In addition to the modest media campaign, the Star Wars retail presence is much less prominent than in the past.
Three years ago, a much-ballyhooed partnership with Tricon Global Restaurants Inc, operators of the Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut chains, was so unsuccessful that the new film is not tied to any fast-food chain this time around.
But there are some supermarket product tie-ins on store shelves, including cereal and fruit snakes produced by General Mills Inc and with PepsiCo's Frito Lay. Additionally, Hasbro Inc has introduced a new line of Star Wars toys.
In all, there are 50 licenses for Clones for such products as video games and school supplies. This is down significantly from the 85 licenses granted for The Phantom Menace when products ran the gamut from plastic model kits to inflatable furniture.
Such a wide array of tie-ins led to some public backlash and many unsold products, but it didn't hurt the performance of The Phantom Menace, which grossed US$431 million domestically.
"They could spend 10 cents on marketing this movie and still it's going to make close to US$300 million," said Bucksbaum. "Why spend those crazy amounts trying to get the word out?"
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