As the clock ticked down on 2015, entertainment pundits focused on the galactic box office pace of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which by Dec. 30 had charged past $600 million at the domestic box-office in a record 12 days on its way to surpassing Jurassic World’s $652 million domestic tally to become the No. 1 film of the year with $686 million.
On a licensing basis it was clearly no contest, with the The Force Awakens expected by analysts to sell $3 billion to $5 billion in licensed goods. At that rate, the space franchise, which was No. 2 on TLL’s list of entertainment/character brands with $100 million or more in 2014 retail sales in the U.S. and Canada, could unseat Disney’s Mickey and Friends to become the top entertainment/character property in North America and globally in the 2015 tally. TLL estimated that in 2014 the Star Wars franchise sold $1.1 billion worth of licensed merchandise domestically and $2.4 billion worldwide.
While it’s easy to pit The Force Awakens and Jurassic World in competition, however, each contributed to the growth of the entertainment/character property type in 2015—as did Avengers: Age of Ultron and Minions. For proof, look no further than Hasbro, which demonstrated the broad licensing power of top movie franchises, crediting the Star Wars installment and Jurassic World with its 24% third quarter growth in boys’ toys and 17% growth in preschool toys.
Below is a list of the top 15 movies of 2015 and what is coming up next in their franchises. For a more complete tip sheet, see TLL’s semi-annual list of upcoming movies with licensing potential.
Data Source: Box Office Mojo (Gross through Dec. 29) | ||||||
(Figures in Millions) | ||||||
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Rank | Film | 2015 Box Office Gross (U.S./Canada) | Studio | Next franchise activity | ||
1 | Jurassic World | $652.3 | Universal | Jurassic World 2 due 6/22/18. | ||
2 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | $601.0 | Disney | Spin-off Star Wars: Rogue One due 12/16/16. | ||
3 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $459.0 | Disney | An avenger next hits screens 5/6/16 in Captain America: Civil War. The whole team returns 5/4/18 in Avengers: Infinity War (Part 1). | ||
4 | Inside Out | $356.5 | Disney | TBD | ||
5 | Furious 7 | $353.0 | Universal | Vin Diesel and crew return in Furious 8 on 4/14/17. | ||
6 | Minions | $336.1 | Universal | Despicable Me 3 is up 6/30/17. | ||
7 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 | $267.2 | Lionsgate | Live stage show to open in a new theater next to Wembley Stadium in London in 2016; theme park attractions. Prequel films possible. | ||
8 | The Martian | $225.1 | Fox | TBD | ||
9 | Cinderella | $201.2 | Disney | TBD. Beauty and the Beast is Disney’s next live-action princess project, due 3/17/17. | ||
10 | Spectre | $196.7 | Sony | TBD. Distribution rights to the Bond franchise are in play and star Daniel Craig has said he doesn’t want to continue in the role. | ||
11 | Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation | $195.0 | Paramount | Look for M:I 6 – Mission Impossible in 2017 | ||
12 | Pitch Perfect 2 | $184.3 | Universal | The a capella show resumes with Pitch Perfect 3 on 8/4/17. | ||
13 | Ant-Man | $180.2 | Disney | Ant-Man and the Wasp is due 7/6/18. | ||
14 | Home | $177.4 | Fox | TBD | ||
15 | Hotel Transylvania 2 | $167.8 | Sony | Headed to TV in 2017 and back to theaters as Hotel Transylvania 3 in 2018. |