Pixar's latest film just became their lowest-opening movie ever.

Not because it's bad. Critics love it (84%). Audiences love it (91%).

It flopped because it's original.

Here's a crazy stat: In 2024, not a single film in the top 10 was original IP. Not one.

You have to scroll to #15 to find an "original" story. And that's based on a bestselling book.

We've gone from "content is king" to "IP is everything."

The numbers are staggering. Inside Out 2 made $1.7 billion. Same release weekend as Elio, just one year earlier. The difference? One had characters we already knew. The other asked us to care about something new.

This isn't just Hollywood's problem. It's advertising's future.

As AI floods the market with infinite content, IP becomes the only signal that cuts through. The only shortcut to trust. The only guarantee of attention.

Look at Lego. Of their 45 themes, 25 are licensed IP. Batman. Harry Potter. Star Wars. More than half their business is now borrowed nostalgia.

Disney gets it. That's why they're suing Midjourney. Not because they hate innovation, but because Midjourney lets anyone generate "Darth Vader's birthday party with Iron Man and Buzz Lightyear."

Their IP. Your prompt. Zero revenue share.

Bob Iger spent billions acquiring Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. Not for the studios. For the characters. For the only currency that matters in an attention economy: pre-existing emotional connection.

Because attention spans are increasingly fried and AI can now generate an endless amount of noise, the future of content is scary.

It seems we're increasingly entering a world where nothing new can compete. Where every story needs a prequel. Where original ideas die at the box office. Where creativity means remixing what already exists.

We’re seeing the same in the world of advertising.

As AI democratises content creation, brands with strong, distinctive assets will dominate. Those without will drown in the noise.

A recent study we ran at VCCP Media proves the point. Distinctive creative delivers 2.5x ROI vs generic creative. "Distinctive" increasingly means "familiar." The same characters. The same stories. Just remixed for the native environment of the content.

The reality is that most of us don't have the luxury of already owning well-recognised IP. It takes a long time, but we need to work to build it.

So what should you do? Start building IP now. Not products.

Characters. Stories. Worlds.

Because in a world of infinite content, familiarity isn't lazy. It's survival.

& One prediction for you to finish up the post: By the end of 2025, I think we'll see the first major AI/IP licensing deal. Disney and OpenAI. Nintendo and Anthropic. Someone will crack the model.