From T-shirts to thongs, how indie film merchandise became a hot commodity

LOS ANGELES — On a recent Saturday afternoon, hundreds of “Anora” fans lined up for hours on Los Angeles' Melrose Avenue, hoping to snag exclusive merchandise inspired by Sean Baker’s latest film about a stripper who marries the son of a Russian oligarch.

The one-day-only pop-up from distributor Neon followed the success of a similar event in New York, hosted at the strip club at which the winner of the top prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival was filmed.

Elated film buffs — many already wearing clothes inspired by movies like fellow Cannes hit “The Substance” and the Nicolas Cage horror flick, “Longlegs” — relished the fruits of their labor at the front of the line, admiring their T-shirt and thong underwear purchases.

“Exclusive is a buzzword, but it really is. It’s an exclusive event because we all waited in line,” said Nathan Zakim, who arrived at 10 a.m. for the 3 p.m. pop-up. “We all saw the movie. I think the movie merch mania should go on for as long as it can.”

The rise of 'movie merch mania'

Movie-themed merchandise is nothing new. Who can forget the iconic “Vote for Pedro” T-shirt from “Napoleon Dynamite” that was seemingly everywhere in the early aughts?

But in recent years, movie-inspired streetwear has exploded in popularity among film lovers, thanks in part to viral marketing campaigns put on by independent film studios. The result is clothing, often made in collaboration with popular brands, promoted as trendy and in limited supply.

“Being this film buff type of person, I buy Blu-rays, I buy 4Ks. And that’s not something that you can just pop out to someone and be like, ‘I have this Criterion,’” said Natanael Avilez, who drove more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) for the “Anora” pop up. “Merch is the second-best option of saying like, ‘I do love movies and this is the way to express that.’”

T-shirts are by far the most common form of merch, be it for Neon's Oscar-winning “Parasite” (2019) or, more recently, A24's “We Live in Time,” with the infamous carousel horse emblazoned across the front.

Some films, however, lend themselves to a more thematic marketing approach.

“First Reformed” fans flocked to the sold-out denim hat featured in Paul Schrader's 2017 film about a pastor's descent into despair over the environment. The J. Hannah gold locket inspired by Sofia Coppola's “Priscilla” (2023) is still on the market for $1,480.

One catalyst in the trend’s rise can be traced to 2018, when the clothing brand Online Ceramics and A24 joined forces. The brand, founded by artists Elijah Funk and Alix Ross, began with the idea of making bootleg T-shirts inspired by the Grateful Dead. Ross recounted two serendipitous moments in the company’s history: One was watching Pete Davidson wearing a “Good Time” T-shirt on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” in 2018.

“I was really jealous that we didn’t make that,” Ross recalled of Davidson’s shirt, adorned with a poster image of Robert Pattinson and co-director Benny Safdie.

The other was knowing, after just seeing the trailer, that Online Ceramics had to make “Hereditary” T-shirts — with or without A24’s permission. Thanks to a mutual friend, they managed to get in touch with the studio just before the film’s release and got A24's stamp of approval.

Hopeful online shoppers today will be disappointed as they scroll through dozens of Online Ceramics x A24 items, inspired by films like “MaXXXine,” “Midsommar” and “Love Lies Bleeding,” only to find each one sold out.

Why merch?

Watching movies — following a pandemic and the rise of streaming — has become less of a collective experience in recent years. For many fans, repping their favorite films in public is a way to combat that.

“It’s so fun knowing that everyone loves the movie so much to go stand in line for multiple hours. I got here three hours before it even opened and there’s probably, like, 30 people in front of me,” said Sabrina Bratt. “Physical keepsakes are just so cute and fun.”

For studios, the benefit is multifaceted. Not only is it an additional revenue source in a time of slowed production in Hollywood, it also is a way to engage with the fans that help keep their films in the zeitgeist long after they leave the theater.

“People, and particularly younger people, they want to be a part of something. And wearing a shirt for a movie is no different to wearing a shirt for the band that you just went to see. There’s a cachet to it. There’s a value to it. It’s a sign of who I am,” said Neon Chief Marketing Officer Christian Parkes.

Alex Ng is the co-founder and creative director of the Los Angeles-based brand Brain Dead, which also owns a movie theater on Fairfax Avenue. As the film industry continues to evolve out of necessity, Ng contends this intersection of fashion and film will play an increasingly important role in Hollywood.

“What people want is like a token or a souvenir. They go to Disneyland and they get a Mickey, right? So, if you go to an arthouse cinema, there’s not a lot of things or souvenirs you could take away from a film that you love,” he said. “I want to connect those pieces. And I think that’s the new era that we’re seeing as a movie-going experience.”

Getting in on the action

As the demand has grown for merchandise, studios and brands have sought to take advantage for films old and new.

Searchlight Pictures recently released a handful of products to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Alexander Payne’s buddy comedy for oenophiles, “Sideways,” including tees, hats and, of course, wine keys.

Brain Dead has done a handful of movie collaborations with studios like A24, Focus Features and, more recently, MUBI and Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions.

Some products are odes to cult classics, like “Being John Malkovich” and “The Big Lebowski,” while others commemorate newer releases. Within days of announcing a limited-edition, long-sleeve shirt for “The Substance” — complete with a 30-day trial for MUBI — Brain Dead had sold out of the product online.

Although Ng bristles at the idea of “hype,” arguing it suggests something’s popularity isn’t sincere, he appreciates the ways in which demand for movie merchandise has grown: “I think when we can speak to someone who loves films in that, that’s really cool to me.”

Ross, too, is ambivalent about how popular merch has become.

“I cringe at seeing how many movie companies are trying to rip off what we did,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s just kind of like, ‘Damn.’ Like I can’t believe it got to this point.”