More than $700m worth of Star Wars toys were sold in 2015

The Force was predictably strong with Star Wars merchandise around the release of December's The Force Awakens, clocking up more than $700 million worth of sales in the US alone by the end of 2015.

According to retail research groups, sales of Star Wars toys totalled more than Jurassic World, Avengers and Minions merchandise put together, with replicas of Kylo Ren's lightsaber a particular big seller.

Model BB-8 droids and Millennium Falcons were also popular, according to NPD Group and as reported by Reuters. 

Such was the demand for Star Wars products, in fact, that toy sales in the US apparently rose 6.7 percent to $19.4 billion in 2015, making it one of the strongest performances for toys in years.

Of course, none of this will come as a surprise to long-standing fans of the franchise. Star Wars was a huge merchandising hit when Episode 4: A New Hope hit screens in 1977, sparking frenzied scenes in toy shops around the UK and US.

Toy retailers must be counting down the days till Rogue One...