By James Barrie M attel Inc recently announced that it had won the licensing rights to make merchandise based on “Jurassic World” films. The announcement comes a day after industry rival, Hasbro Inc announced the termination of the contract with Comcast Corp’s, NBC Universal due to disagreement over terms. Mattel, under its deal with NBC Universal, will design, produce and sell a variety of toys and consumer products based on “Jurassic World” films starting July 2017. These products are expected to hit stores in early 2018 as the next film in the “Jurassic World” franchise is set for release in 2018. It is expected that the license will generate annual revenue of about $100 million when each new movie is
released in the very popular series.
The top two U.S. toymakers have been competing for lucrative contracts with Hollywood studios over the past few years as demand for their traditional toys weakens. Mattel has been looking to expand its offerings targeted at boys after years of sliding sales of its signature Barbie dolls, while Hasbro has been focusing on toys for girls. Industry experts are saying that this is a big win for Mattel, which in 2014, lost the licensing deal to make Walt Disney Co’s Disney Princess dolls, including those based on the movie “Frozen” to Hasbro.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS • AUGUST 2016
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