Last year's release of the Wicked movie illustrated just how powerful (and profitable) the lore behind the Wicked Witch of the West actually was. A tale rooted in the complex beauty of female friendship and the power of being true to oneself, Wicked also lent itself to a cornucopia of clever product collaborations. As Gabrielle Pitman wrote for Future Commerce, her formative experience connecting with the characters of Wicked made ALDO's theme collection a perfect "if you know, you know" nod and, in turn, a must-have for fans.

One year later, the promotional calendar is kicking back into gear. Wicked: For Good will hit US theaters on November 21, 2025, and brands and retailers are already revving up the fandom, turning their emotional connections and memories into powerful sales tools.

The reason comes down to dollars and cents: The global movie merchandise market is valued at $37.47 billion in 2025, with a projected growth rate of 2.2% from 2025 to 2033. This is part of a much larger universe: the "licensed merchandise market," which is worth a staggering $337.6 billion. The value of these characters, lands, and IP universes is set based on the value that consumers ("fans") assign to them. And the reality is, a growing number of consumers want to buy products from these films, shows, and media entities to convey their love and connection to them.

Consider this: 80% of consumers say belonging to a fandom brings them joy, and 50% of those who belong to a fandom think about or engage with related products at least once a day. Emotional resonance and connection are just one piece of the puzzle. People are also assigning value to goods tied to these worlds. 

Brands are getting wise to the connection. With every new major studio launch, there is an onslaught of "exclusive product drops" that tap into these fandoms, stoke emotional connection, and get them to open their wallets. From the movie theaters that offer exclusive popcorn buckets to the furniture and home retailer unveiling exclusive character collections, all characters in the story of commerce are trying to play a starring role in the Wicked: For Good marketing hype cycle.

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How Smart Brands Time-Travel to Market

The most successful brands in the Wicked: For Good collabosphere didn't simply recognize a cultural moment. They engineered their entire product development cycle to intercept it, treating film launches as strategic calendar anchors that reshape how merchandise moves from concept to consumer.

"When we talk about apparel, footwear, and even accessories, it typically takes about a year to go to market unless you're an ultra-fast-fashion brand, or you have a vertical supply chain, and have a process for which you can get to market faster with trends," explained Liza Amlani, Principal and Co-Founder of Retail Strategy Group. That means most brands follow a linear product development process by season, a model that increasingly feels like trying to catch lightning with a butterfly net.

The solution? What Amlani calls a "multi-track calendar," in which parts of the seasonal assortment are created at different times, so multiple "tracks" run concurrently. Seasonless core basics launch while seasonal, capsule, and fast-track collections are released in parallel. Think of it as temporal product architecture: different velocity lanes for different types of market moments.

"Capsule collections allow you to be as close to market as possible on what's trending, and then you develop closer to market, so you can get a read on a season."
- Liza Amlani, Retail Strategy Group

An example of this would be Sardine Girl Summer, a social media trend that ultimately became a market trend, shaping apparel, accessories, and even home decor. But limited collections and product drops like those with Wicked are closer to market and the season brands are selling in. In some cases, these drops are developed in-season.

“Let’s go back to the whole trend with the Barbie movie,” Amlani said. “Apparel brands might not have known when the movie was coming, but perhaps Crocs knew because they used Crocs in the movie.” 

In some cases, a brand might not have a market or insights team going out to see what’s happening in the media industry and aligning with it. Or, they do have an insights team, but silos are preventing them from sharing those insights with marketing and merchandising, so everyone can rally around a relevant and impactful media moment.

What brands truly need is "clear line of sight into what other industries are doing that can inform their product assortment," Amlani noted. Organizations like Shein and UNIQLO have mastered this, tapping into trends quickly and testing the market, using technology and data to inform what to put in front of customers. They're not just selling products; they're running continuous cultural experiments.

In the case of Wicked: For Good, all brands have operated on a more level playing field. Director Jon M. Chu announced in 2022 that the Wicked movie would be released in two parts, and Universal broadly promoted the final launch date for the second film in September 2024, bringing us right in line with the 12-month product development cycle. 

As a result, we’re seeing brands of all sizes, across product categories and pricing thresholds, seizing the moment and tailoring product drops so consumers can, quite literally, purchase items that best align with the main characters they adore and relate to most. 

Choosing Your Heroine, Buying Your Belonging

What’s most fascinating about the Wicked collabosphere is how vast it is. The worldbuilding possibilities are seemingly endless, creating major revenue opportunities for the film studio and its brand partners. The all-encompassing nature of these collaborations also offers something fans crave: a closer connection to the films and characters they treasure. 

