Disney’s Toy Sales Suffering From Movie Fatigue

It looks like Disney might need to change their strategy with their movie tie-in merchandise as a report by Bloomberg has said that the last year was a lackluster as movies like Cars 3 and Star Wars: The Last Jedi didn’t deliver the expected results.

According to Gerrick Johnson, an analyst for BMO Capital Markets, there is a “Star Wars” burnout, or better yet “movie fatigue.”   As children turn away from Hollywood and turn to YouTube, Netflix and social media for their entertainment.  However adults are still buying lots of merchandise.

With more movies be released, but attendance dropping, Johnson said “There are so many screens now; kids aren’t just at the movies.  A movie doesn’t have the same resonance it used to.”

And while “Star Wars” was still the top-selling toy line during the nine-week holiday period, it fell to second place overall last year and below the all-time high seen in 2016, according to data from market research firm NPD Group shared with Bloomberg News.

“Star Wars is a force to be reckoned with in the toy industry. It remains the leading film-driven property for the entire year” said Walt Disney Co. in a statement.

One issue being discussed with Star Wars, was that while The Last Jedi introduced some new characters like the Porgs and Rose, it didn’t have the same appeal as what fans saw with the Force Awakens.  Visiting toy aisles at the moment sees piles of Star Wars merchandise piled up, with very little distinction between toys from The Force Awakens and Last Jedi, so children might not feel it’s necessary to get characters in different outfits.

This is also effecting the stock prices as Hasbro fell 3.6 percent, Mattel decreased 2.2 percent, while Disney shares slipped 0.3 percent to $111.61.  Plus with the issues with the  bankruptcy filing of Toys “R” Us adding in a lack of faith in toys.

Tracey Gordon, a full-time mom from Glendale, California, said “It’s a generational thing,” she said, adding that her nephew likes the toys largely because his dad “drags him to see the movies.”

With toys from Cars 3 and Spider-Man: Homecoming, competing with other franchises like Transformers, if a movie doesn’t do so well, it also effects the toy sales.

However with many more movies due out in 2018, like  “Solo: A Star Wars Story”, Incredibles 2, Avengers plus other franchises like Transformers, “Fantastic Beasts,” “Jurassic World”, means there will be just as much of a fight for toy sales.  But it also shows that Disney can’t just rely on the movie to do the marketing anymore, with Johnson adding “There is a new paradigm.  Just because there is a movie with a toy tie-in doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to work. It used to mean it would work.”

My Take:  Disney have many amazing franchises to tap into and while sales are down overall, if they get the movie right, merchandise will sell.  The Last Jedi, Rogue One and Solo, probably were never going to outsell merchandise from The Force Awakens, since it was all brand new.  And while Disney love to keep changing characters costumes for each new sequel, they need to keep ahead of the curve.  Children are being entertained differently, especially as they play with devices much more than any previous generation.