When Buzz, Woody and Jessie return to our screens on Friday with the release of Toy Story 4, it's not just cinemas that will be hoping for queues at their doors.

Retailers also hope the sequel will get their tills ringing too.

Why? Nine years ago, when Toy Story 3 was released, sales of toys, T-shirts and other merchandise in the UK were greater than takings at the box office.

The Buzz figure is already the Disney Store's best selling toy of all time.

The film - which will be released on 21 June - could provide a boost for the UK toy industry after a 7% fall in annual sales last year.

"The more successful the movies, the more likely (but not always) it will correlate with toy industry sales," says Rebecca Deeming of the British Toy and Hobby Association.

Franchises are an important fuel for toy sales. Data from market research company NPD shows that 23% of toy sales in the UK last year were generated by franchises - and almost half of that was related to films.

"The good thing about toys from licences is that they can encourage role play and imagination and children can recreate what they've seen in films," says Ms Deeming.

Toy Story is an extra special gift for retailers: a film based on toys and with an added dose of nostalgia. The children in the mid-1990s when the first film was released - 1995 in the US, 1996 in the UK - are now adults and may well have children of their own to take to the latest film.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, says the new film will "reinvigorate interest and excitement in the merchandise among a whole new generation of fans".

Amy Pearson, marketing director for Disney Store Europe, says Toy Story appeals to fans of all ages.

"It's not just for kids. It's for everybody," she says, adding that in the UK it "is by far the biggest franchise for us".

Even before the film's release, last week a fifth of sales in the 42 UK Disney Stores and online were being generated by Toy Story.