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George Lucas’Star Warscame from a humble beginning where almost nobody believed it would become successful. Fox was willing to sit down and listen to the director’s story, but when he talked about licensing and merchandising, it seemed like a strange idea for the studio.
At the time, the concept of producing and selling toys was unheard of. Even Lucas admitted it took more time to make merchandise than films. And, since Fox was willing to risk it all as they were on the brink of bankruptcy, they gave the licensing rights to Lucas.
George Lucas Gave Up His Lucrative Salary To Gain Control OverStar WarsMerch
At the 77th Cannes Festival, filmmakerGeorge Lucasrecalled in his speech viaThe Hollywood Reporterthe early struggles he faced with the launch ofStar Wars, particularly regarding merchandise production.
The studios didn’t have licensing departments. It took longer to design a toy than it did to make a movie. They didn’t have faith in the movie. The studio was going bankrupt anyway, they had a lot of movies already and they were desperate.
Selling toysbased on movies was not a thing back then, so it was a novel concept for Fox. Lucas eventually had control of the sequel rights as the studio was already on the verge of collapsing. With nothing to lose anymore, they bowed to Lucas’ demand.
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Fox and Lucas agreed to see the reduction of his salary as director from $500,000 to $150,000 and in turn, he will be given all merchandising and sequel rights.
In an article byThe Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys,Star Warssold over $100 million worth of toys between 1977 and 1978. This was an impressive return for Kenner, the company to which Lucas sold the toy-merchandising rights, after it spent $100,000 as an investment.
Little did Lucas know, his deal with Fox would become the most lucrative movie business deal of all time. In fact,Star Warsbecame the most successful in terms of merchandising franchise, and it even earned a spot in the Guinness World Record.
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Fast forward to today,Star Warslicensed toys profit up to $3 billion a year in revenues. At present, Fox would not even dare commit the same mistake they did almost five decades ago.
George Lucas Likes To Focus More on Movies Than Toys
Interestingly, after his arrangement with Fox over control of the merchandising, Lucas has barely enough time to bask in the lucrative toy empire he created. The director prefers to focus on making films, as he shared viaThe Hollywood Reporter:
I’m just the movie guy. The branding and the licensing and that sort of thing, it’s fun. I like that there’s lots of great toys and funny T-shirts and really great gadgets and things that are fun. But at the same time, my main focus is on just making the movie.
The films certainly made a lot of money from the box office, but it was the licensing and merchandising that brought home the gold. Even Lucas himself was too shocked by the unexpected success ofStar Wars.
Ariane Cruz
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3532
Ariane Cruz is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 3,000 articles published. Her love for pop culture and the creative arts fuels her passion to deliver engaging and informative stories. Her daily consumption of films, shows, and books keeps her energized for the day, along with her mission to serve as the bridge between fans and their favorite franchises.
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