As Licensing Expo planning gets underway we’re taking a look at what, at least from a theatrical point of view, will likely be the big licensing swings for 2026. Expect to see these movies featuring prominently on booths and in partner presentations at the show. Release schedules are always changing, but 2026 is currently looking to be packed with big films from some of the biggest franchises from the last 40+ years. With many already big in the licensing space. To keep on top of all of the latest film and TV releases and brand anniversaries bookmark the brand new Negosh Event Calendar.
It will be interesting to see which movies innovate with their licensing programs and how retailers decide which ones to support with shelf space.
Firstly, we’ll start with one of the less licensing heavy genres, horror. Big and getting bigger in categories such as dress up and collectibles, horror movies will have a strong 2026, starting with the second film in a planned new trilogy based on the 28 Days Later franchise. 28 Years Later - The Bone Temple will follow on from this year’s 28 Years Later film, releasing just 7 months later. The Bone Temple will be the fourth film in the franchise and although not big in licensing so far, if there was ever a time to build one it would be in 2026 ahead of the planned final film’s release.
Better established horror franchises also have new releases. Scream 7 will bring back Neve Campbell, missing from the most recent movie, as well of course as the iconic Ghost Face. The Exorcist is also coming back, either as a remake or potential ‘re-quel’, as is The Mummy, by the same team that reimagined The Invisible Man and this year’s Wolfman. With the opening this summer of Universal’s Dark Universe park in Orlando could horror be about to break into the licensing space in a bigger way than before?
Every year we hear that franchise films are dominating the box office. And if you look at movies from 2021-24 that were given a wide US release to more than 1,000 screens then those based on some form of IP accounted for 56% in terms of volume and 83% of the Global Box Office. Expect 2026 to further accelerate this trend with some of the biggest IPs having a theatrical release.
It is quite clear that 80s and 90s kids are in control of Hollywood looking at some of the classic IPs getting theatrical releases. After being shelved by Netflix and resurrected by Amazon, Masters of the Universe is a big swing at resurrecting the Mattel toy franchise off the back of the recent Netflix animated series. Originally created to literally sell toys, expect a big licensing program to accompany this film.
Likewise with the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, a sequel to the 2023 animated hit film that also spawned an animated TV show spin-off. The Turtles have been huge in licensing for 40 years so expect 2026 to see the brand using the new movie as a halo moment to grow listings at retail.
Also from Nickelodeon comes Aang: The Last Airbender, a new animated movie building on the success of last year’s live action Netflix series. With a fanbase built up over decades again expect this movie release to create a ‘moment’ for the brand when it comes out.
Another 80s hit to go alongside He-Man and the Turtles, is StreetFighter, one of the biggest early video game hits. Although theatrical success has so far alluded the franchise, off the back of other video games making the successful transition to big and small screen, could it finally be time for Ryu, Chun-Li et al to be a hit at the box office?
Another IP betting on a theatrical driven comeback is The Cat in the Hat, hoping to wipe memories of 2003’s movie. Dr Seuss has seen hit movies in the past so hopefully this film delivers a licensing bump to the Dr Seuss family of characters.
Moana is getting the live action treatment, quicker than most, and just 2 years after the sequel to the original animated film. Expect Disney to use it as a halo to drive products for the overall Moana franchise. Just when you thought you had gotten those hit songs out of your head ...
Disney are also taking their hit Star Wars TV show to the big screen with The Mandalorian & Grogu. With Baby Yoda/Grogu having already proved a hit in licensing expect him to be everywhere next year, potentially in reskinned versions of products being made for this year’s live action Lilo & Stitch movie.
Other notable franchises getting new instalments in 2026 include Lord of the Rings, with The Hunt for Gollum, hopefully this prequel will recapture the magic of the original trilogy rather than the lethargy of the rather drawn out The Hobbit films. There’s likely an excellent 3.5 hour movie to be made out of the Hobbit trilogy’s 8 hour total runtime - could it be the new Synder Cut?
Netflix are rebooting The Chronicles of Narnia, no doubt with the series’ best known entry of The, Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. If only someone was brave enough to go to first book and start from there. With strong female and male characters throughout the series, all the books are long over due for a full big screen adaptation.
The Fast & The Furious rolls on with Fast X: Part 2 but is rumoured to be where the franchise will finally end, if so it would make sense for next summer to see a licensing program celebrating the full franchise take shape.
The next Hunger Games prequel, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, will focus on the character of Haymitch (played by Woody Harrelson in the original films) and will focus on his time in the arena. After the success of the first prequel it appears there is life in the franchise without Katniss Everdeen.
We’ll potentially also see Dune Messiah, the third Dune film, release at the end of the year. Due to be the final film in a trilogy it's likely to see a licensing program around it.
There's also a third Jumanji movie planned for the end of the year, with the previous 2 films grossing over $1.7bn at the global box office this feels like it could become a franchise to watch in the coming years.
We couldn’t talk about any year at the box office without of course mentioning superheroes. Marvel will be hoping that its TV series and movies from the past few years will have fans excited for its new iteration of the Avengers in Avengers: Doomsday. The film is bringing back Robert Downey Jr. in a new role as Doctor Doom and will likely see a new line up join the remaining original Avengers. So alongside Spiderman and Thor expect the Fantastic 4, Ms Marvel and The Thunderbolts. All offering up a plethora of new characters for action figures, apparel and lunch boxes.
Sony’s fourth Spiderman film with Tom Holland is also expected next year so it will be interesting to see how it takes the story forward and connects with the new Avengers film given how No Way Home ended. Spiderman remains an evergreen superhero and also has a new Disney+ animated series out now but the two films will likely give the brand a much welcomes boost in licensing.
DC will be continuing its endeavour to build a new cinematic universe under James Gunn’s direction with Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, following on this year’s Superman reboot, and then Clayface an oft ally and adversary of Batman getting his own movie for the first time. It will be interesting to see Gunn’s more hopeful and colourful take on the DC stable of superheroes and what impact this might have on licensing.
In terms of licensing, and probably box office, the biggest swings will likely be the animated sequels. If release schedules hold then we will see The Super Mario Bros. 2, Minions 3, PAW Patrol 3, Toy Story 5, Shrek 5 and Ice Age 6. That’s right 6 of the biggest animated franchises of the past 30 years all have new films out next year. Frozen 3 has now been pushed into 2027 but given its size and huge licensing programs it will no doubt still be much talked about at Licensing Expo this year.
In terms of box office these franchises are worth over $20bn and the licensing revenue is likely to be at least the same again.
Estimated Global Box Office Revenues:
- Despicable Me/Minions $5.5bn
- Shrek $4.4bn
- Toy Story $3.3bn
- Ice Age $3.2bn
- Frozen $2.8bn
- Super Mario $1.3bn
- PAW Patrol $0.4bn
It's estimated that Frozen has generated double its box office in product sales and Toy Story three times as much. Although Paw Patrol has by far the smallest box office, their movies work as a halo for the TV show franchise, which has been a top rated pre-school show for over a decade.
All of these animated franchises will see huge licensed product sales, but is there room for all of them on shelves? Retailers will be looking for the best products from each franchise to maximize their sales, so expect to see new innovative product lines being developed to help these films gain those listings.
If you’re a manufacturer of great products and want to supercharge your sales next year then partnering with one or more of these huge theatrical properties is a no-brainer.
If you're interested in partnering with one of these big films then Negosh Connector can help put you in touch with any brand or IP owner you’d like to work with. Get Started here
Also keeo your eye on the Negosh Event Calendar for the up to date release schedule and information for the films, TV shows, video games and anniversaries that are likely to be big for licensing.