The summer blockbuster season officially kicked off over Mother’s Day weekend thanks to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ whopping $185 million domestic opening. With no new major competition (who in their right minds would even dare to go up against it?), the latest chapter in the hand-over-fist Marvel Cinematic Universe instantly became the biggest box-office debut of 2022.

Doctor Strange earned a staggering $40,802 per-screen average in 4,534 theaters. The MCU’s latest  fared even better overseas, where it raked in $265 million in 49 international territories for a  cumulative worldwide box office tally after its first weekend of $450 million—$33 million of which came from IMAX screens. In comparison, the first Doctor Strange earned $677.8 million worldwide during its entire theatrical run. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’  massive debut is just the latest confirmation that when it comes to the box office, there is the MCU and then there’s everyone else. After all, the franchise’s four 2021 releases accounted for nearly 30% of all tickets sold in North America last year.

Disney Marvel’sShang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings made a heroic showing at the box office, where it has smashed the record for Labor Day openings with a four-day haul of $90 million and has posted the second-biggest three-day debut of the pandemic year so far, behind fellow Marvel Studios pic Black Widow.

Shang-Chi, brought in a domestic three-day total of $75.5 million from 4,300 locations. Shang-Chi‘s global haul is an estimated $146.2 million.

Originally slated to hit theaters back in February, Shang-Chi proved to be worth the wait. The PG-13-rated film, which is Marvel’s first to feature an Asian superhero and be anchored by a cast and director of Asian origin, was expected to pull in between $45 and $50 million over its first weekend. But it quickly became clear that the movie—which stars Simu Liu along with Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, and Tony Leung—would blow past those bearish projections. In fact, Shang-Chi’s projected four-day holiday weekend haul of $90 million leaves the previous Labor Day box-office record holder, 2007’s Halloween (with $30.6), well in the dust. It was just the sort of news that nervous theater owners were hoping for.

Shang-Chi  audiences gave the film a straight ‘A’ CinemaScore and critics boosted the film to a 92% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Unspooling in 4,300 locations, Marvel’s latest earned a whopping $16,604 per-screen average and added on another $56.2 million from overseas. While that may sound low it makes sense when you consider that the film still hasn’t been scheduled for release in China—one of Marvel’s biggest markets. Its one-week worldwide return is $146.2 million. With little in the way of new competition from the major studios in the next couple of weekends and the film’s theatrical exclusivity for its first 45 days, Shang-Chi should continue to pull in big bucks until at least the beginning of October.

The Walt Disney Company  has acquired 21st Century Fox’s film and TV studios in a landmark deal worth over $52 billion. Disney will take ownership of the majority of 21st Century Fox’s film and TV studio assets, as well as the affiliate networks like FX.

Here are some of the key bullets of the acquisition:

• Acquisition complements and enhances The Walt Disney Company’s ability to provide consumers around the world with more appealing content and entertainment options
• Transaction to include 21st Century Fox’s film and television studios, cable entertainment networks and international TV businesses
• Popular entertainment properties including X-Men, Fantastic Four, Deadpool, Avatar, The Simpsons, FX Networks and National Geographic to join Disney’s portfolio
• Expands Disney’s direct-to-consumer offerings with addition of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment content, capabilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia; Hulu stake becomes a controlling interest
• Addition of extensive international properties, including Star in India and Fox’s 39% ownership of Sky across Europe, enhances Disney’s position as a truly global entertainment company with world-class offerings in key regions
• Robert A. Iger to remain Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company through 2021

The Walt Disney Company and Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. (21st Century Fox) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Disney to acquire 21st Century Fox, including the Twentieth Century Fox Film and Television studios, along with cable and international TV businesses, for approximately $52.4 billion in stock (subject to adjustment). Building on Disney’s commitment to deliver the highest quality branded entertainment, the acquisition of these complementary assets would allow Disney to create more appealing content, build more direct relationships with consumers around the world and deliver a more compelling entertainment experience to consumers wherever and however they choose. Immediately prior to the acquisition, 21st Century Fox will separate the Fox Broadcasting network and stations, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FS1, FS2 and Big Ten Network into a newly listed company that will be spun off to its shareholders.

Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of 21st Century Fox will receive 0.2745 Disney shares for each 21st Century Fox share they hold (subject to adjustment for certain tax liabilities as described below). The exchange ratio was set based on a 30-day volume weighted average price of Disney stock. Disney will also assume approximately $13.7 billion of net debt of 21st Century Fox. The acquisition price implies a total equity value of approximately $52.4 billion and a total transaction value of approximately $66.1 billion (in each case based on the stated exchange ratio assuming no adjustment) for the business to be acquired by Disney, which includes consolidated assets along with a number of equity investments. 

Popular Entertainment Properties to Join Disney Family

Combining with Disney are 21st Century Fox’s critically acclaimed film production businesses, including Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox 2000, which together offer diverse and compelling storytelling businesses and are the homes of Avatar, X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool, as well as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Hidden Figures, Gone Girl, The Shape of Water and The Martian—and its storied television creative units, Twentieth Century Fox Television, FX Productions and Fox21, which have brought The Americans, This Is Us, Modern Family, The Simpsons and so many more hit TV series to viewers across the globe. Disney will also acquire FX Networks, National Geographic Partners, Fox Sports Regional Networks, Fox Networks Group International, Star India and Fox’s interests in Hulu, Sky plc, Tata Sky and Endemol Shine Group.

“The acquisition of this stellar collection of businesses from 21st Century Fox reflects the increasing consumer demand for a rich diversity of entertainment experiences that are more compelling, accessible and convenient than ever before,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “We’re honored and grateful that Rupert Murdoch has entrusted us with the future of businesses he spent a lifetime building, and we’re excited about this extraordinary opportunity to significantly increase our portfolio of well-loved franchises and branded content to greatly enhance our growing direct-to-consumer offerings. The deal will also substantially expand our international reach, allowing us to offer world-class storytelling and innovative distribution platforms to more consumers in key markets around the world.”

“We are extremely proud of all that we have built at 21st Century Fox, and I firmly believe that this combination with Disney will unlock even more value for shareholders as the new Disney continues to set the pace in what is an exciting and dynamic industry,” said Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman of 21st Century Fox. “Furthermore, I’m convinced that this combination, under Bob Iger’s leadership, will be one of the greatest companies in the world. I’m grateful and encouraged that Bob has agreed to stay on, and is committed to succeeding with a combined team that is second to none.”

At the request of both 21st Century Fox and the Disney Board of Directors, Mr. Iger has agreed to continue as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company through the end of calendar year 2021.

“When considering this strategic acquisition, it was important to the Board that Bob remain as Chairman and CEO through 2021 to provide the vision and proven leadership required to successfully complete and integrate such a massive, complex undertaking,” said Orin C. Smith, Lead Independent Director of the Disney Board. “We share the belief of our counterparts at 21st Century Fox that extending his tenure is in the best interests of our company and our shareholders, and will be critical to Disney’s ability to effectively drive long-term value from this extraordinary acquisition.”

Benefits to Consumers

The acquisition will enable Disney to accelerate its use of innovative technologies, including its BAMTECH platform, to create more ways for its storytellers to entertain and connect directly with audiences while providing more choices for how they consume content. The complementary offerings of each company enhance Disney’s development of films, television programming and related products to provide consumers with a more enjoyable and immersive entertainment experience.

Bringing on board 21st Century Fox’s entertainment content and capabilities, along with its broad international footprint and a world-class team of managers and storytellers, will allow Disney to further its efforts to provide a more compelling entertainment experience through its direct-to-consumer (DTC) offerings. This transaction will enable Disney’s recently announced Disney and ESPN-branded DTC offerings, as well as Hulu, to create more appealing and engaging experiences, delivering content, entertainment and sports to consumers around the world wherever and however they want to enjoy it.

