Over the previous 38 years, the Star Wars series has brought in more than $32 billion. Although The Force Awakens is supposed to be its biggest box office hit ever, the movie won’t be successful at the box office. It will be at the mall, where customers are expected to spend $5 billion on goods over the following 12 months.
When Disney paid $4 billion to acquire Lucasfilm in 2012, the business was aware that “Star Wars” would be a money-making powerhouse. especially light saber business.
It had no idea that, despite the popularity of action figures and clothing, lightsabers and lightsabers business were the most sought-after item among “Star Wars” fans.
According to Disney Consumer Products, the company currently sells 10 million reproductions of energy weapons from the series each year. They come in a variety of shapes, including key chains, toys with sound effects, and even pricey collectibles that are shown in cases.
After the release of the new Disney XD animated series “Star Wars: Rebels” this autumn and “Star Wars: Episode VII,” which hits theatres on December 18, 2015, that number might rise even more.
Disney placed a significant wager on the Star Wars series.
Disney paid $4.02 billion to acquire Lucasfilm, the company behind Star Wars, in 2012. Strange Magic, the pair’s debut collaboration, was published in January of this year. It was a complete failure and had one of the worst opening weekends for a widely seen-movie.
Disney wasn’t concerned, though. The only reason for purchasing Lucasfilm was to obtain the Star Wars licensing. Star Wars Episode III: Return of the Sith, the world’s most successful series has lain dormant for ten years.
Disney’s Star Wars return its $200 million production cost
The Force Awakens is forecast to be a great success and quickly return its $200 million production cost. It is expected to surpass James Cameron’s box office successes Titanic ($2.2 billion) and Avatar ($2.8 billion) to rank third among all movies ever made.
The actual driving factor behind Star Wars is branded merchandise.
The cinema business was significantly changed when the Star Wars franchise began in 1977. George Lucas, the film’s creator, believed that the majority of a movie’s potential income would come from merchandising rather than from people seeing it in a theatre. Lucas became a multibillionaire thanks to this realization.
Early in the 1970s, Lucas was a budding filmmaker with just two credits to his name and an exciting concept for an expansive space opera. When 20th Century Fox chose to release Star Wars, Lucas returned with a proposal: He would take a $350,000 salary reduction as director in exchange for keeping the movie’s retail rights and any sequel rights.
Lucas has amassed a net worth of over $5 billion
Fox agreed, not realizing how well-liked the movie would be. Lucas has amassed a net worth of over $5 billion thanks to one of the most successful bets in history. Star Wars has generated $28 billion in sales in the 38 years since Episode IV: A New Hope. Additionally, fewer than a sixth of this came via tickets.
There is a new collection for a new era (or a hundred)
Disney has bought the film and retail rights to Star Wars by purchasing Lucasfilm. The studio has already developed detailed plans for how it would profit from the agreement between now and 2020.
In addition to the “anthology” series, which consists of three independent films set in the Star Wars universe, there will be two further “saga” movies in 2017 and 2019. The first, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, will be released in December 2016. It takes place between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) and Episode IV: A New Hope (1977).
Mickey Mouse toys in the 1930s.
Naturally, there are also collector’s goods. Disney has long succeeded in merchandise, helping to establish the industry with the release of Mickey Mouse toys in the 1930s. The studio struck agreements with more than 130 businesses, including McDonald’s and Dr. Pepper, in preparation for the 1996 release of 101 Dalmatians.
With sales of more than $45.2 billion in 2014, Disney is already the largest licensor in the world. In the era of unauthorized downloading, merchandise is important for the studio. A Death Star toy model is way more difficult to download than a movie.
Star Wars-branded goods
To produce Star Wars-branded goods, Disney has agreements in place with a large number of businesses, including CoverGirl and Lego. Before the release of The Force Awakens, Hasbro introduced more than 100 new toys. It was stated Walmart that will sell more than 500 items offline and thousands more online.
What potential earnings does the studio have? According to estimates, Disney receives between 10 and 15 percent of the sale price of each branded product.
