Market research firm The NPD Group has confirmed that Toy Story has become the UK’s fifth-largest toy license and best-selling movie-based toy license year to date, already contributing more to retail sales in the first six months of this year than some of last year’s biggest movie-related toys did in 12 months.

The findings are based on weekly retail sales leading up to the July 19 theatrical release of Toy Story 3 in the UK.

NPD found licensed Toy Story 3 toys have sold an estimated US $16.7 million at UK retail in the first six months of 2010 (Jan. 3, 2010 to July 3, 2010), overshadowing its predecessor’s sales by US $10.65 million over the comparable 25-week time period (Toy Story 2 released in the UK on Feb. 14, 2000).

Toy Story action figures represent nearly one-third of all Toy Story playthings sold in the UK, with building sets, outdoors and sports toys, youth electronics and games/puzzles also representing a sizeable piece of total sales. The top-selling item at the start of July is the Woody & Jesse Figure Assortment from Mattel, with Lego’s Woody & Buzz Rescue in second place.

Since 2007, annual licensed toy sales make up an average of 28% of overall toy sales, which isn’t far from the 27% average experienced in the US.