Kids looking to grab an Iron Man toy after being wowed by the hit “Marvel’s The Avengers” have some choices on store shelves, including leftovers from the 2010 movie “Iron Man 2.”
Stores, burned after years of slow-selling Hollywood toys, held back on orders for “Avengers” products. With the film a huge success, retailers have been peddling old Thor hammers and Captain America action figures at or close to full price.
The “Avengers” surprise illustrates the challenges marketers face even with hits. Hasbro, which licenses the rights to make many Marvel-related toys from Walt Disney Co., will generate about $150 million in sales from “Avengers” merchandise this year, said Gerrick Johnson, a New York-based analyst at BMO Capital Markets Inc.
Normally, a movie that makes more than $1 billion at the box office would produce $250 million to $300 million in toy sales, Johnson said.
