Following the success of James Cameron’s Avatar, Fox Consumer Products plans to expand its merchandising opportunities for the franchise.

With more than 125 licensed products manufactured during the film’s release in four main categories (video games, publishing, toys, and apparel), Fox hopes to expand the number in the fall with back-to-school and other seasonal products. Fox also plans on expanding the Avatar brand to encompass bedding, board games, social expressions, and costumes. Current partners include Rubie’s, Abrams, MEGA Brands, JLA Home, and Trends International.

Avatar is the highest grossing film of all time, with approximately $2.7 billion in worldwide ticket sales, and is also the best-selling DVD and Blu-ray with around 20 million copies purchased in the first three weeks. Its retail sales total approximately $153 million.

The shelves will turn a bit more ugly this year as Pretty Ugly expands its plush characters plus partners with Schylling and Abrams for additional products.

Pointy Max, who has a weakness for cheese and a phobia of blank paper, joins the Ugly Doll family along with Picksey, Mynus, Ninja Batty Shogun, Ket, Wippy, Nandy Bear, and Cozymonster.

In March, the company will release Series 2 Action Figures in new “C-Thru” boxes, which are packaged in a collection of 12. The following month, Pretty Ugly will debut six new Big Toe Collections in bright new colors.

The Ugly gang will premiere in new books such as Random House titles Ugly Guide 4-The Ugly Guide to Eating Out and Keeping it Down, and Ugly Colors, a board book, to be released by April. In the fall, another board book, Babo’s Cookie Problem, will be released.

Pretty Ugly will also team with Schylling to release new tin products including tin truck pencil holders, coin banks, wind-up robots, alarm clocks, and tin keepsake lunch boxes. Through a partnership with Abrams, the company will also release two calendars in the summer.

Catch up on last week’s news! Read The Toy Book Toy Report for 01/13/10.

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