The media arm of Sony Group Corp (NYSE: SONY) could be on its way to establishing a successful theme park division thanks to several partnerships and a library of franchise brands that have performed well at the box office.
What Happened: Sony Pictures Entertainment announced a collaboration with Merlin Entertainment, a leader in “location-based entertainment.”
The partnership is exclusive to bring the Jumanji franchise to Merlin Entertainment properties.
“The exclusive agreement will bring the box office hit to life through a range of exclusive rides, lands, and themed hotel rooms across Merlin’s global network of theme parks and waterparks in Europe, UK and North America,” the companies said.
The first Jumanji item launched under the agreement will be a ride at Merlin’s Gardaland Resort in Italy, set to open in April 2022. A second Jumanji item is in development for a different theme park, with a 2023 release planned.
“Jumanji – the Adventure” is a ride full of “pitfalls, surprises and dangers through the wild jungle” set as a dark ride.
Merlin will also open themed Jumanji hotel bedrooms as part of the collaboration.
Jumanji was launched as a movie franchise in 1995 with the movie of the same title grossing $100.5 million domestically and $262.8 million worldwide.
Two recent additions to the franchise include “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and “Jumanji: The Next Level” released in 2017 and 2019 respectively. The 2017 release grossed $404.5 million domestically and $962.5 million worldwide. The 2019 release grossed $320.3 million domestically and $800.1 million worldwide.
Related Link: Move Over Disney+, Why Theme Parks Could Be Disney 's Real Growth Driver In 2022
Why It’s Important: Merlin Entertainment is well-known worldwide for its ownership of attraction brands that include Legoland, Sea Life and Madame Tussauds.
Along with Jumanji, Merlin and Sony are partners on Ghostbusters themed items including a ride in Germany and a Ghostbusters experience at Madam Tussauds New York. Merlin has over 135 tourist attractions in 24 countries located in Europe, Asia and North America.
Merlin is the second-largest tourist attraction operator worldwide and the largest operator in Europe.
The partnership could lead to Jumanji themed rides coming to Merlin owned Legoland theme parks in Orlando and California, two states that have theme parks from Walt Disney Co (NYSE: NYSE:DIS) and others.
The Florida theme park market has dominated in attendance for years and is seeing more competition for Disney. Universal Studios, owned by Comcast Corp (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:CMCSA) and SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, both owned by SeaWorld Entertainment Inc (NYSE: SEAS), also operate in Florida.
The introduction of Harry Potter themed rides and attractions at Universal Studios led to a spike in attendance and created further competition for Disney. Universal is also planning Nintendo themed rides and attractions at its resorts in the future.
Sony previously announced plans to open a Columbia Pictures theme park and water park in Thailand through a partnership with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Falls. The park includes attractions based on the Jumanji, Bad Boys, Men in Black, Ghostbusters and Hotel Transylvania franchises.
Several years of new attractions from big blockbuster franchises at Universal Studios and Legoland could be something to watch as competition for Disney.
“Columbia Pictures’ Aquaverse is the next step in Sony Pictures’ larger global strategy to grow and expand location-based entertainment by utilizing its strong global film and TV brands,” Sony EVP of Global Partnerships and Brand Management Jeffrey Godsick said at the time.
Columbia Pictures' Aquaverse is currently waiting on a planned April 8, 2022, opening depending on the COVID-19 pandemic cases in the region.
The theme park divisions of Disney and Universal Studios have had years of success prior to the pandemic. While Sony might not have enough franchises to carry its own theme park division and locations, the partnerships it is signing could be a good way to monetize its franchises.
SONY Price Action: Sony shares are down 1.76% to $104.19 on Monday.
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