The agreement also provides Disney with the opportunity to reunite the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool with the Marvel family under one roof and create richer, more complex worlds of inter-related characters and stories that audiences have shown they love. The addition of Avatar to its family of films also promises expanded opportunities for consumers to watch and experience storytelling within these extraordinary fantasy worlds. Already, guests at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort can experience the magic of Pandora—The World of Avatar, a new land inspired by the Fox film franchise that opened earlier this year. And through the incredible storytelling of National Geographic—whose mission is to explore and protect our planet and inspire new generations through education initiatives and resources—Disney will be able to offer more ways than ever before to bring kids and families the world and all that is in it.

Enhancing Disney’s Worldwide Offerings

Adding 21st Century Fox’s premier international properties enhances Disney’s position as a truly global entertainment company with authentic local production and consumer services across high-growth regions, including a richer array of local, national and global sporting events that ESPN can make available to fans around the world. The transaction boosts Disney’s international revenue mix and exposure.

Disney’s international reach would greatly expand through the addition of Sky, which serves nearly 23 million households in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy; Fox Networks International, with more than 350 channels in 170 countries; and Star India, which operates 69 channels reaching 720 million viewers a month across India and more than 100 other countries.

Prior to the close of the transaction, it is anticipated that 21st Century Fox will seek to complete its planned acquisition of the 61% of Sky it doesn’t already own. Sky is one of Europe’s most successful pay television and creative enterprises with innovative and high-quality direct-to-consumer platforms, resonant brands and a strong and respected leadership team. 21st Century Fox remains fully committed to completing the current Sky offer and anticipates that, subject to the necessary regulatory consents, the transaction will close by June 30, 2018. Assuming 21st Century Fox completes its acquisition of Sky prior to closing of the transaction, The Walt Disney Company would assume full ownership of Sky, including the assumption of its outstanding debt, upon closing.

Transaction Highlights

The acquisition is expected to yield at least $2 billion in cost savings from efficiencies realized through the combination of businesses, and to be accretive to earnings before the impact of purchase accounting for the second fiscal year after the close of the transaction.

Terms of the transaction call for Disney to issue approximately 515 million new shares to 21st Century Fox shareholders, representing approximately a 25% stake in Disney on a pro forma basis. The per share consideration is subject to adjustment for certain tax liabilities arising from the spinoff and other transactions related to the acquisition. The initial exchange ratio of 0.2745 Disney shares for each 21st Century Fox share was set based on an estimate of such tax liabilities to be covered by an $8.5 billion cash dividend to 21st Century Fox from the company to be spun off. The exchange ratio will be adjusted immediately prior to closing of the acquisition based on an updated estimate of such tax liabilities. Such adjustment could increase or decrease the exchange ratio, depending upon whether the final estimate is lower or higher, respectively, than the initial estimate. However, if the final estimate of the tax liabilities is lower than the initial estimate, the first $2 billion of that adjustment will instead be made by net reduction in the amount of the cash dividend to 21st Century Fox from the company to be spun off. The amount of such tax liabilities will depend upon several factors, including tax rates in effect at the time of closing as well as the value of the company to be spun off.

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“Every studio executive dreams about the day they have a movie that plays to virtually all audiences irrespective of its rating, theme or target audience. ‘Jungle Book’ is the perfect realization of that dream,” says one box-office analyst.

The Jungle Book climbed to the top of the cinematic mountain, opening to a whopping $103.6 million domestically and $290,967,000 worldwide exceeding all expectations.

Disney’s live-action adventure demolished expectations to earn the second highest April opening in box office history, second only to last year’s Furious 7 ($147.2 million). A $100 million domestic opening is a pretty rare accomplishment for a PG-rated movie, and The Jungle Book is only the second PG-rated Disney movie to do so. (Alice in Wonderlandopened to $116.1 million in 2010.)

A good chunk of The Jungle Book’s success came from 3D and IMAX screens, earning an estimated $31 million domestically from 3D and $10.4 million domestically from IMAX. Globally, The Jungle Book reeled in $20.4 million from IMAX screens, setting an IMAX record for the biggest PG-rated opening.

There’s is a wonderful article in the New York Times which gives a rare glance into the  “savvy”marketing process of The Jungle Book – some call it “magical”!

