George Lucas : Star Wars movies don't bring in the big bucks

© Nicolas Genin

George Lucas admitted this week something about the business of the Star Wars franchise that may come as a surprise.

The huge success of the Star Wars movies led to an even bigger profit margin outside of the box office where fans were making Lucasfilm a fortune.

Speaking with Robert Redford at the Sundance Film Festival, the Star Wars creator admitted that, "All the money is in the action figures." Lucas then criticized Hollywood for the way films were being distributed, attacking studio executives as, "not the most sophisticated people in the world."

Indiewire reports that the Star Wars empire earned Disney $3 billion in merchandising sales last year and concludes that the purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney for $4 billion was a pretty good deal.

In any case, Lucas no longer has any creative input in the Star Wars franchise and admitted that Disney had taken none of his ideas for 'Star Wars VII'.

With the film heading to theaters in December 2015, it looks like the Star Wars toys business is going to be an even bigger money maker for Disney.

Some of the rarest memorabilia items can sell for as much as $10,000 and in the years to come, we can expect props and toys of 'Star Wars 7' to be just as valuable.