Why do Hot Toys have so many ____ty licenses?

[DCfan]

I'm genuinely interested - are they making money out of things like the Spirit figures or Terminator Salvation or Clash of the Titans or whatever that they wouldn't make out of doing a Jim Lee Batman? Why's Perseus out before Jake Sully, and why did Silk Spectre come out before Rorschach - is there a business reason for it?

 

[GrayWolf87]

I dont know, but I get more pissed at them not completing lines, or atleast releasing more than 1 damn figure from a licence.

 

[The Ringer]

Silk and Rorschach are the same licence.

 

[Deak Starkiller]

In short, yes they make money, there are several factors that can effect a release of a figure, and it's smarter to release SS before Rorschach. You're welcome.

 

[Voorhees27]

I'm genuinely interested - are they making money out of things like the Spirit figures or Terminator Salvation or Clash of the Titans or whatever that they wouldn't make out of doing a Jim Lee Batman? Why's Perseus out before Jake Sully, and why did Silk Spectre come out before Rorschach - is there a business reason for it?

If you got the figure you wanted most first would you buy the least popular ones after? Probably not. You release the ones people want least first in hopes that they'll cave due to the lack of patience.

Its all business strategy, nothing more. I think (imo) HT's are just as big 1/6 fans as we are but business always comes first.

Now, as for ____ty licenses? I couldn't agree more. They need to do their homework in that department. Then again I wouldn't be surprised if they sold tons of Avatar figures.

 

[The Craw]

they should get the WWF license and make the Ultimate Warrior as a figure. just him and no one else.

 

[dcflake]

They only seem to have a movie masterpiece line not a comic book line so figures from a particular artist cannot happen as of yet.

 

[DPrime]

You never know, some of these movies are a lot more popular overseas. Translated into the right language, even a terrible, terrible movie like the Spirit might be good...

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

I assume they released Silk Spectre first because they expected the Watchmen line would have more staying power than it did, but as with The Spirit, fanboy hype didn't match the actual interest.

The Terminator Salvation figures sold very well I think. Anything Predator or Terminator they do is going to sell, those fanbases are very dedicated.

 

[Protozaius]

I thought the reason Hot Toys didn't do Rorschach is because they currently don't have a short body to put him on. Sure Hot Toys has a slim body but do they have a short one?

I think that the reason they put SS II out first because she was probably the easiest to complie in the shortesty amount of time. Lind of like how Blade came together for them.

 

[ProgMatinee]

HT gets the second class licenses because no one expects more than 3 or 4 figures from a second class license. HT has ADD when it comes to dedication to a license. THANK GOD they don't have Star Wars.

That said, with their limited interest within a specific line, what they are interested in they do TO THE MAX. They are perfect for lines like Iron Man, 300, Clash of the Titans, Tron, etc where all we care about is at most 3 r 4 figures.

 

[pixletwin]

I wish they would take on ____ licenses like Doctor Who.

 

[Centrocal]

Jim Lee Batman is not a movie

 

[Darklord Dave]

There are reasons, and probably good reasons, for all the decisions they make. Studios license things in order to promote new films - so they want HT to do Clash of the Titans, but they could care less if HT does an ancient film like Superman: The Movie.

Speculation (based on some evidence):
HT had no interest in Watchmen but WB probably leveraged other titles, such as Dark Knight, in getting them to take it. They figured they'd do the chick and the badass-looking guy and then forget about it.

The Spirit - the deal was made long before the movie came out. Both HT and Lionsgate(?) may have thought they had the next Dark Knight there, so they planned the licensing accordingly.

 

[William Shatners Toupee]

HT has ADD when it comes to dedication to a license. THANK GOD they don't have Star Wars.

That said, with their limited interest within a specific line, what they are interested in they do TO THE MAX.

Very true!

I love their Predators, but I gotta say I am pretty much under-whelmed with every other license they have ever unveiled.

But you know, the problem isn't that they go after ___ licenses, the problem is that they don't go after MY ____ licenses!!!
We are so spoiled now there are not that may licenses I care about left to be made.

Personal examples of ____ I want:
MOVIES
Keaton Batman
Phantasm (whole cast)
The Howling (werewolf)
Outland (Connery)
Flash Gordon 1980

TELEVISION
Doctor Who
Classic Battlestar Galactica,
Bubble Gum Crisis (OVAs)- anime

I mean, that stuff's not gonna happen. That's MY ____. Not theirs.

On the topic of other movies being bigger overseas than they were here, that was a prefect point. HOWARD THE DUCK was freakin' HUGE in Japan when it came out, I kid you not. (we are soooo screwed...)

-Rick

 

[OSCORP]

THANK GOD they don't have Star Wars.

You don't think if HT was doing SW, (the $ cow) they'd be pumping out Figs left and right like DK and IM but 5x more?


(Since they've stated it's one line they'd love to do)
I don't think they're that dumb.

 

[Josette]

Speculation (based on some evidence):
HT had no interest in Watchmen but WB probably leveraged other titles, such as Dark Knight, in getting them to take it. They figured they'd do the chick and the badass-looking guy and then forget about it.

Where is the evidence for this? I'd like to hear it/read it.

I think the truth is that they dropped the ball by taking too long in releases, and didn't strike fast enough while the iron was hot and the hype was high. It's all about the fad. What's hot now won't be hot later. I see evidence of that on the boards all the time.

That's one thing I don't miss - being out of the collecting game for the time being - the frustration over the lack of line completion, or even just getting a decent selection of characters. It was getting old.

 

[plasmid303]

Wait...hold on...what's this thread about? One discussion is ostensibly about HT having sh__ty licenses and the other is a tangent about HT's focus being erratic. Which one is it?

In regards to the crappy license thing, I kinda disagree. They're all high profile licenses and most of the ones we now consider "sh__ty" or bad were announced before anyone could possibly have known better. There were presumptions, sure, but Clash of the Titans could have been good (one example).

Enterbay has Dragon Ball the movie...I mean...come on.

 

[KBA]

There are reasons, and probably good reasons, for all the decisions they make. Studios license things in order to promote new films - so they want HT to do Clash of the Titans, but they could care less if HT does an ancient film like Superman: The Movie.

Pretty much.

One thing though- while they do have a lot of crap licenses, they do grab some amazing ones. Godfather was a dream come true. The T2 stuff looks great. And while HT may not even get their feet wet in some of those great properties, I'm glad I can buy really iconic characters and have them move on to the next gem of a license. If they don't see it viable to stick with something and hammer out figures, I'm glad they have the sense to stay afloat rather than lose money.

 

[Darkseed]

I don't have an issue with HT choice in licensing, they must be diverse enough to attract different collectors. I don't like an offering I simply pass.

I agree "milking" certain lines while leaving others incomplete is frustrating but I am certain their figure choices come well researched or approved by licensor.