Wonder Woman is the latest and biggest test of Hollywoods ability to promote a female superhero. After Star Wars: The Force Awakens, fans used the #wheresRey campaign to highlight the initial absence of toys and games featuring the movies female star -- before Disney flooded stores with more merchandise. More recently, characters like Harley Quinn, Batgirl, Black Window and Supergirl have been included in ensemble packs on store shelves. Wonder Woman is the first female superhero in years to carry her own film.
Until the last three years, female superheroes were few and far between, said Jim Silver, editor of toy review site TTPM.com. You never saw them, and the ones that were tested, except for one or two like the Power Puff girls, never did well. Now, the whole market has changed.
He estimates toy sales this year for Wonder Woman, strictly tied to the movie, will be about $100 million -- less than many of the traditional male superhero tie-ins but still a significant amount of revenue.
Then there are the girl-oriented tie-ins, like Wonder Woman-branded cosmetics, jewelry and purses. The female Amazonian princess, with her golden lasso and sword, could earn up to $1 billion from global sales of licensed merchandise, said Karina Masolova, executive editor of The Licensing Letter, which tracks licensing revenue. That would put her ahead of Superman and on par with Batman, who gets an advantage from his assortment of weapons and vehicles.
Diane Nelson, who runs Warners DC Comics unit, also took over the companys consumer products licensing in 2015. In that role, shes made female characters such as Wonder Woman and Supergirl a priority.
Last year, Time Warner Inc.s Warner Bros. and Mattel rolled out a line of action figures and dolls for DC Superhero Girls, a group of high schoolers like Wonder Woman and Batgirl with special powers. The line has sold well, helping Mattel revive its girls business, and has been expanded this year with more characters and offerings.
