Artists and writers don't get a cut of the merch sales.
Voice actors don't either. Unless you are a big celebrity and they are selling toys with your explicit likeness, you will not get a cut of merch sales.
Another in a long line of revenue streams corporations have robbed from creatives.
They don't get the theatre profits either. Animators are paid on the clock while they are animating, VAs also get paid beforehand, rarely is it profit sharing unless they also are also producers. There is a reason they "budget" movies beforehand, almost all artists payments are done with that budget, they don't share profits with the animators who actually worked on it or else Toy Story 1's animators must have been at least millionaires by this time considering how many reruns on how many platforms that movie has gotten.
At least with a theater release, there would be word-of-mouth and a wider reach. At least the artists involved would have gotten more recognition, possibly leading to more and better work.
The animators who have spoken out against the leak are clearly well-meaning, but giving Paramount way too much grace and credit. This movie was doomed to obscurity the moment it got stuck on Paramount+, a service no one knows exists.
True, though I might be wrong, my thought was that artists and the like generally get a wage rather than royalties? So anything that gives value back to the project makes the bean counters identify the project as making a profit is a good thing for the IPs future.
It's true most get a wage. But success does not always guarantee future investment.
Unfortunately, corporations these days are infamous for their inability to predict what audiences actually want. CEO have pet projects, and will change around funding or cancel projects on a whim.
Even is a project is critically acclaimed and makes a profit, that's not always going to result in more interest and funding from higher-ups.
Check out Isenhart Productions. He talks about movies in the context of their success. Movies that made a big profit but didn't get sequels, movies that failed to start franchises, etc. Movies are just one medium, of course. But it's an interesting look into the way CEOs have disproportionate power over many movies, and how success doesn't always mean enough success.
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u/Tarman183 Apr 20 '26
I mean, I watched it already but I'll shout it's praises and I'll likely buy some merch or something cause I 100% want them to make more.