This year's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie may not have been a box office hit, but Wal-Mart is betting turtle-themed toys will be on kids' wish lists this holiday season.
Both the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mega Lair Playset and a remote control toy featuring a skateboarding character from the franchise were among the 25 toys Wal-Mart named potential holiday must-haves in a news release Thursday.
The toys, part of Wal-Mart's annual Chosen by Kids list, were picked based on feedback from hundreds of kids ages 18 months to 12 years old Wal-Mart gathered to test new toys.
Toys tied to the "Star Wars" and "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" movies also made the list. One new category Wal-Mart highlighted this year was toys for budding entrepreneurs, including the Num Noms Lipgloss Truck that lets kids mix flavored lip gloss and dispense it, soft serve ice cream-style, from a toy truck.
Wal-Mart also announced its free holiday layaway program is starting in stores Friday.
Toy sales in the U.S. were up 6.7 percent in 2015, generating $19.4 billion, buoyed by sales of "Star Wars" merchandise, according to market research firm The NPD Group.
About 41 percent of shoppers said they would buy toys as gifts last holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation, making it the busiest time of year for the industry.
About 8 percent of toy sales were made during the week of Christmas, second only to the 8.5 percent of sales made the week before, The NPD Group said in a January news release.
