Warner Bros.' Wednesday Box-Office Tsunami of $10,096,000 for 'Pokemon the
First Movie' Sets Multiple Industry Records
BURBANK, Calif., Nov 11, 1999 (ENTERTAINMENT WIRE) -- Children and
their parents across America streamed into movie theaters in
unprecedented numbers on Wednesday to become the first to see Warner
Bros.' "Pokemon The First Movie."
Their unbridled enthusiasm, which extended from coast to coast, in both
urban and suburban venues, resulted in $10,096,000 in first-day
grosses, breaking a slew of industry and studio records. The
announcement was made jointly today by Dan Fellman, President of
Domestic Distribution, and Brad A. Ball, President of Domestic
Marketing, both for Warner Bros. Pictures.
"Pokemon The First Movie" became the biggest Wednesday opening ever for
a Warner Bros. movie and the biggest Wednesday opening for any animated
film in history, outpacing its nearest competition, "The Lion King," by
nearly $4 million. It also became the biggest Wednesday opening in any
November for any release industrywide.
Stated Fellman: "This triumph is the result of some outstanding
collaborations throughout Warner Bros. Sandy Reisenbach, Bruce
Rosenblum and Jamie Kellner, as well as Lorenzo di Bonaventura, were
instrumental in recognizing the potential of this property and
acquiring it early on, along with the Kids' WB! top-ranked Pokemon TV
series.
"We've had tremendous promotional partners, including Wizards of the
Coast and Burger King, who, under the direction of Brad Ball and his
team, have supported the studio's overall marketing effort. And our
exhibitors have worked hard at the local level to team up with us on
our distribution plans. All of this has made 'Pokemon The First Movie'
a record-breaker for Warner Bros. and an industry phenomenon."
Among the broad array of marketing activities supporting the opening of
"Pokemon The First Movie" are a special trading card game card giveaway
created in conjunction with Wizards of the Coast, the maker of the
highly coveted Pokemon Trading Card Game; and a multifaceted offering
of toys and collectors' cards through Burger King.
Said Ball: "We're thrilled to see that our value-added marketing
campaign has been so appealing. The trading cards are moving out of
theaters even faster than anyone had anticipated, and we are taking
several steps to address this unprecedented demand, including creating
a program to mail cards to qualifying ticket purchasers, as well as a
redistribution of our existing supply and a possible additional release
of cards. We hope to offer trading card game cards to many more
children during this first weekend of the movie's release."
Burger King executives have called this promotion their most successful
ever, and acknowledged that their business is two to three times
heavier than usual in the opening days of its Pokemon promotion, with
customers lining up around the block to acquire one or more of the 57
Pokemon character toys offered as Kids' Meal premiums.
Among the top-grossing theaters are Los Angeles' Puente Hills 20, with
$25,094; The Bronx's Bay Plaza, with $24,804; Ontario, California's
Palace 22, with $24,118; Yonkers, NY's Cross Country Multiplex 10, with
$21,843; and Chicago's Ford City 14, with $16,114.
Kids' WB! Presents a 4Kids Entertainment Production, the American
adaptation of "Pokemon The First Movie," written by Norman J.
Grossfeld, Michael Haigney and John Touhey with voice direction by
Michael Haigney. Norman J. Grossfeld, President of 4Kids Entertainment,
is the Producer.
The animated film is directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and produced by Choji
Yoshikawa, Tomoyuki Igarashi and Takemoto Mori. The film written by
Takeshi Shudo is based on characters created by Satoshi Tajiri. It is
distributed by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment, A Time Warner
Entertainment Company.
Nintendo of America controls the Pokemon franchise, which it acquired
from the original creators in Japan.
Note to Editors: Pokemon has an accent over the "e."
Copyright (C) 1999 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
Distributed via COMTEX.
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818/954-6217
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