Media Analysis - Generation Media examines the impact of cinema releases on the toy industry

Family fi lms

are back on top

Cinema has been the hardest-hit media sector during the pandemic. The long-awaited reopening and road to recovery began this year with a positive start - simultaneously releasing at the box offi ce and on Disney+ (which of course went from strength to strength during the pandemic). This simultaneous strategy by Disney has particularly for family fi lms. So, will the string of family fi lm hit the headlines following Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit successes continue, and should cinema advertising return as for breach of contract after it streamed her superhero fi lm a safe bet to build AV awareness for your brand this Q4? Black Widow at the same time as its cinema release.

So far this year, the top 10 fi lms are dominated by those Regardless of how Disney responds and adapts to this targeted at family viewing, with family releases making up and potentially other lawsuits on the horizon in the long almost 40% of the top 10 at the box offi ce. This term, it remains true that with box offi ce is despite the huge lineup of fi lms still to be released. At the time of writing this includes Paw Patrol The Movie, Boss Baby 2, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, The Addams Family 2 and Sing 2, “ Those brands that hits there is traditionally a 50% dropoff in admissions after the fi rst week of release. However, a trend that has remained unchanged across family fi lms is the to name but a few. will win big at consistent level of admissions week on week. At the top of the charts for all fi lm releases YTD, is Peter Rabbit 2, starring James Corden and Margot Robbie – which was a sure-fi re winner at the box offi ce are those that This is no doubt due to the sustained holiday periods when most fi lms are launched, but also the appetite for the cinema experience the box offi ce. The fi rst day cinemas reopened see cinema as from families. saw the highest box offi ce since March 2020, with an opportunity Pearl & Dean (one of the two cinema admissions for the week in excess of 1.3 million. Peter Rabbit 2 took £4.6 million across its fi rst week - a 128% increase on the predicted forecast, to showcase their brands salehouses in the UK) has been using CAA Film Monitor to track the audience demographic since cinemas have reopened, and 65% of the fi rst fi lm’s takings across its fi rst and content, and has reported a strong family skew, with week in 2018: a great indication that audiences were hopping back to the cinema as early as Easter, when the weather was particularly bad in in a quality environment, 59% of full-paying adults who went to the cinema across May-July being accompanied by children. the UK. Other family films such as Cruella, Space Jam and Croods 2 have also performed well, “ to an engaged audience Cinema advertising still allows brands to boost AV engagement and coverage, while ensuring they reach the intended family sitting within the Top 10 and rubbing shoulders audiences - and with the slate of family with blockbuster releases such as Marvel’s fi lms on the horizon, we expect that toy ad Black Widow. revenue in cinemas will bounce back from 2020. DCM’s &

However, the question remains - would these fi lms have Kantar’s Milward Brown study among others also reveals fared better on the big screen pre-Covid? Of course, that adding cinema to the media mix makes TV campaigns few would disagree with this hypothesis, but we must more effective, with the study suggesting that toy, game recognise that a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels is still and console brands see an average return on investment of some way off. £6 on every £1 spent on cinema advertising.

This is no more apparent than in Disney’s phased strategy Those brands that will win big at the box offi ce are those back to the big screen, which sees the entertainment giant that not only invest in cinema advertising in its traditional spot form, but also those that see cinema as an opportunity to showcase their brands and content, in a quality environment, to an engaged audience. If you would like to fi nd out more about how we can help you make the most of the big screen in 2021 and beyond, or for more regular updates on the performance of the latest cinema releases, please contact a member of the team.

Current Box Offi ce as of 8 August. Source: Pearl & Dean, August 2021 Cinemas are back, says Generation Media director of business development Alex TaylorSmith, and fi lms aimed at the family audience are proving to be the stars of the big screen