M; also, 12M float (40% owned by inst.); starting to look like Pokemon blitz:
Toysrus.com Announces Exclusive Partnership With 20th Century Fox, Marvel and Toy Biz for Summer Blockbuster "X-Men"
New Toysrus.com Channel www.toysrus.com/xmen To Offer X-Men Collectible Products, Free Downloads, Movie Previews and More
WOODCLIFF LAKE, NJ--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2000-- Toysrus.com (www.toysrus.com), a leading retailer of children's products on the Internet, today announced an online retail partnership with the movie studio 20th Century Fox, the character-based entertainment company Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: MVL), and Marvel's toy division, Toy Biz. Toysrus.com will launch an official "X-Men" online channel called, "Marvel's X-Men Official Online Store" on May 1st that will become the premiere online retail destination for fans, kids, and collectors for the summer movie blockbuster and classic Marvel characters.
As part of the agreement, Toysrus.com will carry a range of hot X-Men licensed products including collectible action figures from Toy Biz. In addition, the channel will offer X-Men fans movie trailers, links to partner sites, exclusive content including character biographies and cyber comics, free downloads of comic artwork, and a national consumer sweepstakes.
"X-Men is a classic property that has an enthusiastic, worldwide base of fans," said Greg Ahearn, vice president, marketing of Toysrus.com. "This will be one of the hottest movies of the year and our goal is to create a great online experience that captures the essence of the characters. The X-Men channel will be a very powerful draw for traffic to our site."
Now in its 36th year, X-Men has become the most successful comic book property of all time, with worldwide comic sales of over $400 million. Based on the popular comic book franchise, the 20th Century Fox film, "X-Men" opens on July 14th with an all-star cast including Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Ray Park, Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. An event level marketing campaign and extensive television and outdoor advertising will support the movie. An all-new animated television series, produced by Marvel Studios will debut on the Kids WB Network this fall.
"X-Men is a global phenomenon," said Peter Cuneo, CEO, Marvel Enterprises. Toysrus.com is one of the top retailers on the Internet with a brand name known around the world. The X-Men experience will translate perfectly to their channel online and will offer fans a wealth of entertainment and exciting products."
"20th Century Fox has combined a great cast and story line for the first X-Men live action film", said Jeffrey Godsick, executive vice president, publicity & promotions, 20th Century Fox. "In conjunction with the launch of the movie, partnering with Toysrus.com will allow us to bring the details of one of this summer's hottest movies and product lines to all moviegoers."
About Toysrus.com
Toysrus.com is a leading Internet retailer for toys and children's products. Toysrus.com combines one of the world's most recognizable brands with unparalleled expertise in the toy and children's industry. Offering customers thousands of toys on line, Toysrus.com provides customers with a fun-filled shopping experience featuring a wide selection of popular and hot products.
About Marvel Enterprises, Inc.
Marvel Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies with operations in five divisions: licensing, toys -- via its Toy Biz division, comic book and trade publishing, entertainment and the Internet. Through the ownership of over 4,700 proprietary characters, Marvel licenses its characters in a wide range of consumer products, services and media such as feature films, television, the Internet, apparel, video games, collectibles, snack foods and promotions. Marvel's characters and plot lines are created and developed through the comic book publishing division, which maintains a leadership position in the U.S. and abroad. For additional company information visit the Company's corporate Web site at marvel.com.
20th Century Fox is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group.
Screen shots available upon request.
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