Retailers are comfortable with sequels. The original Ice Age had almost no licensing, while Ice Age: The Meltdown, will be Fox’s biggest film-licensing program to date. © 2002 & 2006 Twentieth Century. All rights reserved.

With more animated theatrical films being released each year — from Disney/Pixar, Warner Bros., Sony and other studios — the market for licensed merchandise tied to those films is increasingly competitive. Add to that the inherently short-term nature of a feature film’s lifespan, and you have a licensing sector fraught with challenges.

“The shelf life of a film is so short,” says Juli Boylan, svp, Sony Pictures Consumer Products. “It’s literally about the opening weekend. Retailers feel there’s just not enough time to create consumer demand.”

But film licensors are taking a realistic look at current market conditions and fashioning licensing programs they believe will succeed. For one thing, they are trying to extend the window of opportunity as much as possible, from four to eight weeks prior to the theatrical premiere all the way through the DVD release.

Getting in stores a month or two before the film release allows licensees to take advantage of the studio’s pre-release advertising and promotional campaigns. “Many licensees, especially in hard goods, tell us they do at least half their business in the days and weeks prior to the film opening,” says Elie Dekel, evp of Fox Licensing.

Film Versus Franchise
Because of the short-term, event-driven nature of feature film licensing, retailers have a greater comfort level with films that are sequels or based on existing properties, such as books or TV series. Fox’s first Ice Age film, in 2002, had virtually no licensing, according to Dekel, while this year’s sequel, Ice Age: The Meltdown, represents Fox’s most extensive film-licensing program to date. Dekel points out that the studio views Ice Age licensing as more of an ongoing brand strategy rather than a movie opportunity. “We hope there will be many iterations to come.”

Similarly, Universal sees the Curious George movie, released in February, as the introduction of a brand licensing effort. Beth Goss, evp, Universal Studios Consumer Products Group, says a limited number of items were on the market at the time of the film, but new products will be added for the debut of the PBS TV series in the fall. The majority of the property’s 60 U.S. licensees are authorized to sell products tied to both the film and the TV show.

Joy Tashjian observes that it’s hard to launch films that lack a legacy, such as Delgo, for which she is handling licensing. The strategy is to position that film as the first in a franchise. © Electric Eye Ent. 2004. All rights rese

Many licensors try to position even films without a history as the launch point for a franchise. “If it’s not part of a legacy, or well-known, it’s hard,” admits Joy Tashjian, president of Joy Tashjian Marketing Group, which handles licensing for Fathom Studios’ 3D feature film Delgo. Fathom’s strategy has been to position the film as a kick-off to more films or a TV series. “It was created with the idea in mind that it would be a franchise with spin-off treatments.”

Some film-only properties are less risky than others in the eyes of retailers and manufacturers. Pixar’s Cars, for example, has a full program covering toys, apparel and home products. “It’s the broadest category assortment we’ve ever developed for an animated film,” says Eva Steortz, Disney Consumer Products’ vp of boys and film franchise management. “It’s a bit of a fallacy,” she adds about retailers’ lack of interest in first-time films. “If you have the right product and the right translation to product, you can succeed with a new film.”