Movie Merch Hits $97.4M Ahead of Summer Blockbusters; Shoppers Choose Essentials Over Toys

New study from Omnisend finds 71% of best-selling products are everyday essentials, outperforming toys and collectibles

CHARLESTON, S.C., April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Movie merchandise on Amazon tied to this year's biggest releases generated $97.4 million in revenue and sold 4.48 million units in March 2026, a new study by Omnisend finds, just in time for the summer blockbuster season. Sales are highly concentrated, with the top five films – all family titles – bringing in 86% of all tracked revenue, or roughly $83.8 million.

Paw-Patrol: The Dino Movie leads with $23.7M in revenue and 1.1M units sold — nearly a quarter of total sales before release. A single product, a Paw Patrol toddler tumbler set, generated $1.19M on its own.

Other top performers include Spider-Man: Brand New Day ($16.6M), Moana ($15.5M), and Toy Story 5 ($14.7M). Moana stands out for efficiency, generating more than $7,200 per product – more than double the category average.

Adult-oriented titles contribute far less. Project Hail Mary generated $531K from 26K units, while The Devil Wears Prada 2 brought in just $42K from 2K units, relying mostly on apparel.

"For families, entertainment is often a more cost-effective way to spend time together compared to bigger expenses like travel, and that drives repeat engagement with the same franchises," says Marty Bauer, Ecommerce Expert at Omnisend. "Kids don't just watch a movie once, they build ongoing relationships with characters, which naturally extends into merchandise. In turn, repeat consumption and emotional attachment makes family titles far more likely to generate sustained, high-volume product demand before a film even hits theaters."

As budgets tighten, shoppers favor merch they can use every day

The strongest-performing individual products are increasingly practical. For 71% of films analyzed, best-selling items fall into everyday categories such as apparel (43%), baby items (14%), and home products (14%).

Drinkware stands out. Zak Designs' Kelso tumblers are best-sellers across Paw Patrol, Moana, and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. Home items like kids' bedding also perform consistently, well for titles such as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Minions & Monsters. Apparel splits by audience, from children's nightwear for family titles to simple graphic t-shirts for adult films.

Although Toys & Games are still the top product category for 29% of films studied, they lead only in select franchises like Toy Story 5 and Masters of the Universe.

"Merch is becoming part of everyday life rather than just something people collect," says Bauer. "In tighter economic conditions, consumers naturally gravitate toward items that deliver ongoing value. Products like drinkware, bedding, and everyday apparel perform better because they can be used repeatedly."

Methodology

Using JungleScout, Omnisend analyzed merchandise sales on Amazon in March 2026. For the purposes of this research, Omnisend looked at the top 20 movies being released this year. The figures mentioned in this press release are estimations.

Data reflects a 30-day snapshot and may not account for long-tail sales patterns or regional variation outside primary markets. Performance is limited to products available through tracked retail channels.

More information can be found here: https://www.omnisend.com/blog/2026-analysis-of-us-blockbuster-merch/.

About Omnisend

Omnisend is an email & SMS marketing platform with a suite of features made specifically to help ecommerce stores grow their online businesses faster. One-click integration with major ecommerce platforms, pre-made automation & email templates, and award-winning 24/7/365 live customer support make it easy for brands of any size to sell more – all without the exaggerated cost.

For further information, please contact:

Darija Grobova, Public Relations Lead, [email protected]

SOURCE Omnisend