Primary boys category and Primary girls category both came out on top, reporting increases across the July to December 2017 period.

Although the original Disney animation was released over four years ago, its press title, Disney Frozen, remains the largest title in the girls market. It may be testament to its second release, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, including many of the original cast, that the title remains so successful within the sector, averaging a circulation of over c.61,000 in spite of a -10% PoP decline.

The Primary Boys sector also saw growth this period, in particular with Beano growing a surprising 8% YoY. However, the ABC results saw Toxic suffer particularly badly, falling -28% PoP. Toxic’s downfall can largely be attributed to Lego publications continuing to dominate the Boys market, with all four publications sitting within the top five. With the release of the Ninjago film this summer, it is no surprise to see a 7% increase in circulation YoY.

Although the largest sector in the children’s market, only four Pre-school publications saw YoY increases throughout 2017, with the overall market resulting in a -7% decline. CBeebies and Peppa Pig titles remain the dominant brands, accounting for a 36% share of the Pre-school market despite CBeebies Art delivering a double digit decline YoY (-13%). Aside from Peppa Pig, 2017 saw PJ Masks follow other licensors, including Paw Patrol and Thomas and Friends, into the Pre-school market. The publication had a strong start to the year, circulating just shy of 40,000 copies and placing comfortably in 8th position.