By Gary Symons
Editor in Chief, The Licensing Letter
If you’re in licensing, your job depends on picking the winning brands and franchises that people will want to see in their toys, clothing and various retail products.
National Research Group just made that job easier, releasing their list of the most successful and popular franchises in the entertainment industry, according to an exclusive report from Variety.
The massive survey saw NRG conducting more than 350,000 interviews about 700 different entertainment franchises to discover which were considered the “most bold, inspiring and thought provoking by US consumers.”
When the dust settled, it came as little surprise that Disney and its Marvel subsidiary dominated the Top 20 results with no fewer than 70 per cent of the list. Netflix came in a distant but still impressive second, with three of the Top 20, including Stranger Things, The Witcher, and Ozark.
The NRG Top 20
- “The Mandalorian”
- “Avengers”
- “Stranger Things”
- “John Wick”
- “Black Panther”
- “Guardians of the Galaxy”
- “The Witcher”
- “Ozark”
- “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
- “Black Widow”
- “Deadpool”
- “Thor”
- “Iron Man”
- “Mario Bros.”
- “Toy Story”
- “Doctor Strange”
- “Spider-Man”
- “Coco”
- “The Lion King”
- “Hamilton”
One interesting thing is that, despite the much larger revenue for video gaming as opposed to film box office, film dominated the list of top franchises for American consumers.
The Witcher is a Netflix show based on a video game, but the only video game that made the list is Mario Bros. from Nintendo.
That said, the survey did find that consumers are turning more and more to streaming sites and video games due to the shortage of movies being released during the COVID-19 pandemic. That was particularly true of games like Fall Guys and Among Us that offer players a social connection during this time of rotating lockdowns and social distancing.
NRG also says the survey shows a strong pent-up demand for new content from well-established franchises, and predicts strong performance for upcoming blockbusters like James Bond, Black Widow, Top Gun, Ghostbusters, Wonder Woman, and Fast and the Furious, among others.