"Hollywood tie-ins take Hasbro far" May 17, 2012|Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff
PAWTUCKET,
R.I. - Hasbro has long enjoyed success on family game night, but the
Rhode Island company is no longer content with playing to small
audiences in living rooms. It’s gone Hollywood, signing up Rihanna,
Jay-Z, and other flashy partners to sell the big-budget movie version of
its board game Battleship.
The film’s plot line - an epic sea
battle between Navy forces and alien invaders - has little in common
with the staid 45-year-old game. But that doesn’t matter much to Hasbro.
“Battleship’’ the movie already is doing strong business overseas in
advance of its Friday US opening, and the company has more movie
projects in the works. They include big-screen adaptations of Risk,
Monopoly, Ouija, and even the children’s classic Candy Land.
So the best ideas Hollywood has these days are comic book superheroes and 45-year-old board games? No wonder no one goes to the movies anymore.
Hasbro
has hooked up with Hollywood before through blockbuster films based on
its popular Transformers and G.I. Joe action figures. But this is the
first time the Pawtucket toy manufacturer has produced a movie - along
with Universal Pictures - and a line of products around the tamer fare
of its board games.
It’s a strategy that allows Hasbro to generate revenue from ticket
sales and licensing partnerships, in addition to sales of games and toy
characters. The payoff can be huge: The three “Transformers’’ films
released since 2007, along with “G.I. Joe,’’ have earned more than $3
billion at the box office and $1.6 billion in retail sales.
It’s
an important move for Hasbro’s future - industrywide sales of licensed
toys grew 6 percent since 2009, while overall toy sales fell 1 percent,
according to the NPD Group, a market research firm in New York.
“The
first ‘Transformers’ film showed how we brought consumers a whole new
way to experience the Transformers brand,’’ said Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s
chief executive. “Once the first film was made and we proved our brands
could play on the big screen, we knew that we could translate that
success in other brands.’’
“Battleship,’’ which cost $209 million
and stars singer Rihanna and actor Taylor Kitsch, opened in April at the
number one spot in 37 markets around the world, taking in more than
$215 million globally. A massive marketing machine has shifted into gear
to hype its domestic release....
And it flopped like Facebook stock.
Hasbro, which
has 1,400 employees in Pawtucket, has been trying to build itself into
an entertainment powerhouse. Three years ago, it opened Hasbro Studios
in Los Angeles and a year later it launched HUB TV, a cable and
satellite television network that is available in more than 64 million
US households....
Hasbro said it is committed to
turning toys and games into movie stars as the company tries to
increase revenues in an increasingly competitive environment. The toy
maker last month reported a $2.6 million loss for the first quarter,
compared with a $17.2 million profit during the same period last year.
No wonder the fare coming from Hollywood is so s***ty.
But
the future is looking up with the “Battleship’’ blitz underway.
I love it when my morning newspaper acts as a publicist.
Adam
Sandler recently agreed to work with Columbia Pictures to write and star
in “Candy Land’’ - which he will coproduce with Hasbro. Will Smith and
James Lassiter are producing “Risk’’ and Michael Bay is producing “Ouija
to be released next year.
I'll be sure to miss them.
But there are no Hollywood plans for
another Hasbro standby - Mr. Potato Head. So far, the company’s official
“spokes-spud’’ (who celebrates his 60th birthday this year) is being
relegated to small supporting roles. Two new versions of Mr. Potato Head
- “The Amazing Spider-Man Spider Spud’’ and “Star Wars Darth Tater’’ -
are being rolled out in time for the feature film releases of “The
Amazing Spider-Man’’ and “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace in
3-D.’’
Last one already came and gone and I didn't see it.
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