Hot Wheels were hot commodities in 2023, according to new data from Circana. The 1:64 scale model cars from Mattel were the top selling toy globally. The report tracks with Mattel’s latest earnings report, which showed Hot Wheel sales rose 22% year over year to $454.8 million.
For Mattel, the product category was second only to Barbie, which saw $605 million in sales during the same quarter that Greta Gerwig’s hit film about the doll made box office history.
US toy sales overall were up 26% in 2023 compared to 2019, despite the fact that many consumers pulled back on discretionary spending categories, including toys and games.
“With inflation at the highest level we have seen in decades and birth rates at their lowest in many countries, the global toy industry faced new challenges in 2023,” Frédérique Tutt, Circana’s global toys industry advisor, said in a statement. “Consumers across many regions had to make difficult trade-offs and reduced their spending on toys and games.”
This insight was better reflected in Hasbro’s Q3 earnings: The toymaker reported an 18% drop in sales of consumer products.
Hasbro’s earnings also reflected another major trend impacting toy sales: the increasing importance of franchised or licensed toys. While sales of Hasbro’s partner and portfolio brands fell 35% and 19%, respectively, franchised toy sales such as Dungeons & Dragons and Transformers (which also have movie properties) were up 8%.
According to Circana, licensed toys accounted for 31.1% of the total market, “highlighting the continued importance of characters and franchises in driving sales.”
Both Mattel and Hasbro are scheduled to report fourth quarter earnings in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, breaking the mold is Jazwares, whose Squishmallows Plush 8” Assortment topped Circana’s list as the top-selling toy in the US. The plush toys aren’t based on any existing intellectual property and don’t appear to have any tentpole movies coming out about them—though perhaps it’s only a matter of time.