Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) made perhaps the greatest purchase of its history when it acquired the Star Wars franchise from George Lucas. When 24/7 Wall St. calculated the value of this franchise since inception, it came to a whopping $30 billion. That was two-years ago. With more and more plans coming to light for the next Star Wars feature film, Disney is about to show just what a steal it made in this acquisition.
When 24/7 Wall St. calculated the total value of the Star Wars franchise, that was around the release of the 3D film “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” and after its Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG video game had launched.
News that J.J. Abrams is getting ready to begin filming Star Wars Episode 7 in May 2014 has raised interest in the Star Wars genre of late. The film has not yet even been named. We also do not even have confirmation whether the characters of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia will appear. Ditto for the original actors Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and the like. The March 18 movie confirmation merely said:
It has also been confirmed that Star Wars: Episode VII is set about 30 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, and will star a trio of new young leads along with some very familiar faces. No further details on casting or plot are available at this time. Star Wars: Episode VII will release in theaters on December 18, 2015.
Our initial projections and figures to come up with more than $30 billion as a franchise value were based on some 35 years of the franchise. Again, that was before Disney acquired it from Lucas.
On top of whatever the movie tickets cost, imagine all the toys, comics, books and merchandise sales that will appear. Now think about the Star Wars franchise being a theme park attraction at Disney Land or Disney World. The long and short of the matter is that Disney will be able to milk more value from Star Wars than any other single acquirer could have — period!
Do not discount the role of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) in the mix either. This video game giant has been selected to develop and publish new video games for Star Wars franchise for years to come.
We originally said that perhaps George Lucas should consider an initial public offering for the Star Wars franchise. That may have been a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the value of this franchise is far from any joke.
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