Pushing the Boundaries of Movie Merch

It really all started with the first-ever Star Wars movie back in 1977. That was when George Lucas realized that box office revenue could be significantly boosted by film merchandise like action figures and models of the Millennium Falcon. In 2015, when “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was released, this chapter in the saga made a reported $700 million in retail sales. Considering the movie cost an estimated $445 million to make, this would have meant profit for Disney even if a single ticket had never been sold.
 
The highly lucrative nature of movie merch and tie-ins means that there have been some pretty wacky examples over the years for everyone from the James Bond franchise to Bridesmaids – and here are five of the more unusual examples.
 
The Matrix Phone
When The Matrix was released back in 1999, there was a very different technological landscape than the one that we occupy today. The internet was in its infancy, wi-fi an unheard-of phenomenon. So while the phone featured in the film – a Samsung SPH-N270 – would hardly pass muster with users today, it quickly became a collector’s item when it was released in limited numbers in 2003.
 
The Bridesmaids Slots game
The top-grossing Judd Apatow movie to date made a pretty handy $288 million in the box office – not a bad return for the £32.5 million budget. You might wonder how the makers made any extra money from merch but you only have to turn to online casinos, where you’ll find the Bridesmaids slots game featuring cast members on the reels and even a “catch the bouquet” bonus feature. In fact, according to a review of the provider on Bonus.ca, the popular Golden Tiger casino features, in addition to the Bridesmaids slot, more film-based online slots, including Hellboy and The Dark Knight. 
 
The Harry Potter Wand
In contrast, the Harry Potter franchise has thrown up countless merchandising opportunities and even a Harry Potter Tour round the UK studios where it was made. Fans of the teenage wizard will want to get their very own Nimbus 2000 broomstick to play Quidditch, and the great news is that there are plenty of them available to buy – although they won’t take off, just vibrate slightly to give the impression of flight!
 
The James Bond Candle
If you’ve ever wondered what the unique aroma of James Bond 007 might be, then you could find the answer with the fragranced candles made by the fashion and lifestyle brand TOCCA. The scent they emit when lit is said to combine the rich leather interior of the spy’s famous Aston Martin along with hints of Dry Martini, shaken not stirred, of course.
 
The Dark Vador Burger
No, it’s not a misprint. “Dark Vador” is the name given to Darth Vader in France. When “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace” was released, the Quick chain produced a burger with a black bun to celebrate. It wasn’t exactly a success, as you might expect in a country that takes its food – and even its fast food – very seriously indeed.
 
There are countless other examples out there too of pieces of merch that have met with varying degrees of success. And with the film industry under more pressure than ever before to compete for viewers’ dollars with upstarts like Netflix and Apple TV we may not have seen anything yet!