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“Toy Story” helped launch Pixar when it premiered in 1995. More than 30 years and four films later, the family franchise has become a revenue-generating juggernaut for the Walt Disney Company and the global economy.
The series has added $51 billion in overall economic activity since its inception, according to a study that Disney commissioned from Steward Redqueen, an independent impact advisory firm.
Much of that figure comes from consumer product sales, which Steward Redqueen argues lifts suppliers, retailers, small businesses and service providers. That includes everything from salaries to the sales of clothing, dolls and games touting “Toy Story” characters. It also factors in transportation, tourism, manufacturing, and utilities revenues related to seeing the movies, visiting theme park attractions and producing “Toy Story” merchandise. The report comes as “Toy Story 5” has dominated the box office since it was released in June, earning more than $880 million globally. In addition to ticket sales, the series is also the most streamed franchise on Disney+.
In terms of direct economic impact for Disney, Buzz and Woody have generated $16.2 billion. That includes the sale of merchandise, movie tickets and home entertainment rentals. That figure is more than it cost the company to buy all of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm combined (Disney shelled out $15.4 billion to purchase those brands).
“This is our No. 1 animated franchise,” says Asad Ayaz, Disney’s chief brand officer. “I don’t think there’s many other franchises that have been embraced by audiences and critics over the course of three decades. People who were kids when the first movie came out are taking their own children to the new ‘Toy Story.'”
The study also looks at the multi-generational impact of “Toy Story.” As Ayaz states, because the series has been part of the culture for so long, Millennials, who grew up with the characters, have driven the greatest impact with 74%. Gen Z and Gen Alpha account for 19% and 7% of the economic impact, respectively.
Nearly $25 billion of the overall economic impact occurred in the U.S., Steward Redqueen reports, with California and Florida, where Disney has theme parks, as well as Texas, New York and Illinois listed as the states enjoying the biggest benefits from the franchise. The firm casts a wide net to capture those numbers. It estimates sales margins for downstream suppliers like manufacturers, retailers, and other distributors. So, for example, it factors in what movie theaters spend on popcorn providers, which allows those vendors to also earn profits, pay taxes and pay salaries.
Steward Redqueen said to come up with its calculations it looked at consumer spending on the “Toy Story” franchise across movies, home streaming, consumer products, parks, experiences and music. It then separated those figures in terms of their direct and indirect impact. Direct impact captured the economic contributions directly generated by the franchise’s operations (such as the economic contributions supported by production of the movies). Indirect impact includes the economic contributions supported by the franchise through its suppliers and sales partners (distributors and retailers selling “Toy Story” products), as well as their respective suppliers. This is the first study of its kind that Disney has commissioned on one of its franchises.
With “Toy Story 5” topping the box office, it seems like a sixth film is inevitable.
“I’ll leave that up to the Pixar team,” Ayaz says. “I hope there is more. But what’s great about Pixar is that they wait until they have a story that is worth telling to make another movie.”
