2021 will be the year of Asterix thanks new licensing opportunities.
It’s official: as the media announced on January 4, 2021 will be the year of Asterix with a new comic book album in October 2021, and a TV series around the character of Idefix/Dogmatix on France Télévisions in September 2021 and on Super RTL (Germany) at the end of 2021. Don’t forget too that in 2022 a new live movie will see Asterix and Obelix travel to China on an unprecedented adventure, directed by Guillaume Canet.
2020 for Asterix: a safe haven
Asterix enjoyed unparalleled success in 2020. The latest album, The Chieftain’s Daughter, benefited from exceptional sales: more than 5 million copies have sold all over the world since its release, including 2.4 million in French. These growing numbers represent a record for an Asterix album since the series’ takeover in 2013. The illustrated album Le Menhir d’Or, published in October 2020 is about to exceed 150,000 copies in France, which is also a record for an illustrated album.
The albums from the backlist also sold nearly 800,000 copies, an increase of 5% compared to 2019, and more than 35% compared to 2018! According to Ipsos, Asterix is by far the favorite French comic strip, for adults and children alike. Asterix is also recognized as the favorite character of boys aged 7-14, ahead of Harry Potter and in the overall top 10 licenses in France (BrandTrendz study, November 2020).
In 2020, Parc Astérix experienced exceptional popularity during its opening periods, and its new four-star hotel, the Quais de Lutèce, received the prize for the best themed hotel in the world at the 27th edition of the Thea Awards. This award recognized the creativity and originality of this new hotel, which has already attracted more than 40,000 visitors since its opening.
ASTERIX IN NUMBERS
- Over 385 million copies sold
- Last album sold more than 5 million copies worldwide, representing 25 million readers
- Adventures translated into 111 languages and dialects
- 13 films, seen by more than 110 million spectators
- A theme park near Paris welcoming more than 2 million visitors each year
- More than 100 licensees worldwide
- + 7% in value for the license in 2020
