est. 1999
SpongeBob SquarePants
began as a TV series
$16.6Bestimated lifetime revenue
Shelf EmpireRetail and merchandise makes up 96% of the revenue we could break down. We use this label at 60% or more.
- Retail & merch96%
- Box office3.8%
- Other<1%
No. 21 of 99, ranked by estimated lifetime revenue
What we know
Sources checked to
- Estimated lifetime revenue
- $16.6BMoney taken in before costs. This is not profit or company value.
- Biggest source of revenue
- Retail & merch 96%of the revenue we can break down
- Verified rights holder
- NickelodeonParent group: Paramount Skydance
- Where it began
- 1999 · a TV series
- How sure is this estimate?
- Solid estimateThe sources are strong across all five checks.
Solid estimatefive checks; the lowest score sets the rating
- Where the number comes from
- scored 2 out of 4
- What the number measures
- scored 3 out of 4
- How recent the estimate is
- scored 4 out of 4
- How much of the total is itemised
- scored 4 out of 4
- Double-counting risk
- scored 4 out of 4
Rights and ownership
Verified current rights holder: Nickelodeon · parent group: Paramount Skydance
Holds master franchise control.
See all verified rights (1)
| Right | Holder | Territory | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master franchise control | Nickelodeon | Worldwide | 1999 |
How the money mix changed
began as a TV series, 1999
Home video & streaming
biggest revenue source in this data
Retail & merch
100% of the revenue we can break down now comes from outside home video & streaming
More ways to compare it
We calculate these numbers from the records above. The formulas are on the Receipts page. If the data is not strong enough, we leave a number out.
- Share from merchandise
- 96%
- How varied the revenue is
- 8 / 100
- Revenue beyond where it started
- 100%
- Average revenue per year
- $615M per year
- lifetime average, not the current yearly rate
- Online interest compared with revenue
- not shown: search-interest data was unavailable at snapshot time
Sources and calculationsshow detailshide details
| Channel | Value | Share | Confidence | Source | Checked on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail & merch | $16B | 96% | solid estimate | List of highest-grossing media franchises — Wikipedia | 2026-09-03 |
| Box office | $630M | 3.8% | solid estimate | List of highest-grossing media franchises — Wikipedia | 2026-09-03 |
| Other | $37M | <1% | solid estimate | List of highest-grossing media franchises — Wikipedia | 2026-09-03 |
| Total | $16.6B | 100% |
estimated lifetime revenue · checked 2026-09-03