The article talks about some of the marketing strategies used to move  the box office needle;

Create an early social blast, buzz. Last August Director Jon Favreau bounded onto a 7,800-seat arena at a Disney fan convention in Anaheim, Calif., and showed sneak-peek footage from his film. He hobnobbed with three “Jungle Book” stars on stage, including Neel Sethi, who plays the man-cub Mowgli. Thousands of movie posters were handed out at a marketing cost of $175 million.

Broaden the demographic – not just for kids. When animals talk in a movie, unless it’s a comedy, older moviegoers tend to skip it. Most of Mr. Favreau’s animals are not cartoonish and cuddly , but Disney could not rely on trailers and TV spots to convey that message. So bloggers and entertainment news sites to hammer home a point: Mr. Favreau used sophisticated filmmaking techniques to create the animal characters.

The Power of the Trailer as a marketing instrument: In part to make “The Jungle Book” appeal to a finicky high school crowd — older siblings tend to influence younger brothers and sisters —  the first trailer was packed with scary moments (pouncing panther, snarling tiger, stampeding buffalo) while hiding the musical numbers and keeping Baloo’s goofier moments to a minimum.

Target a specific demographic. Generally speaking, females see Disney’s magic castle logo on a trailer and are pulled closer. The opposite can be true with guys. So Disney aggressively and repeatedly pitched “The Jungle Book” to male audiences.

Commercials on ESPN portrayed the movie as coming not from the studio that made “Cinderella” but “from the studio that brought you ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’” An extended 3-D trailer for “The Jungle Book” was attached to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which had an audience that was 58 percent male.

Additionally,  Disney rolled out an action-oriented trailer during the Super Bowl.

Create an immersive world. To emphasize the scope and scale of this movie, Disney introduced a mazelike Law of the Jungle website in partnership with the female-leaning Tumblr; ran special promos at IMAX theaters focusing on the snake Kaa; and created a touring virtual-reality experience and 360-degree Facebook video emphasizing the “Avatar”-like world of its jungle. This was all crafted to create an experience that would ultimately move  moviegoers  to spend $3 to $5 more a ticket to see “The Jungle Book” in 3-D, which can lift opening-weekend sales considerably.

Utilize all  Disney promotion channels and assets. Aside from marketing on ESPN (mentioned earlier), various corners of the Disney empire also were called into play to promote “The Jungle Book.” A New Year’s Day stunt on the Disney Channel, for instance, was used to portray the film as one of the year’s first blockbuster offerings for families and children.

But the synergistic heavy lifting was done by Disney theme parks. During the jam-packed spring break weeks, park theaters in Florida and California offered sneak-peek footage of the movie, with Mr. Favreau providing introductions.

The many (many) theme park stores that sell Disney merchandise had “Jungle Book” sections. And Disney built photogenic “Jungle Book” sand sculptures at its Animal Kingdom and Epcot parks in Florida.

Read the full New York Times story HERE

 

 

The full trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuted this week during ESPN’s Monday Night Football  and was seen by a TV audience of over 16 million, followed by an immediate release on YouTube, Facebook, and platforms worldwide.

In just 24 hours, the trailer was viewed online more than 112 million times. That’s 128 million times globally in a single day! 

Not to be outdone by the trailer,  Star Wars: The Force Awakens also obliterated records for advance ticket sales at US and UK cinemas, leading to many early screenings being completely sold out.

Fandango said that the JJ Abrams’ film sold more than eight times as many tickets on its first day of release – Monday – as the previous record holder, 2012’s The Hunger Games. Separately, IMAX revealed it took $6.5m in ticket sales on a single day for The Force Awakens, having never made more than $1m in 24 hours previously. The Force Awakens was also the bestselling film on movietickets.com, representing 95% of sales over the past 24 hours.

Tickets also went on sale in the US after the debut of the trailer on ESPN’s  Monday Night Football. In the UK, where tickets went on sale earlier in the day, Disney said a record 200,000 plus tickets were sold in 24 hours, beating marks for Skyfall, Spectre, The Hunger Games and 50 Shades of Grey.

The unprecedented demand on both sides of the Atlantic, almost two months’ prior to the release of Abrams’ film, is leading to speculation that The Force Awakens might challenge Avatar for the mantle of highest-grossing movie of all time.