NEWS

Asterix celebrates year of ‘unparalleled success’ in album sales and licensing deals

Published on: 21st January 2021

Asterix has marked 2020 as a year ‘of unparalleled’ success during which its latest album, The Chieftain’s Daughter sold more than five million copes around the world, hitting a new record for an Asterix album since the series takeover in 2013.

Meanwhile, the illustrated album Le Menhir d’Or, published in October last year, is about to exceed 15,000 copies sold in France – a record for an illustrated album.

The iconic French comic brand has reported that it has shifted nearly 800,000 copies of albums from its current backlist throughout 2020, marking a five per cent increase when compared to sales through 2019, and 35 per cent more than 2018.

On the licensing side, major operations have been equally successful. Lidl the brand in 2020 for a loyalty program over ten weeks, with new activations already signed off for 2021. In France, Asterix stands as the favourite charcter for boys aged seven to 14, ahead of Harry Potter and in the overall top ten licenses in the country.

Asterix brand owners, Éditions Albert René are now coining 2021 as the year for Asterix as it gears up for the launch of a new comic book album this October, and the debut of a new TV series based on the character Idefix/Dogmatix on France Televisions this September. It will also air on Super RTL in Germany at the end of the year.

Meanwhile, 2022 will see the release of the live action film in which Asterix and Obelix travel to China on an unprecedented adventure in a new movie directed by Guillaume Canet.

Asterix will also be leaving his mark on the gaming space with the planned launch for an augmented reality mobile game this spring, Developed by Hootside, the game will see players take on the role of a young Gaul from the village, and help Obelix find his friends. It’s been billed as an immersive new game that will play a key role in recruiting new fans to the IP.

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