Licensing World Minecraft movie set for release 4th March 2022 The hugely successful construction game Minecraft has partnered with Warner Bros. on its debut movie release. Hitting cinema screens in March 2022, the film will be directed by Peter Sollett (Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist). In a blog post published on Minecraft.net, the brand commented: “Since we’re a game developer first, making a movie will be new and very exciting. And while the movie has to be different from the game (otherwise, you’d be in for an infinite movie in very low resolution) one thing will definitely be the same. We want to make the movie just as we make the game - for you. We’re inspired by countless things, but none as much as the incredible stuff our community creates in Minecraft every day.” Since launching, Minecraft has garnered a slew of awards and accolades; by late 2018, over 154m copies had been sold across all platforms. The game has generated a number of successful toy lines, including from Jazwares and Lego.
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All things SuperZings Toy World spoke to Julia Cake, commercial director at Magic Box, about the company’s hugely popular SuperZings brand and the licensing programme it is developing in partnership with Lisle Licensing. How does Magic Box’s heritage lend weight to the SuperZings brand? At Magic Box Toys we develop and build our own brands to create new trends in the collectible toy market - our products are filled with imagination and surprise. We are proud of the excitement we bring to children through our concepts, and we love the challenge of creating new products in order to continue entertaining children worldwide. What makes SuperZings a strong licence? SuperZings has all the ingredients you would look for in a strong character-based licence. Firstly, there are over 90 characters to collect in each series, which offers huge scope for any potential licensee in terms of creating a range. The level of detail and design that have gone into the characters is fantastic; they translate well into key categories such as publishing and clothing. Being based on a very simple and familiar premise - heroes and villains – SuperZings naturally appeals to children, and as it’s also rooted in collectability, the brand creates the desire to collect its licensed merchandise. What can products we expect from the Superzings licensing programme in the coming months? We have worked with DJ Murphy to create a bespoke monthly magazine which has just launched in the UK, and there will be an exciting range of games coming to market soon from John Adams. There is also a full licensing progamme launching in Spain, including Back to School, apparel and confectionary. What has the retail reaction to these initial ranges been like? The retail reaction has been very good. The magazine has achieved extremely strong listings and first sales data has exceeded expectations. John Adams has likewise seen a great reaction to its range during the recent toy fairs. We can’t wait to see the games launch; we’re positive consumers will love them. Which product categories do you hope to expand the programme into? SuperZings lend itself naturally to so many categories, but the next key categories we are looking to develop are publishing, apparel, trading games, Back to School & Bags, and homewares & home textiles. What major opportunities does the Superzings brand offer licensees? Superzings is one of the best-selling toy and collectible lines in the UK and has also performed very well internationally. Licensees can tap into a brand that kids already recognise. From the volume of sales achieved we know the brand has already reached the majority of children in the UK, having sold over 11m units in 2018. With an estimated brand retail value of £16m in 2019, SuperZings is now sold now in over 30 countries and more than 17, 500 ‘doors’ in the UK.
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