Cheddar News senior reporter Michelle Castillo explains why so many non-comic book companies will be in the house.

If you like pop culture, this is going to be a big weekend for you! Marvel, DC Comics, Disney+ and so many more are here for New York Comic Con. which kicks off Thursday. Cheddar News senior reporter Michelle Castillo got an exclusive look at the floor before doors open and she explains why so many non-comic book companies will be in the house.

Wake Up With Cheddar

NY Comic Con Is Not Just for Comic Books Anymore

new york Comic Con kicking off today in the Big Apple welcoming fans all across the globe to celebrate all things pop culture and our senior reporter Michelle castello got the good assignment today. She is live at the Javits Center with more. For so Michelle, what are the big highlights were expecting this year? Well there's a lot to talk about here at new york Comic Con. Believe it or not. I know you're seeing people behind me but it hasn't actually opened yet. It officially opens at 10 a.m. But we got in a little bit early to take a sneak peek and look around the floor. You're gonna have some stuff from marvel. They're definitely going to be promoting black panther Wakanda forever as well as the 60th anniversary of Spiderman for D. C. Remembers the 30th anniversary of Harlequin. So they're gonna be giving out cupcakes for her birthday in on friday. And you have all different kinds of fandoms here. Disney plus is here to promote new shows including american born chinese abc. Uh that's from the creators of Fresh off the Boat. You also have A. M. C. Now The Walking Dead is in its final eight episodes but they have new franchises coming up like the Mayfield which is so we'll have a lot of new shows not just in the Comic book world but if any fandom around. So stay tuned. It's a four day festival and it's going to draw in quite a big crowd. I've covered Comic Con before. It is always insane. The crowd that gets there and it's so crazy. Michelle comic book conventions used to just be for Comic Book fans. Why is the entire media industry completely intrigued with it? Well this year's one thing that you really have to talk about is the fact that so many people are looking for I. P. In particular or intellectual property to make into series. Remember amazon they spent a billion dollars on the new Lord of the Rings show. So this is something that they're looking for new franchises and the Comic book industry in general in 2021 was worth over $9 billion and it's gonna grow Over $12 billion 2028. And again just thinking about all the different things you can buy in the things you can collect as well as the fact that they can make a lot of these contents into TV shows. That's really what we're all looking for here and that's why everyone's interested even if you're not a traditional comic book fan. Alright so how many people Michelle are we expecting are actually going to attend this this year? Well Read Pop which is the profit for profit organization that runs Comic Con, they're actually expecting 200,000 attendees this year last year. They only got 100 and 50,000 but in 2019 the max attendance is 250,000 now san Diego Comic Con which is my hometown Comic Con is probably the most famous one but that actually only draws about 130,000 people each year. So this is definitely a bigger event and they are expecting that they are going to have one of the biggest crowds since the end of the pandemic. There's definitely a lot of collectibles we had, I just stopped by franco's booth and I just picked up this Raphael from, from their stock. So a lot of people looking here to shop, a lot of people looking here to see the new series. The one thing is re Pop says, according to CNBC, that's about 70% of their traditional revenue that they're getting at this time. So the industry is still rolling, Especially when it comes to in person events. But overall they are glad that things are on the up and up and towards the trajectory. As I mentioned, this place hasn't even opened yet. And you can see there are already people gathering and getting ready to start the day Michelle, we know a lot of announcements come from comic con, but a lot of these companies like Disney hold their own fan events. They've been really investing more in d. talk a little bit about why Disney's doing that in terms of their strategy. Well, as I said, this is a very multi billion dollar industry, especially in terms of I. P and Disney and other companies realize that they can own a piece of that pie. So you have events like D 23 that you mentioned baker, that's the Disney fan expo that just happened a few weeks ago. That will bring you more of your marvel announcements. They'll do a little bit here but your big big announcements, a lot of the companies, media companies want to own that and they want to own their own conventions now. Now the big one for Star Wars of course is Star Wars Celebration. That has always been the place where Disney has made a lot of their Star Wars announcements. I am wearing an ewok outfit right now so I'm still representing celebration as well. But the idea really is that a lot of these companies see such a valuable revenue stream, it's not just the movies, it's not just a tv show, it's not just the merchandise but the business of fandom in general. It's a great way to make money and you're gonna start seeing I think a lot of these media companies owning their own conventions, even netflix is getting on it with two Doom. So there's that's a play on the sound that you hear from netflix. So every looking for more conventions because there's just so much media and content out there that there's a fan for everything. Alright, I'm glad you told me you weren't because that was gonna be my next question is what outfit is Michelle Costello wearing Michelle standby for a second because as you mentioned new york Comic Con kicking off today, we're asking you where's your favorite fandom? Is it Star Wars comic book franchise? Like marvel or dc or something else completely entirely different. Here's how most people answered, 48% of you liking Star Wars Michelle and bring into this conversation. In addition to Chloe, Do you guys agree is Star Wars the best? I mean clearly Michelle has dressed as an ewok, she likes it. I love Star Wars, I even have Star Wars tattoos so I'm definitely a huge Star Wars fan but I do love the ninja turtles as well. I think there's a big nostalgia factor there. So um I think there's a lot of things for everyone out there and even if you're not a traditional fan of comic book things as I mentioned, things like new shows, like abc the american born chinese that's coming out there, just trying to build buzz and fandom for everything out here and you know if you can prove already that viral hit before the show even airs, it's really good news for a streamer especially as competition gets fierce. Alright, Chloe, what do you think? You know, I can't get over the three original Star Wars movies, I think that they are so classic, I love them but I also am gonna rep D. C. Here. When I was little, my dad tried to get me into comic books, he bought me superman comics. So I was really into that. Plus I really like what they've done with their movies. I feel like D. C. Is a little bit more brooding, it's a little bit more adults compared to marvel and I can really get behind that baker. How about Alright guys I'm not a comic con person, I am a bravo con, I am a Rupaul's drag con kind of person. So I will let you nerds enjoy this moment in the sun for a moment. All right of course. Head on over to twitter at shed. Er Yes, amen. That's true. That is true. That is the beauty of Comic Con. You're right Michelle by the way for our viewers at home you can still vote in our poll, it's on our twitter account and tune into closing bell kicking off at three p.m. Eastern for the final tally. Michelle Castillo, good reporting is always always getting that good assignment.