Sales of toys related to the “Star Wars” franchise fell in the nine week holiday period vs. a year earlier, NPD figures reported by Bloomberg show. While it was the number one category in the holiday season it fell to number two for the year as a whole. That shouldn’t be a big surprise. Panjiva data shows U.S. seaborne imports of Star Wars related merchandise fell 46.8% in the seven months to December 31 vs. the prior year (covering the “Rogue One” film) and by 56.0% vs. the Episode 7 release in 2016.

The situation for 2018 will be different. The next installment – “Solo – A Star Wars Story” is due for release in May rather than December. That will involve a retooling of supply chains for manufacturers including Hasbro with two waves of supplies in both May and ahead of the holidays.

Chart segments U.S. seaborne imports of “Star Wars” merchandise, segmented by month for past three films (Episode 7 = 2015, Rogue One = 2016, Episode 8 = 2017). Source: Panjiva