Golshifteh Farahani as Queen Nefertari in Exodus by Ridley Scott

It all started with “Star Wars.” Since the first George Lucas-helmed movie premiered back in 1977, the franchise has made tens of billions in revenue from toy licensing alone, not to mention licensing costs from third-party companies. In 2015, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” brought in $700 million in retail sales.