Movie merchandise will target boys' market in 2005

DSN Retailing Today, Oct 11, 2004 by Doug Desjardins

Kid-friendly action films are always good vehicles for movie merchandise and there shortage of them in 2005 with a special emphasis on films and toys that target boys. They include the newest installment in the Batman franchise and the first film version of The Fantastic Four, along with the animated film "Robots" and the sixth and (presumably) last installment of the Star Wars series "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."

Batman is generating plenty of interest now that the character is set to return "after an eight-year hiatus with a new star (Christian Bale) in a film that examines the origins of the character. Warner Bros. executives say fans should expect a new look from the movie and its line of toys.

"This Batman film is distinctly different from all other films previously made in that it's an origins story," said Karen McTier, evp of domestic licensing for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "There will absolutely be a different look and theme from the films of the late 1980s and early 1990s."

McTier said the story and new and improved technology will combine to produce a line of Batman toys far more sophisticated than those from the earlier films, with an emphasis on gadgets that appeal to boys in the 4-year-old to 10-year-old age range.

"The past decade has brought vast improvement in electronics, and that's made features like lights, sounds and interactive technology more affordable in toys." said McTier. "The result will be a toy line that really brings Batman to life. from an interactive gauntlet that kids can wear to a Batmobile with realistic lights and sounds."

Batman will get a pre-release boost from the new animated series "The Batman" that debuted on Kids WB on Sept. 11. Master toy licensee Mattel already has eight new Batman action figures based on the TV show in stores and next month will release a new Batlink and Batmobile that interact with real-time signals from the TV show.

Other studios are tapping into new properties that have the potential to become franchises. Twentieth Century Fox has two big titles due out in 2005 with "Robots in March and "The Fantastic Four" in July. "Robots" will have a full slate of merchandise hitting stores early next year headed by master toy licensee Mattel.

"There will be a lot of product that targets the boys market, but the movie and merchandise will appeal to both boys and girls" said Lisa Licht, senior vp of feature film promotions and field operations for Twentieth Century Fox.

The CGI film from the makers of "Ice Age" chronicles the exploits of Rodney Copperbottom and cronies with names like Crank Casey and Diesel Springer. Mattel will release a full line of action figures based on the characters along with high-tech, interactive RoBoots. More than 30 other companies are signed on to produce "Robots" merchandise, including Sunbeam and Vivendi Universal.

The studio also is teaming up with partner Marvel Enterprises to produce a toy line for "The Fantastic Four" with Toy Biz on board as the master toy licensee. Licht said the comic book series is second only to Spider-Man in popularity and is tailor-made for movie merchandise.

"You have four great characters, so the film's a natural for an action-figure-based toy line," said Licht.

"The Fantastic Four" will be the latest in a long line of Marvel ComicS characters coming to life on the big screen. Marvel Enterprises has high hopes for the film in which Michael Chikalis (from "The Shield") stars as The Thing.

"It's going to be our tent-pole event for 2005," said Tim Rothwell, president worldwide consumer products, media group for Marvel Enterprise. "In addition to Toy Biz as the master toy licensee, we'll have games from Activision and product from manufacturers like Spin Master, Mega-Blocks and Jakks Pacific."

While comic-book-based movies are usually a good bet to perform well at the box office-and generate strong toy sales--they're far from a sure thing. The film version of "The Hulk" didn't live up to expectations at the box office, though it did produce a best-selling line of Hulk Hands.

"The Fantastic Four" does have some advantages, at least from a merchandising standpoint. "It's a great movie for merchandise, since you have four superheroes and one villain [Dr. Doom]" said Rothwell. "And the tone of the Film is very light."

And though heroes like The Thing don't have mainstream name recognition, Rothwell said they have a fan base large enough to make "The Fantastic Four" the second-most popular Marvel comic book. "They don't have the brand awareness of a Spider-Man, but there is a Fantastic Four cartoon on TV every day, and the comic book series still has a following," said Rothwell.

But the trick will be to make that popularity translate into a line of toys that produces sales. Even a film with strong box office appeal like "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" doesn't always deliver, as retailers learned the hard way in 1999.

Since then, most studios have scaled back the amount of merchandise they produce for a trim, but the retail market is still crowded. And that should be the case in 2005, with lots of merchandise from several movies targeting the same boys demographic.