DK Expects Losses of $41 Million Following Star Wars Debacle

Staff -- Library Journal, 3/13/2000

Want to know what's even more painful than being impaled by a demonic Sith lord's double-bladed lightsaber? Just ask publisher Dorling Kindersley (DK). Following a gross over-estimate in the number of tie-in titles to the hit film Star Wars, Episode One: The Phantom Menace needed to meet the demand of holiday shoppers, London-based publisher Dorling Kindersley (DK) is expected to post pre-tax losses of $41 million. Though the film itself grossed nearly $1 billion and counting worldwide, merchandising in more areas than just books apparently fell far below expectations. "It was the Lucas Licensing machine and the retailer's desire for a magic bullet," Brian Weinstock, VP of creative development for toy company Trendmasters, told the press. "What they expected was so out of kilter with reality, there was really no way the line could have been anything but a disappointment."