For die-hard "Star Wars" collectors, this weekend's fan convention in Orlando, Florida, is a must-attend event. The annual Star Wars Celebration is the only place Walt Disney Co licensees are selling a new Luke Skywalker action figure, limited-edition Stormtrooper helmets and other coveted merchandise.
With an array of new products and exclusive items, Disney is not simply rewarding passionate fans. It is also recognizing the role collectors play in stoking excitement around one of its most important franchises.
"Star Wars" items were the U.S. toy industry's top-selling line for 2015 and 2016 with $1.5 billion in sales over the two years, research firm NPD said.
Disney, the world's largest entertainment company, bought "Star Wars" producer Lucasfilm in 2012 and began developing new movies in the celebrated science fiction franchise. The company then expanded the range of related products to attract both casual and serious collectors, working with licensees on everything from $8 bobbleheads to a $7,000 life-size Darth Vader figure.
"The volume of it has been unprecedented," said Gus Lopez, a well-known "Star Wars" collector who has co-authored five books on the subject. "It's on a new level."
Collectors are a key part of Disney's "Star Wars" business, says Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of toy review site TTPM.
NPD reported that about 3 percent of "Star Wars" sales in 2016 came from collectibles, defined as certain types of trading cards, action figures, and other products for collectors.
Silver estimates that the share of sales to collectors is much higher, as much as 33 percent to 45 percent, based on industry data about purchase habits, the age of buyers and the types of products bought, such as the more-expensive action figures.
After acquiring Lucasfilm, Disney and its licensees created a range of new collectibles, including Elite Series action figures, which are die cast and heavier than plastic ones, Silver said. The figures flew off Disney Store shelves when they were released around the December 2015 debut of the movie "The Force Awakens," Silver said. "They couldn't keep them in stock," he said.
Products come in a variety of price ranges. Bobbleheads from toymaker Funko, selling for $8 to $20, have become a hit.
"Some fans buy every figure made and various poses of the same character," said Paul Southern, senior vice president of Star Wars licensing at Disney's consumer products and interactive division.
For well-heeled collectors, Disney licensees offer limited-edition high-end items billed as works of art and promising to replicate what is seen on screen. Companies such as Sideshow and Hot Toys offer statues, for example, that Southern said "capture every detail down to Rey's last freckle."
Collectors "are willing to invest in ultra-detailed items," he said.
Offering exclusive merchandise at events like Star Wars Celebration and San Diego Comic-Con, as well as at Disney theme parks and in Disney Stores and other retailers, helps stir fan fervor.
At the current Star Wars Celebration, limited edition items include Hasbro Inc's Luke Skywalker figure in X-Wing pilot gear and two assassin droids from Japanese company Kotobukiya. Funko is selling new bobbleheads including a Princess Leia figure, which also were made available through retailer Box Lunch.
Quantities are not always disclosed, but collectors said the items are usually produced in batches of hundreds or thousands.
Attendees may spend hours in line to score the hottest items, according to collector Jake Stevens, who said he once waited four hours to buy a Darth Vader action figure that uttered lines recorded by actor James Earl Jones. This year, some manufacturers have created online lotteries for spots to buy products.
"The collectibility of show exclusives has definitely gone through the roof," Stevens said.
Adding to the appeal, many of the newest products sport a 40th anniversary logo to mark the four decades since the 1977 debut of the original "Star Wars" film.
Disney will release the eighth episode in the film saga, "The Last Jedi," in December.
Industry experts say that collectors help spread a type of enthusiasm for franchises that companies cannot generate through traditional advertising or marketing.
Collectors are active on social media, in website forums and on podcasts. They share details about their latest finds and where to pursue new merchandise. A day before the start of Star Wars Celebration, enthusiasts were already circulating photos of Hasbro boxes arriving at the venue.
"A huge percentage of those collectors are the franchise’s biggest fans, advocates and social media influencers," said Marty Brochstein, a senior vice president at the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association. "They’re the kind of fans who help create buzz at the core, which radiates out to the population at large."
Reuters
Sun Apr 16 2017
Characters of Star Wars take part in an event held for the release of the film "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, France, December 17, 2015. - Photo Reuters/Benoit Tessier/Files
Konflik Iran-Israel: Kerajaan utamakan keselamatan jemaah haji - Mohd Na'im
Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Hal Ehwal Agama) Datuk Mohd Na'im Mokhtar menjelaskan, keselamatan dan kebajikan jemaah haji menjadi keutamaan kerajaan dan TH.
Pelajar perlu jelaskan status kesihatan sebelum sertai aktiviti sekolah - JPNS
Pengarah JPNS Datuk Dr Roslan Hussin berkata ibu bapa dan penjaga juga digesa memaklumkan status kesihatan anak mereka bagi memastikan segala maklumat berkaitan diambil maklum pihak sekolah sekali gus mengelakkan kejadian tidak diingini.
