Transforming Movie Profits

Sure seems like a lot of recent movies are based on toys, old TV shows, and other well-worn ideas. It turns out these ideas have considerable appeal to the studio because of the merchandise that can be sold around these familiar-looking movies. And increasingly, Hollywood is looking toward Wal-mart and other retailers as partners and profit centers for sales of Transformers, G.I. Joes and other toys that are suddenly movie stars.