Yahoo News The Surprise Winners From Hollywood’s Summer of Toys
Marl Davidson has been selling vintage Barbie dolls for more than 30 years, and business has always been strong — with one notable exception. Allan, released in 1964 as Ken’s best friend, was so unpopular that he was discontinued two years later before resurfacing in the 1990s. For years, Davidson had zero luck interesting buyers in Allan — that is, until Warner Bros.’ smash summer hit Barbie, featuring Michael Cera as the awkward, colorfully attired sidekick. “Allan is [usually] hard to sell,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter. “You can’t get rid of Allan, seriously. But now you can’t have enough Allans. Allan came out the winner.”
This forgotten doll turned success story hasn’t been the only standout surprise during this summer of toys. As Hollywood’s emphasis on established IP has led to film franchises based around characters that originated as dolls, comic book characters and action figures (like Ninja Turtles or Lego Indiana Jones), 2023 has delivered unexpected results for retailers. Barbie, based on the Mattel doll that launched in 1959, leads the way for recent toy-centric titles — and the season’s theatrical features in general, having topped $1.1 billion globally. And Paramount Consumer Products touts 400 licensees for its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem film and 1,100 total for the franchise.
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The boost is much needed after U.S. retail toy sales in 2022 slipped 0.2 percent from the previous year, according to research firm NPD Group, following a notable rise during the pandemic as families craved at-home entertainment. And toy retailers are grateful: Davidson sold a firstedition Barbie doll from the 1959 line last month for $20,000, and a collection on consignment went for $600,000. Additionally, eBay vp global collectibles Gene Cook tells THR that site users worldwide searched for Barbie more than 14,000 times an hour in the week before and after the film’s release, with Allan searches up 1,300 percent.
Other surprises linked to Barbie include the increased interest in Ken, whose portrayal by Ryan Gosling has been a fan favorite. “Ken has been outselling Barbie [because of the film], which is pretty interesting to us,” admits Don Kipper, owner of L.A.’s oldest toy store, Kip’s Toyland, who notes that Barbie sales in general have been up dramatically thanks to the movie. “Barbie has been a staple, of course, for many years since the late ’50s. But Ken has not, and Ken has surpassed her after the movie.”
Today, the latest development is the “Kiddult” trend, with toys not only going to children but also to teens and adults. “We are seeing adults who haven’t bought a toy in a long time; they may buy one because they are gravitating toward the Barbie movie,” notes Adrienne Appell, executive vp marketing communications at The Toy Association. Hasbro, which launched Transformers toys in 1984 and has seen them remain a top performer, reports that the line’s sales have increased 85 percent since the latest film’s debut in June. “The characters that are featured in the films usually rise to the top — along with some of the ones that are classic, beloved characters like Bumblebee and Optimus Prime,” says Tom Warner, Hasbro G.M. and senior vp global action brands. “It just halos the entire brand at the time.”
Even more than for toys, the comic book market correlates quite closely to the success (or failure) of a film or TV show. This summer, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse solidified Miles Morales as perhaps the most valuable character created this century. Before the 2018 original Spider-Verse movie, a collector could pick up a mint copy of Miles’ first comic book appearance (2011’s Ultimate Fallout No. 4) for less than $50. By the time Across the Spider-Verse arrived in June, it became a $2,000 book (it has since leveled out to about $1,600), per CovrPrice, which tracks comic book sales across the internet.
The new film also has propelled Spider-Man 2099 to new heights. Miguel O’Hara (voiced by Oscar Isaac), was a largely overlooked ‘90s character whose first appearance (1992’s Spider-Man 2099 No. 1) was a bargain bin issue and is now selling for around $200 in the 9.8 grade, per CovrPrice.
Just as much a part of the narrative of this summer’s releases are the surprising misses, such as a recent rough stretch for DC Studios titles that include the audience rejection of the Ezra Miller-starring The Flash, which collected just $268 million at the global box office against a $200 million budget before marketing, impacting toy sales for the project. “When you look at the Flash toys, the character from the movie that outsold everything else was Batman and the Batmobile,” says Jordan Hembrough, founder of the toy retail site Hollywood Heroes. “And it’s because people have this connection to Michael Keaton and his portrayal of the 1989 Batman.”
The same is true on the comic book side in terms of value of classic comics. “Flash books are down. Anything related to this film is kind of dropping,” says CovrPrice co-founder Matt Devoe, noting that part of what drives collectability is the promise of what comes next. (See: Marvel’s post-credit scenes). “The Flash film didn’t have anything for fans to take and speculate on. In fact, it’s led to a lot of confusion of, ‘OK, what is DC doing with their future lineup?’”
This story first appeared in the Aug. 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
Aug. 23, 1:12 p.m. This story has been updated to reflect that The Flash‘s budget was $200 million before marketing costs.
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