The peripheral products of "Ne Zha: Birth of the Demon Child 2" are extremely popular. Will the derivatives of film and television IPs be a new opportunity?
Written by Xue Dexing
Edited by Liu Shiwu
The box office success of "Ne Zha: Devil Child Causes Havoc in the Sea" is an acknowledged fact. As of February 14, the total box office of "Ne Zha: Devil Child Causes Havoc in the Sea" has exceeded 10 billion yuan, becoming the first film in the history of Chinese cinema to break the 10-billion-yuan box office mark. Under the strong influence of the film, its IP derivatives have also sparked a rush to purchase in the market.
The "Born with Bonds Series" blind box figurines (priced at 69 yuan each) launched by Pop Mart were sold out online on the first day. The sales volume in the Tmall flagship store exceeded 30,000 pieces, and the pre-sale delivery date was postponed to May 20. The offline stores were also out of stock, and the premium on the second-hand platform reached 2 to 7 times (the blind box originally priced at 69 yuan was hyped to 551 yuan); The first batch of "Fighting Heaven Package" (10 yuan/package) of the "Ne Zha 2" collection cards launched by Ka You was sold out. The sales volume in the Tmall flagship store was more than 4,000, and related products such as badges and standing signs were also selling well.
In this wave of "Ne Zha 2" derivatives, the Jiesen Entertainment Group's Jikasha and Senluowanxiang brands have also achieved considerable results. The official joint collection cards and a series of peripheral products of the movie "Ne Zha: Devil Child Causes Havoc in the Sea" that they are promoting have exceeded the 100 million yuan mark in total channel sales during the Chinese New Year.
In recent years, the prosperity of the movie derivative market is no longer an accidental phenomenon. The hot sales of the peripheral products of "Ne Zha: Devil Child Causes Havoc in the Sea" is just a typical representative of this trend. The "Analysis of the Operating Pattern and Investment Potential Research and Forecast Report of the Chinese Movie Derivative Product Industry from 2024 to 2029" shows that in recent years, the scale of China's movie derivative market has continued to rise, and it is expected to continue to expand at an annual growth rate of more than 10% in the future.
The popularity of this Ne Zha series collection cards has also made Jiesen Entertainment the sales champion in the collection card category.
In terms of products, Jiesen Entertainment hopes to be more exquisite in materials and craftsmanship to provide a better experience for fans who like these IPs.
Related card products
Take the card products of the "Ne Zha 2" series as an example. In addition to various card forms and gameplay such as ink-wash art, fun grating, and double-person splicing, as well as upgraded card surface designs, Jikasha also exclusively commissioned the well-known illustrator Xiaobo to specially draw new illustrations of Ne Zha and Ao Bing, and produce a collection card of the two traveling to the New Year Lantern Festival together.
There is also an AR technology innovation in the collection card experience. The exclusive AR movie-watching special card is launched. With the mobile phone software, the movie characters are presented on the card surface in a 3D stereoscopic image, enhancing the interactivity and fun of the card gameplay.
Effect of the AR movie-watching special card
The movie version collector's edition card released simultaneously with the release of the movie "Ne Zha: Devil Child Causes Havoc in the Sea" has attracted many collectors with its unique and exquisite second-creation card images, rich card gameplay, and the combination of classic scenes and character images. Gashapon machines, laser tickets, and stress relief toys are also used as category supplements to meet the needs of more fans.
In terms of online channels, the Jikasha card-drawing machine mini-program has become one of the important platforms for user interaction with its unique card-drawing gameplay and card-drop mechanism, and has a user base of more than 50 million. On social media and e-commerce platforms, users spontaneously share the unboxing experience, accumulating a positive word-of-mouth effect for the product. In addition, more than a thousand internet celebrities have promoted the products of this platform through various forms of content creation, enhancing the market influence of the Ne Zha series products.
Image source from the Internet
In offline activities, Jikasha has cooperated with more than 1,000 cinemas. Audiences can directly purchase co-branded products after watching the movie, combining the movie-watching experience with the collection hobby. The Senluowanxiang store under the Jiesen Entertainment Group has specially set up a special area for the Ne Zha series products, attracting more than 1 million people to visit and purchase. In Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Chengdu, related activities have also sparked widespread enthusiasm for participation.
Offline event site
It is worth mentioning that compared with the marketing strategies of IP derivatives on the market, such as "limited marketing" and "hidden styles" that encourage the premium of the secondary market, Jiesen Entertainment pays more attention to the quality and innovation of the products themselves. "We will not hype the so-called secondary market and will not deceive some children to buy at high prices. This is a route that we have always adhered to," said Judy, the marketing director of Jiesen Group.
In recent years, many domestic anime films represented by the "Ne Zha" series have not only achieved commercial success but also demonstrated the close connection between domestic anime and traditional Chinese culture.
Previously, Jikasha has jointly launched movie collector's edition cards with Chinese characteristic film and television works such as "Xiao Qian", "Under One Person", "Decryption", "Dream of the Red Chamber", and "Lion Dance Boy 2". The successful cooperation with the "Ne Zha" series IP is also inseparable from Jikasha's layout in the national style IP in the past five years.
Related cooperation of Jikasha
While focusing on domestic anime, Jiesen Entertainment also actively grasps user discussions and topics, and pays attention to some domestic film and television drama IPs.
Take the recently popular fairy-tale TV drama "White Moon and Brahma Star" as an example. The "White Moon and Brahma Star" commemorative collection cards and Bai Lu and Ao Ruipeng autograph cards launched by Jikasha were also sold out in a short period of time.
In the United States, the revenue from film and television derivatives and copyrights is much higher than the film's own box office revenue, and the ratio is often 2.5:1. For example, the global total box office of the "Star Wars" series is about 10 billion US dollars, while its derivatives (such as toys, games, clothing, etc.) have an income of more than 20 billion US dollars. In contrast, in China's current total movie revenue, derivatives account for less than 10%, and it is still in the initial stage, indicating a huge market potential in this aspect.
"Jiesen Entertainment Group will continue to focus on creating the IP content itself, and focus on the domestic anime IP. In the future, it will continue to deeply cultivate the IP content belonging to China and lead them to a better future," Judy concluded.