Universal's New Park/Site B Blue Sky Thread

[JungleSkip]

The only IPs I can see Universal going after at this point would be Bond, Star Trek, and Tolkien. Other than those, they already have a big batch of under utilized IPs of their own. Shrek, Panda, HTTYD, SLoP, SING, Madagascar, Pitch Perfect, Ghostbusters, Jurassic World, The Monsters, The Munsters, Beetlejuice, and Wicked to name a few. Throw in the usable Nintendo IPs and I think they have plenty to work with.

Ghostbusters isn't a Universal property. It's Sony.

What I expect in Park 3:

-Pokémon
-DreamWorks
-Fantastic Beasts
-Minionland
-Sci Fi

I'd say LOTR, but I'm still not expecting those rights to be on the table.

 

[Disneyhead]

Ghostbusters isn't a Universal property. It's Sony.

What I expect in Park 3:

-Pokémon
-DreamWorks
-Fantastic Beasts
-Minionland
-Sci Fi

I'd say LOTR, but I'm still not expecting those rights to be on the table.

Oh, my bad. I guess I thought it was Universal because of the old show the had where Twister was.

 

[Mike S]

Ghostbusters isn't a Universal property. It's Sony.

What I expect in Park 3:

-Pokémon
-DreamWorks
-Fantastic Beasts
-Minionland
-Sci Fi

I'd say LOTR, but I'm still not expecting those rights to be on the table.

If "Sci-Fi" could include a one off Metroid ride I'm in.

 

[zg44]

Big DreamWorks news: Croods 2 is back on and scheduled for September 18, 2020. Spooky Jack (Blum will be exec producer) is dated for Sept. 17, 2021.

1) I'm very glad to see them aiming to stick to 2 DWA releases a year, and it sounds as if they're basically focusing DWA on March/April and September with the following schedule:

HTTYD3 on March 1, 2019
Everest (Oriental DW) on September 27, 2019

Trolls 2 on April 10, 2020
Croods 2 on September 18, 2020

Boss Baby 2 on March 26, 2021
Spooky Jack on September 17, 2021

This basically splits the seasons up between DWA and Illumination with DWA taking Spring/Fall dates while Illumination's movies will stay on Summer/Winter dates.

2) The big surprise is no Shrek reboot announcement yet, and the earliest that might be looks like 2022 now if they want to stick to a maximum of 2 movies a year at DWA. This makes sense though because the sequels of Trolls, Croods, and Boss Baby are all time-sensitive with Croods especially facing a 7 year gap. Shrek reboot being spaced further away from original Shrek actually helps it, so it'd make sense if it's being delayed for that reason.

Croods getting a sequel before Shrek reboot makes sense given its initial version earned near $600m, and the sequel is a lot more time-sensitive than Shrek reboot.

 

[Mad Dog]

They must not think all that much of Croods 2 potential box office since it's scheduled for the movies' graveyard season.

 

[JungleSkip]

They must not think all that much of Croods 2 potential box office since it's scheduled for the movies' graveyard season.

You say that, yet IT is currently tearing it up.

If you release a quality product, people will see it

 

[Mad Dog]

This is the season for that genre. When LGF was predominant horror oriented, they usually did their tent pole movies in Sept./Oct.

 

[JungleSkip]

This is the season for that genre. When LGF was predominant horror oriented, they usually did their tent pole movies in Sept./Oct.

This movie isn't doing horror movie money though. It's doing comic book movie tentpole money.

It's been clear for a while now that the only reason movies don't make money in months like Sept and Feb is because studios release DREK in Sept and Feb. IT and Deadpool prove that as long as you make a great movie people will see it. It doesn't matter what month it comes out

 

[quinnmac000]

Big DreamWorks news: Croods 2 is back on and scheduled for September 18, 2020. Spooky Jack (Blum will be exec producer) is dated for Sept. 17, 2021.

1) I'm very glad to see them aiming to stick to 2 DWA releases a year, and it sounds as if they're basically focusing DWA on March/April and September with the following schedule:

HTTYD3 on March 1, 2019
Everest (Oriental DW) on September 27, 2019

Trolls 2 on April 10, 2020
Croods 2 on September 18, 2020

Boss Baby 2 on March 26, 2021
Spooky Jack on September 17, 2021

This basically splits the seasons up between DWA and Illumination with DWA taking Spring/Fall dates while Illumination's movies will stay on Summer/Winter dates.

2) The big surprise is no Shrek reboot announcement yet, and the earliest that might be looks like 2022 now if they want to stick to a maximum of 2 movies a year at DWA. This makes sense though because the sequels of Trolls, Croods, and Boss Baby are all time-sensitive with Croods especially facing a 7 year gap. Shrek reboot being spaced further away from original Shrek actually helps it, so it'd make sense if it's being delayed for that reason.

Croods getting a sequel before Shrek reboot makes sense given its initial version earned near $600m, and the sequel is a lot more time-sensitive than Shrek reboot.

I guess the new season on Netflix gave it the numbers of viewers it was looking for.

 

[Nick]

You say that, yet IT is currently tearing it up.

If you release a quality product, people will see it

People were excited for IT, though. IT is an anomaly and also the highest grossing move (by well over $100M) in September ever.

Croods, while it did fine at the box office, isn't going to do anywhere near what IT is doing. IT is aimed for an adult audience whereas Croods is aimed at kids, which currently have school during this time of year, which will limit it's box office. Just look at how well Storks did in this spot last year and both movies were similarly reviewed.

