Blockbuster season is on the horizon but as box office revenue grows, will licensed merchandise also cash in?

Many merchandise programs were locked in well before the pandemic and then delayed when film releases were rescheduled multiple times. As film release dates underwent wholesale changes and streaming services filled the gaps, it seemed inevitable that the once iron-clad schedules and theatrical exclusives would permanently shrink to 45 days.

But the return of theatrical films was underscored by the release of Dr. Strange In The Multiverse of Madness last weekend, which had generated $507.8 in global box revenue through Tuesday. And theater attendance is on the rise across the board. AMC’s theater attendance hit 39 million in the first quarter, against seven million a year earlier, while Cinemark hit 20 million.

Looking forward, licensees are optimistic as they are finally delivering long-awaited shipments to retail to coincide with upcoming licensing-heavy blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick (May 24), Jurassic World Dominion (June 10), and Minions: The Return of Gru (July 1). But theater operators don’t expect the film business to fully return to its regular cadence until 2024.

“We [will] likely get back to more of a normalized level in 2024,” Cinemark CEO Sean Gamble said. “I say that because the lingering effects of Covid should be gone. Streaming platforms will be in a much more mature place and the value of theatrical is in serving as a promotional vehicle for them.”

As part of that value, some theatrical chains are showing a revived interest in carrying licensed merchandise to coincide with film releases. In the case of AMC, the operator is planning to launch a program online and in theaters late this year through distributor Golden Link featuring plush, popcorn makers, and other products tied to classic franchises like Minions, Star Wars, Jurassic, and Marvel, including evergreen items that can sell regardless of whether they’re tied to a current release, licensing executives said. Additionally, AMC—which buys popcorn from Weaver Popcorn Co.—expects to launch microwaveable and ready-to-eat popcorn through grocery chains by year-end, CEO Adam Aron said.

“What’s very clear to us is the merchandise is going to work for us,” Aron said. “We are in the process of figuring out how to make AMC-branded and movie-themed merchandise available to our guests, whether at theaters or online.”

Retailers continue to look to “content-driven” brands as a means for getting consumers to shop in stores and online and drive consumer traffic, a licensing executive said, especially as many of the most toyetic movies of the past two years were released on streaming.

“There are going to be new release plans now that people are back in theaters,” a toy executive said. “Good content will drive good merchandise sales and that won’t change. This will be the reset year and in 2023 you will have more movies released in theaters and have a fast follow on digital. The retailers are all interested in movies and getting people to shop across their box.”

At the same time, theater operators are seeking to expand their reach by renting space for live sports and gaming as well as concerts. Cinemark, for example, screened a live-stream of BTS’ “Permission to Dance on Stage” concerts in Seoul, South Korea that generated about $33 million in box office revenue in March.