Industry leaders in the toy industry Mattel and Hasbro Sign Movie-Related Licencing deals to produce co-branded toys and games in conjunction with this summer’s blockbuster movies.
Hasbro will offer Barbie-themed Monopoly sets in the autumn of 2023, and Mattel will roll out Transformers-themed UNO sets later this year, both as part of its Hollywood expansion plans. Hot Wheels toys with the Transformers logo will hit shelves in early 2024.
Mattel and Hasbro are making a contract before the debut of Barbie by Warner Bros. on July 21, 2023, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts by Paramount on June 9, 2023.
We are thrilled to bring together some of the world’s most recognisable businesses for the first time. Mattel’s senior vice president of entertainment partnerships, Nick Karamanos, released the following statement: “This collaboration incorporates world-class IP, celebrates the everlasting appeal of iconic brands, and delivers new play experiences for fans.
In the next live-action Barbie film, Margot Robbie will play the title character. The seventh film in Paramount Pictures’ Transformers franchise, titled Rise of the Beasts and based on the 1990s animated series Beast Wars, will include robots that can transform into animal forms.
Both Mattel and Hasbro are actively pursuing product-to-movie pipelines for their own legendary toy brands, and they expect this summer’s box office performance to give a boost to merchandise and licencing sales. As a whole, the toy business has been struggling recently due to things like pandemic quarantines and the resulting supply-chain concerns for merchandise made in China, so these joint licencing partnerships come at a good time.
“With the major theatrical releases of the Transformers and Barbie movies in summer 2023, we’re excited to bring brand-new play experiences to fans, families, and movie and toy lovers all over the world,” said Casey Collins, president of global licenced consumer products and business development.
The toy companies’ best-known brands include Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels racecars, UNO card games, and Monopoly board games.