Early on, director Paul Feig was intent on making sure there were plenty Ghostbusters toys to go around after the big Star Wars #WheresRey controversy. Turns out that was a very good business decision indeed.
Variety says Mattel, who created action figures of Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Melissa McCarthy and other items from the new film, are “reporting strong early sales for its line of toys based on the female-led Ghostbusters – from both boys and girls.”
They also write, “In keeping with the tagline 'Everybody wants to be a Ghostbuster,' Mattel”s retail strategy was to sell the female-led Ghostbusters action figures in the boys” toy aisle. The sales figures at the top retailers in the country have exceeded expectations.”
That's interesting because earlier this year Donna Dickens realized all the weapon toys for the new film featured boys on the packaging. While the film and toys are for everyone, it would have been nice to see them actually marketing to girls as well. And not just because women lead the film. Warner Bros. DC Super Hero Girls line is proving marketing to girls and young women is a profitable way to go.
It's unclear from Variety's piece whether Mattel specifically marketing to boys balanced out what they felt were going to be already strong sales from girls or if both demographics were just doing well in general.
“We”re thrilled with the response to the new Ghostbusters toy line,” Joe Lawandus, senior VP of design and marketing for Mattel”s Toy Box told Variety. “We worked closely with Sony to ensure each figure featured authentic details from the movie including a wearable proton pack. The early momentum shows the product is resonating with Ghostbusters fans!”
So where do we go from here? Producer Amy Pascal has said she feels the franchise could be “endless,” that “people are going to love this movie so much that they're going to demand more and more.” I have a feeling we'll see even more merchandise as time goes on.