- Disney is said to rake in a huge amount from merchandising linked to franchise
- However, Star Wars-related shows on Disney+ have had tougher time recently
- George Lucas realised the potential for Star Wars merchandising in the 1970s
Star Wars remains one of the biggest entertainment franchises in the world – despite recent TV show cancellations – and the amount Disney makes from merchandising of it is huge.
Big numbers
A report into Disney’s handling of the Star Wars franchise by The Hollywood Reporter found that merchandising generated $1 billion for the company in 2023.
There is a plethora of merchandising available, from figurines and such like for the original films, right through to plush versions of characters from new shows such as Grogu from The Mandalorian.
Disney has had some recent failures in its Star Wars TV shows, with The Acolyte being the most recent to be cancelled after just one season. Its axing was controversial – it had been well received but hadn’t had the expected viewing figures. There was also some toxic fandom connected to it with a portion of the fanbase dismissing it as ‘woke’.
However, the merchandising figures show that the franchise is still in good health and fan appetite is still there.
Merchandising opportunities will no doubt be ramped up again when the Star Wars franchise returns to the Big Screen in 2026. Three films are scheduled to be released in 2026 and 27 with The Mandalorian and Grogu set to be the first film to be released.
Hugely popular toys
Star Wars merchandising has long been hugely valuable. Famously, George Lucas maintained the rights to licencing and merchandising for the original Star Wars films (1977-83), which turned out to be a masterstroke as the toys were hugely popular and sold in their millions.
This, in turn, boosted the value of Lucas’ Lucasfilm production company. Lucasfilm was sold to Disney for more than $4 billion a few years back.
