Kids looking to grab an Iron Man toy after being wowed by the hit “Marvel’s The Avengers” have some choices on store shelves, including leftovers from the 2010 movie “Iron Man 2.”

Stores, burned after years of slow-selling Hollywood toys, held back on orders for “Avengers” products.

With the film becoming a huge success, retailers have been peddling old Thor hammers and Captain America action figures at or close to full price.

The “Avengers” surprise illustrates the challenges marketers face capitalizing even on hits.

Hasbro, which licenses the rights to make many Marvel-related toys from Walt Disney Co., will generate about $150 million in sales from “Avengers” merchandise this year, according to Gerrick Johnson, an analyst in New York for BMO Capital Markets Inc.

Normally, a movie that makes more than $1 billion at the box office would produce $250 million to $300 million in toy sales, Johnson said.

“Nobody thought the movie would be this big,” said Isaac Larian, chief executive officer of toymaker MGA Entertainment, which doesn’t make “Avengers” products. “Retailers didn’t buy deep and Hasbro didn’t push hard. Sales took off and now they are catching up.”

Second-quarter sales of boys’ toys at Hasbro fell 16 percent to $389 million from a year earlier, as “strong growth” in Marvel products failed to counter declines in other brands, the company said. Analysts project the company will register $4.27 billion in revenue this year, down slightly from last year’s $4.29 billion, so $150 million in lost “Avengers” sales translates into no growth this year.

“Avengers’ is ahead of expectations and selling well,” said Wayne Charness, a Hasbro spokesman. “Retailers still have some inventory of ‘Iron Man 2’ and ‘Thor,’ but we are well-positioned to meet holiday demand for ‘Avengers’ products.”

Last month, a Toys R Us store in central Los Angeles was selling a mask with packaging emphasizing 2010’s “Iron Man 2” film for $9.99. The same mask in an “Avengers” wrapper was offered for $11.99 nearby.

The Wayne, N.J., retailer has stocked its shelves with older “Iron Man 2,” “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Thor” movie products for “an avid collector base, as well as kids,” according to Bob Friedland, a spokesman.

Hasbro has gained 18 percent this year, trailing the 28 percent gain of its larger competitor, Mattel. In March 2011, Hasbro traded at a 37 percent premium to Mattel, based on a multiple of earnings. Mattel, with a price-earnings ratio of 15.7 now, is at a 13 percent premium to Hasbro’s 13.9.

“The Avengers” has taken in almost $1.5 billion in theaters worldwide since its May release, becoming the top- grossing film this year and the third-highest of all time, after “Avatar” and “Titanic,” according to Box Office Mojo, an industry researcher.

Robert Iger, chairman and chief executive officer of Burbank, Calif.-based Disney, said in a May conference call that while orders for “Avengers” goods exceeded those of “Captain America” and “Thor,” two Marvel films last year, “the interest was not commensurate with what we’ve seen in terms of the success of the movie.”