The phenomenon is global. Created ten years ago, in the imagination of British screenwriter Keith Chapman – already father of the famous Bob the Builder -, PAW Patrol has since experienced a meteoric rise. While the second film from the Canadian animated series is due to be released this Wednesday, October 11 on the big screen, it is already breaking all records. Called La Paw Patrol: La Super Patrouille, it jumped to the top of the North American box office in the first weekend after its release, with 23 million dollars in revenue, and in France, all advance projections- premiere of the film were stormed. The film even broke an unusual record on September 24 in Los Angeles, when 219 dogs attended the premiere during an outdoor screening, immediately propelling the film into the Guiness Book of Records.
“The first film had already exceeded all expectations, with 1.5 million admissions. We were the biggest animated success of the summer, ahead of DreamWorks films,” recalls Fred Moget, CEO of Paramount Pictures. At the time, in August 2021, two things surprised the distributor: “the scale of the franchise which is enjoying enormous success, well beyond cinema” and “the target reached, much wider than had been imagined , with receptive children up to 11 years old. Paw Patrol “gets everyone in agreement,” rejoices the general director, evoking a program full of love, humor and emotion. “The success of a film is always a bit mysterious, but here, there is a cocktail that works with cuteness, little puppies…”, he says.
With the release of this new opus, Paramount hopes to “do more than the first”. “For the moment, the first indications point in this direction,” confirms Fred Moget, “with more than 70,000 entries just for the first preview Sunday, more than double what had been done on the previous”. A success such that a third opus would already be in preparation.
And the incredible performances of the little puppy brigade are far from stopping at cinema success alone. With 10 seasons of 26 episodes, broadcast in France by TF1, two official films and thousands of derivative products, La Paw Patrol is a real goose that lays the golden eggs. Toys, electronic products, clothing and even food, all sectors are concerned. From the school kit for a few euros to the bed set for 38 euros, including pajama sets for 17 euros, Kiabi is one of the ready-to-wear brands to have understood the enormous potential of this Paw Patrol market. And the list of brands to ride this trend is still long: H
The same in supermarkets, where you can find snacks, fruit drinks, ice creams and even Paw Patrol Pampers diapers in the aisles. But it is on the toy side that the market is most flourishing. “It is the third best-selling license in France by JouéClub, with a potential of 100 million euros in turnover per year, just behind Pokémon and Star Wars,” explains Franck Mathais, spokesperson for the group, who assures that “it has been working for 10 years, and current cinematographic events will further increase the market”. As proof, the JouéClub Christmas catalog has no less than five pages entirely devoted to Paw Patrol, with around thirty toys listed out of 2,100 in total. “It’s very strong,” says the spokesperson.
A success confirmed by Guillaume Mamez, the South Europe general manager of Spin Master, a Canadian multinational specializing in children’s toys, which holds the rights to the license with Paramount. In 2022, the Paw Patrol brand, owned by Spin Master, and the 70 licensees affiliated with it, represent “74 million euros in turnover”, figures from sales to consumers. That is “an increase of 9% compared to last year”. According to figures from the consultancy firm specializing in consumption Circana, Paw Patrol thus comes in third position among the most profitable franchises in France, behind Pokémon and VTech Baby and ahead of Barbie, Harry Potter and even Star Wars. “It’s both a brand and a license,” notes Lucie Dubois, toy specialist for Circana, but if we talk in terms of game and toy characters, Paw Patrol comes in 2nd position, behind Pokémon, and ahead of Marvel and Barbie for the 2023 figures. And to confirm: “It is clearly the favorite character in the pre-school part”, that is to say among children from 3 to 5 years old.
Figures which owe nothing to chance according to the one who oversees the French market, taking into account the adequacy between the content broadcast on television and the products sold in stores. “There is a fairly perfect alignment between the cartoons and what we find in stores”, thanks to “the successful balance” of the tripartite relationship between the broadcaster, in this case TF1, and Spin Master , owner of the license co-developed with Paramount. “Not to mention that as a manufacturer, we only choose quality partners,” continues the toy specialist, citing partnerships with VTech, Ravensburger and Clementoni.
Among the best-selling Paw Patrol toys in 2022, Spin Master cites the vehicles with figurine, sold for around 15 euros, just like the Rescue Knights versions, sold for around 20 euros, but also the Advent calendar, or even the station of Paw Patroller games. As for the first “licensed” products, we find the Mille Bornes Paw Patrol in thirteenth position, followed by the Labyrinth Game and the Memory Paw Patrol from Ravensburger, which arrive in 19th and 42nd position respectively. An overall success for Paw Patrol defended by the parents themselves, the first to be convinced by the program. “Paw Patrol has obtained parental approval, and parents know that the cartoon and the films will convey values of mutual aid, friendship and a sense of duty,” assures Guillaume Mamez.
“I’m happy that PAW Patrol is in our lives,” says Armelle frankly. This mother of a 5-year-old little girl is full of praise for what has enabled her offspring, for at least two years and still today, to “have fun on their own for hours”, “to create your own scenarios. “It’s super reassuring, the stories are never dramatic, the plot is always the same and the episodes are short”: this is the winning combo, according to her, of an animated series that seems to please everyone. world, young and old. “What’s good is that the figurines allow children to create their own stories based on the universe they know from cartoons and books,” adds Mathieu, who estimates having spent around 300 euros in Paw Patrol derivative products. And just as much energy to find the figurine that was missing from his daughter’s collection. “When the first film was released, we looked everywhere to find Liberty, the new character in the film, but he was out of stock everywhere (…) we ended up finding him but in a Lego version several months later” , he says anecdotally.
And the craze is such that Paw Patrol toys also sell very well on the second-hand market. After noticing that her son no longer played with his twenty Paw Patrol vehicles, Loïse put everything up for sale on Vinted. “Everything sold in less than 3 hours,” smiles this mother, who offered sale prices of between two thirds and half of the new price. Nothing surprising for the mother who estimates that she spent around 350 euros on products derived from the brand, and did not hesitate to spend several hours making a special Paw Patrol birthday cake with her own hands for the 3 year old. of his son. And if he no longer has a vehicle, he still has his bath towel, his cap, his pajamas and his slippers flocked in the colors of his favorite puppies.