D&D Movie/TV Here Come The D&D Movie Gaming Tie-Ins!

While there has been no mention of any official sourcebook or adve nture which ties in to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves, with less than two months to go some news of licensed products have started to emerge. Of course, there will always be Funkopops and dolls and other merchandise, but Ultra PRO has announced some gaming accessories based on the movie.

From ICv2:

Dice Tower (MSRP: $49.49)

• Dice rolling and storage
• Holds 40+ standard RPG dice
• Strong magnetic closure

Foldable Dice Tray (MSRP: $24.99)

• Magnetic corners that close in, out, and upside-down
• Measures 8.5x11 when flat
• High quality materials ensure your gaming table is protected

Printed Leatherette Printed Book Folio (MSRP: $49.49)

• Inside of book folio features spot UV detailing
• Embroidered red ampersand logo and book name on binding
• Back cover is secured in a pocket while the front cover is secured with an elastic strap

Character Folio (MSRP: $10.49)

• 10 single-pocket pages for character sheets & notes
• Two 9-pocket pages for spell cards
• Inner pockets in front and back
• Sticker sheet for enhanced organization

Playmats (MSRP: $21.99)

• Soft fabric top helps protect cards during gameplay
• Non-slip rubber backing keeps the playmats shifting during use
• Approximately 12"x13.5" and lies flat
• Makes an excellent oversize mousepad for your home or office

 

[M_Natas]

Now that I can look at the finished cycle of the film, I have 2 thoughts:

1) In general, marketing for the film was (to put ot nicely) not great. Non-D&D players whom I know did not understand what the movie was; D&D players that I know didn't seem to feel that the previews gave a good enough idea concerning what the movie was about to go to the theaters. Additionally, commercials and advertisements which were shown on media channels (and versions of social media) that the target audience actually uses were few and far between. If it wasn't for Enworld, even I likely wouldn't have known the movie was at the local theater before the theater itself put up promotional material for the movie.

2) Are there any products which are usable in the tabletop game which is currently D&D? The figures at WalMart are kinda cool, but they aren't sized anywhere near what would be needed to use for D&D. It's a noticeable failure of a "lifestyle brand" to do nothing to drive someone toward even attempting to play the game. Why exactly does someone buy into a lifestyle brand if the brand isn't something with which the customer interacts? Maybe there are products; if there are, I don't know what they are and imagine that many others don't know either.

Edit: At the time of this post, the movie appears to be about 30 million dollars short of earning back just the budget for the film. Conventional wisdom argues that a "successful" movie needs to earn 2x the production budget. I'm not sure that I entirely agree with that. However, if that is true, that would mean that the film is in the hole over $100M at the time of this post.

Has the merchandising helped close this gap? My perception -which is based purely on anecdotal observation- is no. Even with the movie being an alright movie, I would say that the team responsible for marketing the movie and coming up with merchandise related to both the movie and the 'lifestyle brand' performed poorly.

In contrast, the Mario movie has hit a homerun in theaters, and also has a special Nintendo Switch bundle associated with the movie.

I totally agree. Like, no adventure, no dice sets, no Minis, no special edition players handbook were the replace the pictures of the classes with characters from the movies? Not a freaking Starter Set? The best they could do is d20 shaped Pipcorn-bucket which I can't even get outside the US?
I mean, NPC stat blocks for the characters are nice. But that's something you put in a tie in adventure box.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

In contrast, the Mario movie has hit a homerun in theaters, and also has a special Nintendo Switch bundle associated with the movie.

If I had been at the D&D summit, WotC's apparent disinterest in tying the game to the movie would have been my number one question. It's just so weird.

Nintendo doesn't remotely need to do a Switch tie-in, but has less interest than WotC apparently does in leaving any money on the table.

 

[MwaO]

Edit: At the time of this post, the movie appears to be about 30 million dollars short of earning back just the budget for the film. Conventional wisdom argues that a "successful" movie needs to earn 2x the production budget. I'm not sure that I entirely agree with that. However, if that is true, that would mean that the film is in the hole over $100M at the time of this post.

Basically, when you buy a $16 ticket, the studio gets $8 and the theater gets $8. It is insanely more complicated than that, but at the end of a theatrical run, that's the usual breakdown. And after the first couple of weeks, it starts to weight towards the theaters as opposed to the studio.

If costs are $150 million, then they need to make $300 million in revenue to pay it back. Also, marketing tie-ins, such as games, bobble heads or popcorn baskets or whatever aren't free either. You have a movie that isn't as popular as you'd thought it would be, you can lose money on that end too.

This is the kind of weirdo outcome where a movie that makes say $250 million in revenue can end up losing $75 million.

 

[Argyle King]

Basically, when you buy a $16 ticket, the studio gets $8 and the theater gets $8. It is insanely more complicated than that, but at the end of a theatrical run, that's the usual breakdown. And after the first couple of weeks, it starts to weight towards the theaters as opposed to the studio.

If costs are $150 million, then they need to make $300 million in revenue to pay it back. Also, marketing tie-ins, such as games, bobble heads or popcorn baskets or whatever aren't free either. You have a movie that isn't as popular as you'd thought it would be, you can lose money on that end too.

This is the kind of weirdo outcome where a movie that makes say $250 million in revenue can end up losing $75 million.

That makes sense.

I'm still somewhat baffled by the approach to marketing the movie and the lack of seemingly any attempt to use the movie to generate interest in the overall brand.

With a revamped 5E on the horizon and a started goal of becoming a "lifestyle brand," I would think that there would be some attempt to drive some traffic to the game (or at least explain how a D&D movie is different than any other fantasy film).

What is the lifestyle that the brand is to be built around if not the game?

 

[MwaO]

That makes sense.

I'm still somewhat baffled by the approach to marketing the movie and the lack of seemingly any attempt to use the movie to generate interest in the overall brand.

With a revamped 5E on the horizon and a started goal of becoming a "lifestyle brand," I would think that there would be some attempt to drive some traffic to the game (or at least explain how a D&D movie is different than any other fantasy film).

What is the lifestyle that the brand is to be built around if not the game?

Yeah, it has been really weird — the whole use of a mimic in the commercials was just unbelievable, because it isn't something people outside of D&D will appreciate. Its value is solely as an Easter Egg for players of D&D who are watching the movie. And it looks kind of stupid to non-players. Just repeated use of things that need to be explained to non-players that degrade the value to players in commercials is not a way to sell a movie.

The GotG commercial introducing all the characters in a prison cell was a masterpiece of "Here is character X, here is what they do, here's a quick tidbit about their personality."

 

[Von Corellon]

More swagger

 

[Argyle King]

More swagger View attachment 282038

Well, that's at least somewhat related to people who might already play D&D. Adventurer’s League often seems to have someone who is still figuring out that their aroma is unpleasant.

I've never seen that ad in this area. Kroger isn't here.

 

[Von Corellon]

Still no sign of the Champion sportswear D&D collection, though.

Here ya go, homeslice

Dungeons & Dragons x Champion

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culturefly.com

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

It is merchandising, but not totally linked with the movie. Nice pictures. I don't rebember that artist. Is it fan-art?

I am surprised Hasbro didn't want to sell more toys. It is as if they wanted to await until to sell toys without links with the movie to not pay royalties to the actors.

 

[jasper]

Walmart marketing is strange too. On my side of town no D&D movie merch. On the other side, various merch.