Sales of Star Wars merchandise are anticipated to reach $5 billion over the next 12 months and up to $20 billion over the next five years.
Star Wars is accepting of its wide fan base.
Women are a major emphasis of The Force Awakens’ retail promotion, despite the stereotype of a Star Wars collector being a fanatic. This is probably the result of two factors: the success of the lead character in the new movie, Rey, and the raising awareness of the female market.
Hot Topic offers a clothing line, and CoverGirl has a cosmetics collection with a Star Wars theme. One Walmart commercial has a little child playing with Star Wars toys while the mother questions why the princess won’t let guys save her. The girl responds, “Because she’s a current, liberated woman, unbound by the archaic gender norms of a bygone period. The video has approximately 21 million views.
The developing Chinese market presents Disney with several prospects.
More than 800 Chinese theatre owners were approached last month by the studio’s head, Andy Bird, who promoted Star Wars: The Force Awakens-related items to reach millions of interested collectors.
Currently, 80 to 90% of China’s film revenue still comes from box office receipts. But it’s expected that over the following several years, the nation will grow to represent a sizeable portion of the $241.5 billion in yearly global branded product retail sales.
All this excitement is not affordable.
Even though there has been a lot of attention paid to Star Wars merchandise, creating hype for the movie and getting people to the theatres are still necessary. In the previous several weeks, if you had been outside your home, you would have noticed Star Wars everywhere: on billboards as you commute to work, on TV and radio commercials, and in many articles delving into the teaser trailers while you browse Facebook. All that publicity wasn’t given to Disney for free.
A “tentpole” movie (a release whose revenues support lesser projects) often has a $100 million global marketing budget. Blockbusters must increasingly focus on creating buzz abroad. The franchise has been earning more money outside of the US since 1999’s The Phantom Menace.
Disney, though, started creating excitement for the products long before Star Wars was advertised on every billboard. In September, the movie’s YouTube site had a global “unboxing,” when fans in 12 nations live-streamed the unveiling of the new toys. This was right before Force Friday when the first official Force Awakens merchandise was released.
Agreements between Disney and its retail partners
The tie-in goods were covered in secret, protected by agreements between Disney and its retail partners, much like the film’s premise. What is certain is that businesses selling goods with the Star Wars trademark have already surpassed the previous record for advertising spending, which was $26.5 million for the promotion of Minions.
Dodge and Subway both made advertisements. 15 million people have seen Duracell’s “Fight for Christmas Morning” video on YouTube. Even Saturday Night Live parodied the omnipresent Star Wars commercial.
Bottom line;
In the world of movies, Star Wars goods maintain a unique place. Without a doubt, there are some horrifying offerings. Does anyone have a C-3PO tape dispenser?
However, generally speaking, fans don’t feel forced to buy Star Wars merch; instead, they want it. It is on the back of this devotion that Disney will profit handsomely. The fact that the movie is excellent is only a bonus.
Frequently asked questions;
What is the purpose of a lightsaber?
The lightsaber is a powerful weapon from a more civilized era and the weapon of a Jedi. It may be used to cut through both adversaries and blast doors. A Jedi can anticipate and reflect incoming blaster bolts by using the Force.
What is the price of a genuine, functional lightsaber?
The difference this time is that the blade can retract inside and stretch out from the hilt. According to The Verge, the original lightsaber costs roughly $200. Try restarting your device if playing doesn’t start right away.
How are lightsabers made?
From top to bottom, a lightsaber is made up of four (technically five) essential parts: an emitter, one or more sleeves, a switch, and a grip. The switch turns the saber on, the emitter is where the blade emerges, the sleeves are often gripped, and the pommel is attached to the bottom.
Real lightsabers—does Disney sell them?
“Unfortunately, guests cannot use or purchase that lightsaber. It is only intended for usage by the performers,” according to IGN. Game Spot reports that Trowbridge “confirmed in a group interview that although it would be a part of the Galactic Starcruiser experience, passengers will never really use the lightsaber.” Damn.
