NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Between titles like Barbie, Transformers, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it is truly a toy movie summer. Toys are flying off shelves for some names experiencing yet another big comeback.
"This is just always where my heart's been, I couldn't be happy at a desk job," Matthew Powell, owner of Totally Rad Toyhouse in Nashville, said. "I always wanted to have a toy shop."
It's just the perfect job for him, as someone who literally wears his love of all things retro cool.
"This is actually from the end of Evil Dead II," Matthew said, showing a tattoo of Bruce Campbell on his arm.
Groovy.
"This is He-Man from Masters of the Universe and Liono from ThunderCats," he said, showing other tattoos on his arms.
"The 80s was the best time," Matthew smiled.
No arguments from us there. We don't have to tell you, toy sales aren't just child's play. It's big business, especially during a summer movie season like this one.
If you look at the top ten box office earners released so far in 2023, what you'll find is that all ten films are existing properties, known franchises or known characters. The top ten includes Super Mario Brothers and Spider-Man at the top of the list, and Indiana Jones rounding out the bottom. That's good news for a place like Matthew's.
"Nostalgia's a powerful thing," he said.
A lot of it's reinvigorated interest in titles that have been around about 40 years or maybe even longer.
People have known the name Barbie since 1959. While it remains to be seen what the Barbie film will do for doll sales in 2023, last year the Barbie brand made $1.5 billion dollars.
"We're getting a lot more people wanting to sell us Barbie collections because of the movie," Matthew said. "They think they can retire now!"
Meanwhile, Matthew can't restock Transformers fast enough after a film release last month. There's also a huge boost in demand for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at his shop ahead of a new film's release next month.
"Ninja Turtles is probably in the biggest boom it's been in since the early 90s when it was so big," Matthew said.
Matthew said there's something key to the continued interest in these properties after so many years.
"Parents share with their kids what they loved as children," he explained. "They go back and learn the history of these things."
Whatever toy or property's next to see a renaissance, Matthew's ready for it.
"I think that's definitely a good thing for fandom and for businesses like us," Matthew said.