Guna nama Kementerian Komunikasi untuk memperdaya
Orang ramai diminta berwaspada dengan taktik terbaharu scammer yang menggunakan nama Kementerian Komunikasi bagi memperdaya mangsa mereka, kata Timbalan Menteri Komunikasi, Teo Nie Ching.
Menteri Luar Singapura antara yang terima surat dengan ugutan dan imej yang dimanipulasi
Menteri Luar Singapura Dr Vivian Balakrishnan merupakan antara beberapa Ahli Parlimen di negara ini yang menerima surat berbaur ugutan beserta imej yang dimanipulasi.
Dakwaan terhadap MB Selangor taktik terdesak pihak tertentu - Setiausaha Politik
Dakwaan terhadap Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari kononnya Menteri Besar Selangor itu meluluskan tanah di Dengkil kepada syarikat sendiri disifatkan sebagai episod ulang siar yang tidak jauh berbeza dengan t
Hafizh Syahrin raih kemenangan sulung di Zhuhai
Pelumba negara Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah meraih kejuaraan sulung bersama JDT Racing Team pada Kejuaraan Motosikal Asia (ARRC) 2024 di Litar Antarabangsa Zhuhai, di China hari ini.
AWANI Ringkas: Taktik baharu scammer
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
AWANI 7:45 [20/04/2024] - Noktahkan kemiskinan Sabah | Belum tahu jumlah peruntukan pembangkang | Freedom Flotilla to Gaza | Thailand terima 10.72 juta pelancong asing
#AWANI745 malam ini bersama Dzulfitri Yusof;
1. Noktahkan kemiskinan tegar Sabah, kata PM
2. PN masih tunggu butiran MOU, peruntukan pembangkang
3. Freedom Flotilla jalani latihan anti keganasan sebelum ke Gaza
4. 1.3 juta pelancong Malaysia ke Thailand
1. Noktahkan kemiskinan tegar Sabah, kata PM
2. PN masih tunggu butiran MOU, peruntukan pembangkang
3. Freedom Flotilla jalani latihan anti keganasan sebelum ke Gaza
4. 1.3 juta pelancong Malaysia ke Thailand
Dua polis BSI ditahan bantu siasatan kes pemerasan
Dua anggota polis yang berkhidmat di Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) ditahan semalam, bagi membantu siasatan kes pemerasan melibatkan seorang lelaki tempatan yang bekerja di Singapura.
Malaysia-Thailand tingkat kerjasama atasi jenayah
Malaysia dan Thailand setuju tingkat kerjasama untuk membanteras jenayah rentas sempadan.
#AWANI745
#AWANI745
Disney labur AS$1.5 bilion dalam Epic Games, IP muncul di ekosistem Fortnite
Kesemua IP popular Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar dan banyak lagi akan boleh diakses menerusi dunia hiburan ini.
Disney+ mula halang perkongsian kata laluan di AS
Disney Mula Menghalang Perkongsian Kata Laluan Di Amerika
Netflix akan tamatkan pelan 'Basic' tanpa iklan di beberapa negara
Ia akan dilakukan di Kanada terlebih dahulu sebelum turut akan ke Amerika Syarikat dan UK pada Q2 2024.
Disney 'hilang' hak cipta Mickey Mouse
Hak cipta bagi versi awal watak itu tamat selepas 95 tahun sepertimana mengikut undang-undang di AS.
'The Little Mermaid' ungguli carta pecah panggung di Amerika Utara
Filem The Little Mermaid mendahului carta jualan tiket pecah panggung di benua Amerika Utara dengan anggaran jualan dalam masa tiga hari pada hujung mencecah AS$95.5 juta.
Ini 4 sebab kenapa anda perlu tonton filem The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid. Sebuah kisah dongeng yang mengangkat kecintaan si duyung bernama Ariel terhadap kehidupan manusia di darat.
Disney Plus rancang kurangkan kandungan, jual lebih banyak iklan dan tingkatkan yuran langganan
Untuk mengurangkan kos, Disney merancang untuk mengurangkan beberapa kandungan sedia ada pada perkhidmatan penstriman.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Disney tamatkan perkhidmatan 7,000 pekerja minggu ini
Gergasi hiburan Amerika Syarikat (AS) Walt Disney akan mula mengeluarkan notis pemberhentian untuk lebih 7,000 kakitangan minggu ini, lapor Xinhua yang memetik Variety, pada Isnin.
Disney umum buang 7,000 pekerja
SYARIKAT Walt Disney mengumumkan penstrukturan semula secara menyeluruh dengan memberhentikan 7,000 pekerja di bawah pengurusan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif, Bob Iger.