Source: Universal.
Last weekend, Jurassic World became the biggest domestic blockbuster movie launch yet. The film booked $209 million in receipts at the U.S. box office, enough to pass the opening haul for Disney's (DIS -0.83%) 2012 release of The Avengers by $2 million.
The dinosaur action flick pulled in an additional $325 million from international markets, making Jurassic World is the first movie to ever gross more than $500 million in one weekend. Knocking Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 into second place internationally during its opening weekend, Jurassic World is already a global phenomenon.
High-fives are likely happening in many corporate board rooms over a hit this big. That includes Comcast (CMCSA -0.33%), whose Universal Pictures subsidiary distributed the film. But the blockbuster should also materially lift results at theater producer IMAX (IMAX 1.19%) and at toys and games giant Hasbro (HAS -0.38%).
How it helps Comcast
Let's start with the most direct winner. Comcast is primarily a cable operator, with 64% of revenue coming from that business in the most recent quarter. Its NBCUniversal segment accounts for the rest, and that's where the Jurassic World effect will be felt.
Comcast is collecting a portion of sales from all of the 4,300 theaters showing the film as it marches toward $1 billion in global box office. But that's just the start. Profits then come from licensing the movie to on-demand video services, booking DVD retail sales, and delivering the film to a network for cable broadcast.
Finally, a franchise this strong promises to boost Universal's theme park business. The recent addition of Diagon Alley, based on the Harry Potter brand, drove up attendance and guest spending last quarter, pushing sales up 40%. Expect Jurassic World to power similar attractions, and similar theme park gains, in the years ahead.
How it helps Hasbro
Then there's the merchandising benefits, which can often dwarf film proceeds. Disney's hit Frozen, for example, powered a 22% jump in sales in its consumer products division over the holidays last year. The boost also came with a dramatic seven percentage point rise in profitability, to 45% of sales. That's nearly twice the margin of Disney's ESPN-fueled media networks business.
Source: Hasbro.
Hasbro owns the license for selling toys and games based on the Jurassic World brand. Initial sales to retailers already lifted results for the company last quarter. However, those sales were based on much more conservative estimates of the film's success. Since the movie doubled initial expectations at the box office, we can look for materially higher sales of dinosaur toys in coming quarters.
How it helps IMAX
IMAX boasts a total of 800 large-format movie theaters around the world. And nearly all of those locations were packed this past weekend. "The IMAX network was at capacity with sell-out screenings all weekend," the company said in a press release. In fact, 18 of the movie's top 20 theaters were IMAX locations.
IMAX typically receives between 10% and 15% of the box office receipts at its theaters. That's one reason why Wall Street expects the company to book 32% higher sales in the current quarter.
Source: IMAX.
Beyond that, a hit movie like this should increase demand for new theater locations. IMAX thinks it can eventually get to 1,700 screens, or more than double its current footprint.
Thus, it's no wonder IMAX is rooting for this blockbuster. "This film touches on many of the key pulse points of IMAX -- our rich history of releasing dinosaur documentaries, the widely successful IMAX rerelease of 'Jurassic Park 3D' in 2013 and our partnership with these filmmakers," an IMAX executive said. "With the strong word-of-mouth, we look forward to a robust worldwide run of "Jurassic World."
