It really is an interesting time for movie tie-in lines. Like it has been mentioned, Star Wars really has been the exception to the rule. Maybe we just aren't judging it right, but it sure seems like the majority of these lines sit - a lot - no matter how well their movies do. It did seem like Avengers did a little better than most, but even those weren't flying away after a bit either.
A lot of it has to do with having so much of this stuff hitting in any given year, whereas Star Wars basically had the aisle to itself and was such a phenomenon that we just won't really experience again with all the competition in the theaters these days. Plus, as we've talked about before, kids just aren't as engaged with action figures (or at least not as long) as we were as kids. I think in the 70s/80s, you maybe started in by age 3 and that carried through maybe to 12, 13, 14 (or even into adulthood like many of us). That doesn't really happen anymore, at least for the most part.
A good measure of what is working is TMNT. This is no doubt the hottest toy line out there right now. It has a weekly TV show, expansive product tie-ins, a legacy brand, and it moves. When Rebels shows up, and the new movies, SW will be fine. It won't be what it was, because it won't be for anyone. But whatever the future of toys is, SW will be a big part of it.
Darby makes a good point about TMNT as well. Our daughter has been way into the new show (which is really pretty good), and toys (also good), so I can tell you - at least in our area - these things move off the pegs pretty consistently. They are good toys, with some nice variety with villains, etc. - a big playset, vehicles of various sizes, not to mention the role play stuff. I was reading some info from the presentation at SDCC from Playmates, and they mentioned that in the 1988-1990 timeframe when Turtles began and started airing the cartoon that the toys represented 50% of the action figure market. Crazy.
I wonder if we'll continue to see more conservative approaches with some movie tie ins. I look at the new Thor movie, and there are only five figures and they've only been at TRU (at least locally). It seems possible that will be all there is for that line. Now I'm sure Star Wars will be way more expansive a line, but it will be interesting to see what kind of line it will be by then. 2015 (if the release holds) will be another huge action figure tie-in year with Avengers 2, Batman/Superman, Jurassic Park (I think?), Fantastic Four reboot, Ant Man, and probably others I'm forgetting off hand.