 

[zg44]

They must not think all that much of Croods 2 potential box office since it's scheduled for the movies' graveyard season.

The main thing is that the overall annual calendar has flattened (evened out) in terms of movie-going. Summer used to overwhelmingly dominate the calendar but now the biggest movies often come out in Feb/March and December. Also important to note that overseas markets don't follow US seasonal patterns, and a movie like Croods did $400m overseas.

More importantly, this is a part of the overall plan for DWA/Illumination to blanket the entire year with an animated film in every season.

Universal wants to aim for 4 animated movies a year: March (DWA), July (Illumination), September (DWA), and December (Illumination).

DWA already has the pipeline in place to match that release schedule, but Illumination is probably a few years away from consistently producing 2 movies a year (if Meledandri ever wants to match that kind of output).

 

[JungleSkip]

Croods, while it did fine at the box office, isn't going to do anywhere near what IT is doing.

I never said it would. But if you put out a good movie, people will make an effort to see it.

 

[zg44]

Hotel Transylvania 2 did $470m worldwide on a Sept. 25, 2015 release date. Lego Ninjago comes out this weekend and can probably pull in over $300m worldwide depending on how it does.

I'll bet that Croods 2 does better than either of those; if you release a good product, people will see it. If you don't (see August of this year when no major studio release occurred), then there won't be anything.

I think Universal just wants to get moviegoers used to seeing a big animated film in September after seeing the success of Hotel Transylvania 2 and as a way of securing a spot that doesn't tread on Illumination's dates. There's definitely some risk involved, but given the way that movie-going has changed in the past 10 years, I think it's justified.

 

[Ashhanbre]

It will have to be better than the first Croods, which was boring and forgettable. I like Hotel Transylvania though.

 

[Disneyhead]

The Summer Blockbuster Season has become an expensive and exhausting endeavor for movie goers. Studios are finding that if they actually want their film to get attention, DON'T release it during the Summer Blockbuster Season, lest they get lost in the masses.

 

[bob albert]

A Studio Ghibli land of some sort could definately work in USJ, but probably not in the US.

The hype for most of Dreamworks stuff is so meh for me as their track record is just poor compared to Pixar. I guess if it makes enough money it might be worth a ride, but a lot of the Dreamworks/Illumination stuff just feels forced when it comes to rides because you have the IP and gotta use it compared to the quality.

 

[Legacy]

A Studio Ghibli land of some sort could definately work in USJ, but probably not in the US.

The hype for most of Dreamworks stuff is so meh for me as their track record is just poor compared to Pixar. I guess if it makes enough money it might be worth a ride, but a lot of the Dreamworks/Illumination stuff just feels forced when it comes to rides because you have the IP and gotta use it compared to the quality.

*shrug*

Dragons is accessible outside the IP because Vikings and dragons are universal.

Kung-Fu Panda is a bit more limited, but has its own striking aesthetic with anthropomorphic animals in an Asian setting. It makes unique and interesting even without knowing anything about the films. A dark ride with animatronics (something like a classic Fantasyland ride) would match well with.

The rest Dreamworks' catalog (including Shrek) requires too much knowledge of an IP to really independently carry lands.

Dreamworks wouldn't be a "main draw." Just like Seuss and Toon weren't main traffic drivers for Islands, or Fievel and Curious George for the Studios, it would serve to fill a hole for a demographic.

 

[Blue]

A Studio Ghibli land of some sort could definately work in USJ, but probably not in the US.

The hype for most of Dreamworks stuff is so meh for me as their track record is just poor compared to Pixar. I guess if it makes enough money it might be worth a ride, but a lot of the Dreamworks/Illumination stuff just feels forced when it comes to rides because you have the IP and gotta use it compared to the quality.

Have you seen HTTYD? It's just as good as any Pixar movie.

The rest Dreamworks' catalog (including Shrek) requires too much knowledge of an IP to really independently carry lands.

I don't think that'd be a problem with Shrek though since everyone knows about it. Who hasn't at least heard of Far Far Away? Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, and Puss in Boots are some of the most well known (animated) characters out there.

 

[bob albert]

Have you seen HTTYD? It's just as good as any Pixar movie.



I don't think that'd be a problem with Shrek though since everyone knows about it. Who hasn't at least heard of Far Far Away? Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, and Puss in Boots are some of the most well known (animated) characters out there.

HTTYD is great but multiple pixar franchises beat the snot out of it as a main franchise. But if universal can monetize it well what I think does not matter.

 

[captainmoch]

I actually partially agree with both sides. I think KFP and HTTYD are accessible enough, with good aesthetics and potential, to carry full lands. "Island of vikings and dragons" and "Ancient China with anthropomorphic animals" are fairly universal and accessible, even if one has never seen those movies. Plus, I'd argue those two series are DreamWorks' best and most timeless movie franchises. I think Shrek lacks that accessibility but is iconic enough to still work; the series was HUGE for the longest time, and while the hype has died down considerably, I think it's still well known enough to work.

But otherwise? I'd agree that the rest of DreamWork's IPs don't fit that well in a theme park. Like Legacy said, they require too much knowledge of an IP to carry lands. Madagascar is just... a generic jungle environment full of characters from a dead franchise. Trolls is... eugh. And so on.