We may think Star Wars surpasses other major franchises in revenue, but that idea is mistaken.
Although Star Wars is top-standing and long-lasting, Pokémon is the highest-grossing media franchise. Read on to find out more.
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Why Is Pokémon the Highest Grossing Media Franchise?
As of last year, Pokémon was reported to be the highest-grossing media franchise in history at around $100 billion. Hello Kitty was listed second on this list. That may come as a surprise to Star Wars fans.
As fans point out here, we may be surprised because we might prioritize a US perspective. That is, “Americans like to think of all the creativity in Hollywood and New York, but Japan knows how to export culture.”
Given its success, Pokémon could be “the single most genius piece of media ever developed” for design and marketing, especially since it has “only existed since 1996,” whereas Disney heralds back to 1923 and Marvel 1939.
Pokémon’s success has been categorized as a cultural phenomenon. Over the past two decades, the audience for Pokémon grew up and expanded alongside the franchise’s offering of games, anime series, and movies.
The Pokémon Go mobile game provided a big boost, and this universe aims to keep “people engaged at any age.” The ongoing creative energy of the franchise thus helps explain its financial figures.
A related discussion board indicates how Pokémon’s high level of revenue is mainly from “the Trading Card game,” and how “MERCHANDISING” is the key to this success.
This post has a good point and is close to the mark. The majority of a recently estimated $147 billion in revenue comes from “merchandise sales, followed by video games, trading cards, box games, and manga/comics.” Star Wars, in comparison, comes in third at $70 billion.
We may wonder if Star Wars would be higher on the list if its merchandising kept pace.
Star Wars, Merchandising, and Films
In terms of highest-grossing movie franchises, Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, both owned by Disney, come out on top.
So, it’s not that these franchises are struggling. Yet, would Star Wars have even higher numbers if its merchandising was on the level of Pokémon’s?
Not likely. Star Wars merchandise is still going strong. The franchise had a rough start when George Lucas sold the toy-merchandising rights to Kenner before A New Hope was released.
However, Lucas later renegotiated a deal with Hasbro, and currently “Star Wars licensed toys produce $3 billion a year in revenues.” Other merchandise like DVDs and books also bring in billions of dollars.
So, merchandise is not lagging but also not at the level of Pokémon. We may look to the franchise’s main focus–its films.
Without dovetailing into criticism of the prequels, it is worth noting that Attack of the Clones was “the first Star Wars film not to be the top-earning film of the year,” and it ranked “fourth globally.”
In turn, the sequels have been scrutinized, especially Rise of Skywalker. This film only brought in “around half as much at the box office as The Force Awakens.”
Pokémon and Star Wars
Pokémon’s ranking as the highest-grossing media franchise may be surprising but can be explained by its range of product offerings and merchandising.
Star Wars has had considerable success too, but does not quite measure up to Pokémon’s revenue. That may change, though, with the upcoming lineup of Star Wars films and shows.