Merlin Charting Its Licensed Attraction Strategy
Merlin Entertainment is weighing its options on opening new Shrek Adventure! facilities in the wake of NBCUniversal acquiring DreamWorks last fall, company executives told analysts.
Merlin CEO Nick Varney said he met with Universal executives in January and the studio is “happy to have” Merlin open the six additional Shrek parks as part of the original 9-year agreement with DreamWorks, Varney said. Merlin opened the 20,000-square-foot DreamWorks Tour Shrek Adventure! in 2015 as an interactive attraction featuring characters from the original 2001 film.
Universal hasn’t committed to Merlin opening Shrek facilities beyond the first six, Varney said. As a result, Merlin is deciding whether to open the additional five attractions, switch to another IP or add them “selectively” in city centers, Varney said.
“It’s a great relationship and I don’t think they have decided where they want to go with this in the long term,” Varney said. But Universal will honor the existing contract, Varney said. Universal officials weren’t available for comment. There are other Shrek-based parks, including a Far Far Away section at Universal Studios Singapore and a Shrek’s Faire Faire Away area in the DreamWorks Experience in Australia.
Meanwhile, Merlin is opening Lego Ninjago World sections across its Legoland Parks in Orlando, FL (which opened in January); Windsor, UK (May); Germany (April 1) and Nagoya, Japan (March). The sections have a Ninjago ride that features motion sensing technology to play virtual games. The Ninjago areas are being installed in advance of the first movie based on the Lego property that is slated to be released in the U.S. in September. While Ninjago’s popularity, spurred by the film, is expected to carry into 2018, “I don’t thinkit will be as big as the fury” that accompanied the release of the The Lego Movie in 2014, Varney said.
Merlin has plans for opening up to four new Legoland parks in South Korea, Beijing and Shanghai, China and potentially Goshen, NY by 2020, Varney said.
Overall, Merlin’s operating profit for the year ended Dec. 31 rose 3.6% to $370.7 million as revenue jumped 11.7% to $1.77 billion on a 1.3% rise in park attendance to 65.1 million visitors. Legoland Parks’ operating profit rose 9.1% to $196.4 million as revenue increased 1.6% to $596.6 million.
Contact:
Merlin Entertainment, Nick Varney, CEO
