As you can probably tell, I love writing about Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters. Even though the trailers looked like shit, the movie slayed, and really kept in the spirit of the original film. In fact, this morning I revisited Ghostbusters II only to realize that it had even more references to the first than the remake, and was also disturbingly meta. I always sort of liked the sequel, but as an adult, well, it’s trash. Point is, Ghostbusters II came closer to ruining my childhood than the reboot starring Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon.
Speaking of sequels, we talked about the weak box office numbers and how merchandising was key to a franchise like Ghostbusters. Opening weekend looked grim, and Sony continued to sell their shareholders on the idea that the reboot was a success (it’s all about the stockholders). Toys were discounted weeks before release, although I personally noticed an uptick in online sales and at local retailers like Target (our own John Squires has recently noted that sales looked dire at his local Toys “R” Us.) From the outside looking in, it’s hard to tell how the merch is doing. Well, according to Variety, Mattel is reporting strong early sales for its line of toys based on the female-led Ghostbusters — surprisingly from both boys and girls.
Mattel said Ghostbusters action figures and character mini-figures, the Ecto vehicle and the Proton pack are all selling well.
“We’re thrilled with the response to the new ‘Ghostbusters’ toy line,” said Joe Lawandus, senior VP of design and marketing for Mattel’s Toy Box. “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!”
Mattel could also be posturing to appease their own shareholders, which makes it hard to judge just how well the new film performed. If what Sony and Mattel are stating hold true, a sequel could easily be in development as of this writing. However, if this is a smokescreen solely for stock market purposes, well, as soon the film leaves theaters it could be the last we hear of the franchise.