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Mickey Mouse was created in
1928 (Agencies) |
A top 10 of fictional characters, including Mickey Mouse and SpongeBob
SquarePants, made more than $25 billion dollars (£13.7m) in 2003.
The list, by finance magazine Forbes, of top-earning fictional
characters puts Disney's Mickey Mouse at the top of the pile, grossing
$5.8bn (£3.17bn).
Winnie the Pooh and friends are close behind with $5.6bn (£3bn).
Spider-Man, the X-Men's Wolverine, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings'
Frodo Baggins also made the top 10.
Box office takings increased the chances of
characters making the list - fictional faces from films such as Star Wars
and Monsters Inc made the list for 2002 but dropped off
without a film release to back them in 2003.
In order to qualify for the Forbes list, characters must have debuted
in a narrative story on screen, in print or in a videogame.
Japanese comic-book star Yu-Gi-Oh! made $1.6bn ($87m) with the help of
trading cards and videogames. Pikachu from Pokemon, who was created in
1996 and has a TV show, made $825m (£450m).
(Agencies) |