Universal's Epic Universe Wish List & Speculation

[jarmor]

Is how successful a movie is a predictor of how successful a land based off of it would be?

 

[RevFreako]

Is how successful a movie is a predictor of how successful a land based off of it would be?

Depends on how you define success.

You could take a movie that made twelve dollars but had strong story, setting and characters, and build a creatively successful land that would endure. You could also build a creatively successful land that would endure out of a billion dollar popcorn fart of a movie like Avatar. Of these though, only one brings the front-of-mind stature of a billion-dollar earner, which makes drawing a financial success a lot easier out if the latter.

 

[Grabnar]

Is how successful a movie is a predictor of how successful a land based off of it would be?

They correlate but definitely aren't 100% predictors. For example, Waterworld is still loved in CA despite being a huge flop, but F&F, which is one of the biggest franchises of all time, is already looking at being replaced or at least re-themed.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Im nowhere near an expert but this is my gatherings:

- Movie does well, check.
- Movie sequel does well/other form of media does well, double check.
- Merchandise sales are profitable, check.

Those are likely the main things they look at. Popularity, sustainability, and merchandising.

 

[HandsomePete]

Is how successful a movie is a predictor of how successful a land based off of it would be?

Can’t really look at it at a land level because there’s not a big enough sample size and it all comes down to budget. Swap the budgets for Toy Story and Star Wars Lands and see what comes back.

At an attraction level, it’s not a 0 correlation but it’s basically zero. Again, the concept and quality of the ride is the primary driver. Take Monsters Inc - if you can’t even get a consistent read on how the franchise “performs” from Laugh Floor to the DCA ride to what could have been a doors coaster, how do you even begin to compare that to another IP. Or something like Space Mountain. Along those same lines, if you built a Home on the Range spinner, it would do about the same as the Aladdin spinner.

Serious hot take here, but big immersive IP lands are overrated. A park should have 2-3 max. Generic land concepts where you have more flexibility at an attraction level work just as well.

 

[rhino4evr]

Can’t really look at it at a land level because there’s not a big enough sample size and it all comes down to budget. Swap the budgets for Toy Story and Star Wars Lands and see what comes back.

At an attraction level, it’s not a 0 correlation but it’s basically zero. Again, the concept and quality of the ride is the primary driver. Take Monsters Inc - if you can’t even get a consistent read on how the franchise “performs” from Laugh Floor to the DCA ride to what could have been a doors coaster, how do you even begin to compare that to another IP. Or something like Space Mountain.

Serious hot take here, but big immersive IP lands are overrated. A park should have 2-3 max. Generic land concepts where you have more flexibility at an attraction level work just as well.

lol, that’s like the opposite concept of Epic Worlds. The park is nothing but highly themed lands based on IPs.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Can’t really look at it at a land level because there’s not a big enough sample size and it all comes down to budget. Swap the budgets for Toy Story and Star Wars Lands and see what comes back.

At an attraction level, it’s not a 0 correlation but it’s basically zero. Again, the concept and quality of the ride is the primary driver. Take Monsters Inc - if you can’t even get a consistent read on how the franchise “performs” from Laugh Floor to the DCA ride to what could have been a doors coaster, how do you even begin to compare that to another IP. Or something like Space Mountain.

Serious hot take here, but big immersive IP lands are overrated. A park should have 2-3 max. Generic land concepts where you have more flexibility at an attraction level work just as well.

See I disagree on the last take. An entire park of them like EU seems special, but I don't believe every park needs to become that. However, it immerses you SO well into the story that someone even unfamiliar with the IP (ahem, me and Potter) can grow to absolutely LOVE the property because of the work they've done in their theme parks. I think they're here to stay, but everything doesn't need a huge land for itself. Some, definitely do however. Nintendo, How To Train Your Dragon, Monsters, Pokemon are among the deserving ones imo. Need something that you can make a mini area out of.

Something like Ghostbusters, Back To The Future, Transformers, etc, don't naturally provide that like others can/do. I think there is a balance to be found, and if EU is made or not, I think having that be an outlier is perfectly fine and how it should be.

