give Shikha credit, she didn't buy it.

[In League with the Dark Ones]

You've probably seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens by now

Nope!