Hasbro has published its 2021 Annual Report and the 2022 Proxy Statement for the general public to read.
Regarding Transformers, the toy company highlights the 5-year agreement with Paramount Pictures which includes Transformers live-action movies. Although the agreement was signed back in November 2017, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will still fall under the same deal due to its original 2022 release date. Hasbro states that the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie is under a separate deal not affiliated with the aforementioned agreement for 5 years.
“In October 2017, we entered into an agreement with Paramount Pictures (“Paramount”) to produce and distribute live action and animated films, as well as television programming based on Hasbro brands over a five-year period. Hasbro’s global eOne studio plays an active role alongside Paramount in content development and production under this relationship. Hasbro also plays a significant role in financing films created through this cooperative agreement. Under this relationship we plan to release TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS, a feature length film expected in summer of 2023. In addition, under a separate agreement entered with Paramount, where Hasbro’s eOne studio will serve as the production entity, we plan to release a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS feature length film, expected in early 2023.”.
Hasbro is also set to activate a strategy for the Transformers franchise based on the strategy they carried out for the My Little Pony franchise.
“Last year marked the successful relaunch of an iconic Hasbro Franchise Brand: MY LITTLE PONY. Led by the expertise of the eOne team, My Little Pony: A New Generation animated feature and global campaign drove the brand. The film fueled greater than 100% growth in toy and game point of sale in the fourth quarter 2021 and double-digit growth in licensed consumer products for the year. With a significant multi-year content road map led by eOne – including 500 minutes of animation this year alone – and a deep and innovative merchandise program, we believe MY LITTLE PONY is positioned to reclaim its place as a leading global lifestyle brand through expansive Blueprint activation. We are actively building similar executions with TRANSFORMERS starting in 2022 and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS in 2023.”
You can check out other Transformers-related tidbits from the report, after the jump.
“The successful Netflix release of My Little Pony: A New Generation supported entertainment revenue growth in the year, as well as higher Consumer Products sales. Future Hasbro-led content this yearincludes additional animated MY LITTLE PONYspecials and series, a MAGIC: THE GATHERINGNetflix series, Transformers EarthSpark series on Nickelodeon; Transformers BotBots Netflix series,and new seasons of PEPPA PIG and PJ MASKS. In2023 we are planning for the theatrical release of Transformers: Rise of the Beast and Dungeons & Dragons live-action films. Each of these offer an enhanced opportunity to activate brands around the Blueprint in entertainment, in gaming, in toys and in licensed merchandise unlocking additional value for our rich brand portfolio.”
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“The Franchise Brands portfolio net revenues increased 22% in 2021 compared to 2020. The majority of the 2021 increase was driven by higher net revenues from MAGIC: THE GATHERINGproducts, as a result of successful card sets released throughout the year, including multiple record setting releases and higher digital gaming net revenues from Magic: The Gathering Arena. To a lesser extent, higher net revenues from NERF products, most notably in the US, higher net revenues from the MY LITTLE PONY brand, due to the release of the film MY LITTLE PONY: A NEW GENERATION and the launch of the associated product line, as well higher net revenues from TRANSFORMERS products supported by the release of the final chapter of the animated television series trilogy, TRANSFORMERS: WAR FOR CYBERTRON in July 2021, contributed to the increase. In addition to these increases, were higher net revenues from PLAY-DOH products”
Hoffman
I know I'm late to this, but if you've ever been to TFCon, or really any convention, this absolutely is a lifestyle for some people.
Plus, reading the way that some people spend a lot of their free moment driving around hunting for toys, that is part of their lifestyle.
Then in the other free time they spend on the internet talking about Transformers.
How is that not a specific lifestyle?
Ravage Stanixa
No we won't. He's male in G1, TFA, and WFC, and she's female in Cyberverse. This is not hard to understand. Different alternate universes are different.
Also oh my g-d Rose Tico was treated like shit by the fandom and some of us are mad that she was not given more screen time in later instalments. Some of us like having girls in our faces.
Ravage Stanixa
And then there's my avatar. LOL. Definitely not to be taken too seriously. But I love it.
They seem to be doing OK with Star Trek. I just watched Strange New Worlds. Do you realise we have 5 Star Trek series now? Discovery, Picard, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks and Prodigy. And they're GREAT.
Rodimal Rodimus
Yeah, I was kinda referring to first previous few.
firmpulse
It was over feeling shame about collecting Windblade themed annual reports.
AlphaCentauri
I don’t read or keep track of the IDW conics. If she was a major player in one of them, then I guess I will take back what I said.
T-Hybrid
I thought her and at least Pyra Magna were in IDW 2.0?
AcademyofDrX
With everything else that got nuked, I don't know if OP's fandom flamebait just slipped by coincidentally, but I'm not sure specifics of Cyberverse is consistent with the scope of the thread.
AlphaCentauri
Aside from Cyberverse, I don’t think Windblade has much of a presence as she did during the Prime Wars era.
Fenrys
Pretty much, in fact she's written out for a good chunk of season 3
T-Hybrid
Right. She's a main character. She's no more "shoved in our face" than Sonic in his films or Tony Stark in Iron Man.
Once the cast expands, she becomes part of the ensemble. Like Tony Stark in the Avengers. I think by the end of S3 she's basically a background character.
Rodimus Prime
Oh, carry on then.
AlphaCentauri
I thought they were referring to the discussion about windblade not the previous argument.
Rodimus Prime
No, it was about feeling shame for collecting.
AlphaCentauri
Something something Windblade something something.
Rodimal Rodimus
What are we arguing over again?
Fenrys
That's overexaggerated. Windblade is only "shoved in your face" in season 1 since she's one of the 2 focal characters in that season and there's maybe 4 bots that noticably get gender flipped (Acidstorm, who's character model sporadically flips between the male and female seeker character model, Skywarp, Cosmos, who is barely in the show and Swoop who is only in the 2 finale specials).
firmpulse
Oh. Ok. I'll probably continue the skippage. Thank ye.
floper69
I can't wait for the rise of the beast figures to come out, I just want nightbird the car looks so cool
Max Tower
I'm kinda hesitant to say anything at all now, after that er 'dire warning'.
So I'll instead link to some of my thoughts posted on the UK discussion instead – just incase anything I say is considered 'off topic' for this thread.
But basically I'm just talking about marketing a brand like Earthspark, Rise of the Beast or Botbots to kids vs Marketing to adults, that sort of thing. which is some thoughts inspired by Hasbro financial declarations contained her in.
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