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A really BIG show
Once the sole domain of rock gods, pop idols and sporting events, giant arenas are
opening up as venues for outsized, elaborate licensed stage shows, creating a new
revenue stream for kids IP owners
BY GARY RUSAK
With top arena tours from the likes of U2 and Bon Jovi each grossing more
than US$200 million in just one calendar year, and the top-10 acts raking
in a culmative US$1.2 billion, it was only a matter of time before
the owners of global properties began to stage massive arena eff orts. In
the past, IP owners tended to license out theatrical rights, but this new
model places owners into something akin to a co-producer role, giving
them more control over the content and management of the show. DreamWorks, Warner
Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox, in fact, are all at various stages of mounting major arena
shows that are looking to generate revenues similar to those raked in by major musical
acts, albeit with lower ticket prices. (The lower per-ticket price is mitigated by performing
multi-day runs in one arena, as opposed to the one or two nights that a major headlining
musical act might stage.)
May/June 2012
consumer
products
DreamWorks’ How to Train
Your Dragon arena show
fl ew into the US in May
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