When it comes to selling toys… TV is still ruling over feature films - at least that’s how it looks on the pre-holiday toy hit lists.
This years big hits for character toys include Disney’s Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins, Nick’s TMNT and Sesame Street’s Elmo (have you seen Big Hugs Elmo yet?!) After that you might see some Despicable Me love … and that’s about it. No mention of Turbo, Epic, Monsters University or Smurfs 2.
As ratings continue to climb for both Disney and Nick and animation feature releases become even busier - Deadline have a great line from Marty Brochstein of the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association:
TV seems to be grabbing more of the attention and shelf space. In licensing it’s all about share of mind, and if you have several films vying with each other, it’s hard to focus.