HOLLYWOOD – The summer’s raucous, robot-battling blockbuster, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” is creating a frenzy in the toy aisles as well as at the box office.
The second installment in the “Transformers” movie franchise has racked up nearly $340 million in ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada – and spurred renewed interest in the 25-year-old toy line from Hasbro Inc. on which the Michael Bay film is based.
The previous movie, released in 2007, brought in $480 million in revenue for the toy maker. This time, sales are even more brisk, and analysts expect revenue to top $600 million by year’s end, ranking it second only to the prevailing force in movie-related toys, “Star Wars.”
Sales of merchandise with a cinematic hook could reach an all-time high in 2009, propelled by “Star Wars,” new installments of “Star Trek” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” and newcomers including “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.”
“This year might be a peak,” said John Taylor, a video game and toy analyst for Arcadia Investment Corp. in Portland, Ore. “People are thinking if everything goes well, ‘Transformers’ could rival ‘Star Wars’ as the single biggest-selling property.”
Retailers have come to rely on Hollywood, especially during the summer. Buyers for stores are looking for the pop culture phenomenon to lure consumers into shops. They draft off studios’ multimillion-dollar movie marketing campaigns to spur interest in action figures, building sets, video games and other items with a cinematic tie-in.
“We definitely feel like customers are responding to entertainment-driven merchandise,” said Laura Phillips, vice president of toys in the U.S. for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
But with a glut of effects-driven summer films to choose from, retailers have grown more discerning about which properties they’ll back. That’s especially the case now, in the depth of a recession, when consumers have cut back on such discretionary purchases.
Shelf space is shrinking as stores devote more real estate to other products vying for a child’s attention, such as video games.
Target Corp. and Wal-Mart stocked little merchandise associated with the Disney/Pixar movie “Up,” principally because toy makers largely stayed away.
Even analysts predicted – incorrectly, as the $269 million domestic box office shows – that the movie wouldn’t connect with children. Its box-office total was more than “Star Trek” or “Cars.”
Neither retailer carried any of the plush toys based on “Monsters vs. Aliens,” which also turned out to be a theatrical success, said Marty Brochstein, senior vice president of industry relations for the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association.
Not every movie lends itself to a toy line (and vice versa). Based on the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys, Warner Bros.’ 2007 film “TMNT,” for example, had a less-than-warriorlike box-office performance, selling only $95 million in global ticket sales.
The homely Ogre character, based on DreamWorks Animation’s “Shrek,” did not fly off the shelves as a cuddly plush doll, according to analysts.