Ultimately, successful partnerships hinge on the brand’s ability to prompt the consumer’s desire to belong when interacting with IP, turning it into a key decision: “Am I a Glinda or an Elphaba?” 

Want to show your love for all things happy and “good”? Pick up a box of General Mills’ Wicked Glinda Good Berry cereal at your nearest Target. Relate to Elphaba’s conviction and social isolation? Show it off with your very own pair of her wire frames for a reasonable $119. (But hurry, limited stock is available!) 

Sock Candy has dedicated collections that convey each character's vibe, so fans can wear their favorite heroine on their feet. And if you’re a super fan? Well, Pottery Barn will help you adorn your entire living space in a witch’s image. 

The above chart highlights just some of the officially licensed product launches tied to Wicked: For Good…so far. And what is most striking about analyzing cost versus novelty is just how few launches are either low-cost and/or practical. 

Of course, one could argue that practicality is in the eye of the beholder. If someone is truly subscribed to a fandom, practicality lies in their ability to express their belonging freely, in the medium they choose. But in this case, there is a heavy lean toward novelty; the ability to portray the characters, color schemes, and world aesthetics in a way that teeters on the edge of escapism. Participating in commerce tied to the world means essentially living in it, which is an incredibly powerful feeling for fans. But when does this escapist novelty go too far? One could argue it’s in the form of a $730 Swarovski collectible statue. 

A Warning for Culture Vultures

Culture for culture’s sake is the new technology for technology’s sake.

Equal parts warning, part snarky tagline, it encapsulates the real risks of latching onto a cultural moment that makes zero sense for your brand and your customers. 

If you need help illustrating what “culture for culture’s sake” actually looks and even feels like, look no further than Le Creuset’s Wicked: For Good collection. Surface level, the campaign’s tagline is equal parts clever and kitschy: “stir a little magic in the kitchen and beyond." Witches' brew, pot, double double toil and trouble, and all that. We get the joke.

OK, cute.

But with $450 price tags, are Le Creuset’s Dutch ovens the appropriate canvas for cute?

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After all, Le Creuset has intentionally designed its brand and heritage to reflect the quality and longevity of its products. These products are culinary heirlooms destined to be passed from kitchen to kitchen and from generation to generation. If the brand launches new collections that reflect a film launch, something that may or may not be a fleeting cultural moment, does that hurt the brand’s credibility and legitimacy? 

Some consumers are such avid fans that they’ve built entire homes around their Dutch oven collections, but as New York Magazine’s Tammie Teclemariam observed, the brand appears to be rewriting its legacy in real time, positioning itself less as a “buy-it-for-life” brand and more as something “people just buy, mostly for clout.”

“These are the superfans who cram into Le Creuset’s official factory-to-table events, ticketed extravaganzas that draw collectors hoping to score ‘mystery boxes’ filled with cookware, as if the pans were little more than very heavy Labubus.”
- Tammie Teclemariam, New York Magazine 

Collabs like the one with Wicked illustrate just how far Le Creuset is willing to go to capture mind and wallet share. Amlani challenges this approach, saying candidly in our conversation, “They are changing their brand DNA. That’s what it feels like.” 

Which leads us to the most significant takeaway of all: brand merchandising and marketing teams need to think critically before pouncing on a cultural moment. Even the most profitable media entities with the richest worldbuilding and licensing potential may still not make sense for your brand.

Le Creuset is vastly different from DIFF Eyewear in both brand positioning and product strategy. DIFF Eyewear has a long history of cultural drops and collaborations with franchises ranging from Disney and Marvel to Barbie, Harry Potter, and even Yellowstone. These cultural ties are embedded in the brand's identity and, frankly, are why consumers love shopping with the brand. For Wicked in particular, it’s also an easy way for DIFF to seize a product-relevant moment. In Wicked: Part One, Elphaba’s circular glasses are a compelling accessory; a way for the film to convey her bookishness and “oddness.” 

DIFF offering the same design in addition to a rich collection of pink, emerald, and glittery designs allows the brand to be part of the cultural moment and for consumers to own a piece of the IP they love. It is identity and ownership entwined in a perfect glasses-sized package. 

As we get closer to Wicked: For Good’s launch, we will undoubtedly see more additions to the film’s commercial universe. But the question remains whether these product drops will truly take flight.