Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience Melbourne
Casting a spell over Melbourne, Australia from April 2024, Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience Melbourne delivered a magical, immersive fan experience celebrating the beloved franchise. For the first time in Australia, fans could step into a nighttime woodland trail experience filled with enchanting creatures and wizarding wonders from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films. Proving its status as Warner Bros. Discovery’s top franchise locally, the experience delighted close to 170,000 witches, wizards and Muggles, delivered 4.7/5 stars on Google, and news coverage across Channel Nine News and Timeout. Fans sipped butterbeer and the licensed merchandise proved popular—the experience generated an estimated AUD$30-57 million for the local economy during the three-month stay.
Hello Kitty 50th Anniversary Celebration of Friendship
In 2024, the iconic Hello Kitty marked its 50th anniversary with a groundbreaking celebration in Thailand, offering an innovative and immersive experience that captivated fans. House of Illumination, in collaboration with Pacific Licensing Studio and Sanrio Southeast Asia, launched Hello Kitty Ticketed Exhibition: Celebration of Friendship at Central World, transforming a 2,300-square-meter space into eight interactive zones. The exhibition included immersive technology, themed merchandise, photo opportunities, and food offerings, making it a one-of-a-kind experience for visitors. Concurrently, House of Illumination also launched another ticketed exhibition—Sanrio Characters: Funtastic Exhibition expanded the event’s reach, featuring beloved characters like Kuromi, My Melody, and Hapidanbui, along with dance performances and hands-on activities. With over 30,000 tickets sold in its first month, the exhibition earned media value and a 5X brand awareness ROI.
Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow Party
Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow Party brings fans’ favorite Hot Wheels Monster Trucks to life in this exhilarating show featuring seven Hot Wheels Monster Trucks. This global tour is crushing it with sold out shows around the world, reaching 260 total global cities to date! The 2024 debut in LATAM saw its highest attendance in one weekend yet, welcoming more than 70,000 fans in Mexico City. Glow Party shows featured epic stunts, glowing monster trucks, laser light shows, spectacular theatrical effects, dance parties, and freestyle motocross. Launched in 2019, this live tour continues to evolve with innovative theming and is a key pillar for this monster franchise that includes toys, consumer products, content, music, and much more.
Marvel Barbershop
The first barbershop inspired by Marvel opened in São Paulo in November by Corleone. Corleone is known for its excellence in the industry, offering personalized experiences with over 13,000 services monthly. Leveraging the fast growing men care trend, the barbershop is located at an important avenue in São Paulo with a 4,800 square-feet area consisting of 18 chairs to serve 250 customers per day as well as a retail storefront inspired by a SHIELD secret base. The store has Marvel-licensed beard, hair, and men’s care products such as shampoo and conditioner, liquid facial soap, and aftershave as well as many collectibles from licensees including Hasbro, LEGO, Iron Studios, and Funko.
The Paddington Bear Experience
The Paddington Bear Experience is an immersive, family-friendly attraction that brings the beloved character to life through innovative storytelling, interactive exhibits, and cutting-edge technology. Visitors journey through iconic scenes from Paddington’s adventures, experiencing his world in 360-degree environments. Critics have praised the experience for its attention to detail, with Time Out calling it “delightful” and USA Today describing it as “a joyous, heartwarming experience for the whole family.” The Times highlighted its “magical settings and attention to detail,” making it an ideal outing for families. The creative use of augmented reality and live performances, combined with its seamless integration of the Paddington brand, makes it a standout contender for Best Experience.
Primark Cafe Experiences
In 2024, Primark introduced location-based cafés featuring beloved brands like Hello Kitty, Shrek, and The Grinch. These immersive spaces blended shopping and entertainment, offering themed dining experiences never seen in fashion retail. Each café transported visitors into fictional worlds with character-inspired menus, whimsical interiors, and exclusive merchandise. From Hello Kitty’s pastel paradise to Shrek’s swampy charm and The Grinch’s holiday mischief, every detail enhanced brand storytelling. These first-of-their-kind collaborations turned Primark stores into must-visit destinations, boosting footfall and themed product sales. The initiative also went viral, generating millions of social media engagements. By merging nostalgia, interactive dining, and innovative retail, Primark set a new industry standard, proving experiential shopping is the future.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Experience
Bob Esponja: The Experience redefined immersive exhibitions in Brazil by transforming 1,000 square meters of MIS Experience into a multisensory dive into Bikini Bottom. This unique journey blends nostalgia and technology, featuring interactive spaces like burger-making at the Krusty Krab and augmented reality with Sandy’s helmet. Highlights include the digitalized debut of The Intertidal Zone and behind-the-scenes insights into the SpongeBob universe, adding cultural and artistic exclusivity. With over 40,000 visitors in just over one month, the exhibition not only captivated fans of all ages but also achieved massive social media engagement, generating thousands of interactions. It’s an innovative, unforgettable celebration that thrilled the Brazilian market while cementing the legacy of one of pop culture’s most iconic characters.
The Studio Ghibli Story Exhibition
The Studio Ghibli Story Exhibtion revolves around the classic animated works of Studio Ghibli and featured three interconnected halls, comprising a total space of 2,800 square meters and 24 exhibition areas. Mr. Toshio Suzuki, Chairman and Producer of Studio Ghibli, serves as the overall director of the exhibition. He has also inscribed the exhibition and hand-drawn new character sketches. The exhibition adopts digital interactive effect technology, making it more vivid and interactive. And the newest Ghibli movie, The Boy and The Heron, participates in an exhibition for the first time and is exclusively disclosing its storyboard. Since the exhibition opened, the number of visitors has exceeded 200,000. The original exhibition period was scheduled from April to the end of October in 2024. Due to the enthusiasm of the audience and its huge popularity, it was extended until January 2025.
