The Licensing Letter

Marvel

Upcoming 2019 Flicks With Licensing Potential Dominated by Comics & Sequels

By: Karina Masolova, with additional research by Susan Adams. Contact the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. Of the upcoming films that TLL has identified as having licensing potential, 27% are based on comics while 28% are original works. And 56% are sequels or reboots. See the full list of 189 films being released through 2025. Just over one-third of films on the list … [Read more...] about Upcoming 2019 Flicks With Licensing Potential Dominated by Comics & Sequels

Supercharge Me! Hero-based Merch Sales Down 7%

By Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. Retail sales of licensed merchandise based on the top superhero properties from Marvel and DC Comics dipped 7% to reach $4.4 million in 2017, according to TLL's latest edition of the $100 Million Entertainment/Character list. From the 2017 list, Marvel's top two properties are Spider-Man ($1.4 billion in licensed retail sales) … [Read more...] about Supercharge Me! Hero-based Merch Sales Down 7%

Content Watch: New Series & Activations

Differential Brands Group will acquire the majority of Hong Kong-based Global Brands Group Holding Ltd.’s North American licensing business for $1.38 billion in an all-cash deal expected to close Q3 2018. The acquisition is expected to boost Differential Brands’ annual revenues up to more than $2.3 billion. The assets at stake comprise all of GBG's North American children’s … [Read more...] about Content Watch: New Series & Activations

M&A, Experiential & Legal

Universal Brand Development and Film Concerts Live! launch Jurassic World in Concert; the world premiere features the National Symphony Orchestra performing the complete Jurassic World score live as the 2015 movie is projected in HD onto a massive screen. The opening night will take place on May 30 with a special concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. This is a … [Read more...] about M&A, Experiential & Legal

Who’s News—4/9/2018

Are you hiring—or being promoted, changing jobs, retiring, launching a new company, or otherwise changing your employment? Email Jen at jen@plainlanguagemedia.com and we'll announce the news in our next issue of Who's News. DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Consumer Products President Diane Nelson is taking a leave of absence in the beginning of April and will be returning at … [Read more...] about Who’s News—4/9/2018

Company Spotlight: On Scaling Niche to Mass

Since filing for an IPO last year, Funko has released some of its financial data and offered a few key insights on the fast-growing, ever-volatile market for pop culture collectible merchandise. Here are some of the top takeaways and most interesting tidbits gleaned from a licensee generating around $800 million in licensed retail sales a year. While the company seems to … [Read more...] about Company Spotlight: On Scaling Niche to Mass

Franchises Drive Comics Sales in 2017

According to ICv2 and NPD BookScan, the top-selling comic book titles of 2017 hailed from the '80s—two 30-year-old volumes were the best-selling superhero titles of the year. Marvel’s top new title was Black Panther Book 1 and DC Comics’ top new titles were the collections of the Rebirth launches of Batman and The Flash. Twelve of the top 20 best-selling superhero titles of … [Read more...] about Franchises Drive Comics Sales in 2017

Who’s News—1/29/2018

Are you hiring—or being promoted, changing jobs, retiring, launching a new company, or otherwise changing your employment? Email Jen at jen@plainlanguagemedia.com and we'll announce the news in our next issue of Who's News.   Mark Kingston is promoted to SVP Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products. Mark will be based in London, reporting to CMO Pam Kaufman. In … [Read more...] about Who’s News—1/29/2018

$100 Million Superhero Brands Grow 15% in 2016

Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com While the average $100 million entertainment/character brand grew 8% in U.S./Canada retail sales of licensed merchandise in 2016, superhero brands grew by nearly 15% from the previous year. See the complete list here. The top four superhero brands by retail sales in the U.S./Canada made up almost 11% of the $100 million list's … [Read more...] about $100 Million Superhero Brands Grow 15% in 2016