KPop Demon Hunters. Picture: Reuters
NUREMBERG, GERMANY:
Mattel teases followers of ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ with a brand new line-up of dolls to be rolled out later this yr after it did not money in on the success of the runaway Netflix hit over the vacation procuring season.
‘KPop Demon Hunters’ is Netflix’s hottest movie ever, hitting over 500 million views since its June launch. Mattel, nevertheless, didn’t foresee its crossover attraction, a supply advised Reuters final yr. The brand new toys will begin rolling out this summer time, roughly a yr after the movie’s launch, as Mattel hopes the merchandise might help stoke its continued recognition.
“We actually imagine that this model and this franchise has evergreen potential,” Roberto Stanichi, Mattel’s chief international model officer, advised Reuters on the Worldwide Toy Honest within the southern German metropolis of Nuremberg, the place the toys had been unveiled. “We’ll be staging totally different collections, totally different assortments all year long,” he added.
Going through declining retail gross sales, the Barbie and Scorching Wheels maker is repositioning itself as a worldwide leisure participant, giving new life to its mental properties via Hollywood partnerships.
With greater than 14 movies within the pipeline, Mattel hopes to repeat the success of the 2023 blockbuster ‘Barbie’ with a live-action model of ‘Masters of the Universe’ in June and can launch a brand new He-Man toy line quickly to construct buzz.
Whereas no announcement has but been made, business publication Deadline reported {that a} ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ sequel is within the works for a attainable 2029 launch. “Now we have bold plans for the franchise, however I am not in a position to share them but,” Filippo Zuffada, senior director of shopper merchandise at Netflix, advised Reuters. “Merchandise is important to increase the lifetime of an IP like this.”
Netflix, which was already providing ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ attire, equipment and collectibles via its on-line store, introduced licensing partnerships with Mattel in addition to Hasbro in October.
Mattel’s Stanichi stated the method of creating a product from an thought to industrial launch usually takes round 18 months and that, for the ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ line, the corporate labored with Netflix to hurry that up with out sacrificing element.
The dolls impressed by Rumi, Zoey and Mira – the movie’s woman band members by day and demon hunters by evening – will initially be accessible with two appears, together with dolls that sing their Billboard No 1 hit ‘Golden’.
The HUNTR/X stars, together with frenemy boy band Saja Boys members and different characters, will probably be launched throughout Mattel’s Polly Pocket, UNO and Little Folks Collector manufacturers.
The dolls will promote for round $40 to $45, whereas Polly Pocket tiny capsules, that includes the woman band’s favorite ramen cups, will retail for about $8. Some merchandise won’t be accessible till autumn.