 

[HandsomePete]

lol, that’s like the opposite concept of Epic Worlds. The park is nothing but highly themed lands based on IPs.

Right - not saying EU is wrong per se but it’s a peculiar box to be stuck in with what you would hope to be a 30, 40, 50 year asset.

Only immersive lands also flies in the face of how Universal has managed the studios park. Earthquake to F&F, Kong to Mummy, Twister to Fallon, T2 to Bourne, BTTF to Simpsons. Jimmy Neutron to Minions. Whatever it was to Transformers.

I‘ll say Nintendo is timeless. I’ll also say Monsters are timeless. FB is borderline in its rumored form. HTTYD is not timeless. We’ll be explaining to our grandkids what HTTYD was like how our parents explain Woody Woodpecker to our kids.

 

[rageofthegods]

Right - not saying EU is wrong per se but it’s a peculiar box to be stuck in with what you would hope to be a 30, 40, 50 year asset.

Only immersive lands also flies in the face of how Universal has managed the studios park. Earthquake to F&F, Kong to Mummy, Twister to Fallon, T2 to Bourne, BTTF to Simpsons. Jimmy Neutron to Minions. Whatever it was to Transformers.

I‘ll say Nintendo is timeless. I’ll also say Monsters are timeless. FB is borderline in its rumored form. HTTYD is not timeless. We’ll be explaining to our grandkids what HTTYD was like how our parents explain Woody Woodpecker to our kids.

I kind of wonder if Shrek is gonna end up being timeless or if we're all gonna have to explain. I rewatched the first movie recently and it's weird seeing that it's basically just an animated version of one of those 90s romcoms with a dragon chase.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I mean each generation has "their generations" of everything, so thats natural.

I wonder though, just due to streaming services being able to offer older films at ease (and less cost if you pay for streaming rather than several DVDs), I think some IPs are going to last longer because of that. I mean hey, look at The Office. Been off TV for like 10 years and its still just killing it.

If that stays with these IPs specially or not remains to be seen, but I think its an interesting discussion nonetheless.

 

[CoryLevy91]

Serious hot take here, but big immersive IP lands are overrated. A park should have 2-3 max. Generic land concepts where you have more flexibility at an attraction level work just as well.

This is something I wanted to bring up. All this talk about shuffling this IP here and replacing it with this other IP instead. I can see that's where Universal obviously wants to go with EU but are they that adamant about just not creating something of their own?

I think about the ingenuity and craft they've displayed with creating the WWoHP, the care they've taken with creating Kong and updating JP and the creativity they show every year with their original offerings during HHN, Christmas and Mardi Gras and I start salivating at the possibilities of original lands they could create.

I get IPs are the easier sell but with how volatile they could sometimes be I find it a little weird that they don't want to at least contemplate designing their own land.

 

[Legacy]

I think about the ingenuity and craft they've displayed with creating the WWoHP, the care they've taken with creating Kong and updating JP and the creativity they show every year with their original offerings during HHN, Christmas and Mardi Gras and I start salivating at the possibilities of original lands they could create.

These are two completely different teams working in two completely different buildings with two different focuses. While Universal is rife with creativity, it’s important to remember that there’s a pretty wide schism between these teams in general, so they shouldn’t be lumped together.

 

[UPSguy]

This is something I wanted to bring up. All this talk about shuffling this IP here and replacing it with this other IP instead. I can see that's where Universal obviously wants to go with EU but are they that adamant about just not creating something of their own?

I think about the ingenuity and craft they've displayed with creating the WWoHP, the care they've taken with creating Kong and updating JP and the creativity they show every year with their original offerings during HHN, Christmas and Mardi Gras and I start salivating at the possibilities of original lands they could create.

I get IPs are the easier sell but with how volatile they could sometimes be I find it a little weird that they don't want to at least contemplate designing their own land.

Here's a question, who will add an original (non IP) attraction first, Universal or Disney....

 

[shiekra38]

Here's a question, who will add an original (non IP) attraction first, Universal or Disney....

Well EU was going to have one and then....well...2020

 

[Scott W.]

I print a lot of personalised back to school items like pencil cases, water bottles, lunch boxes etc.

We don't infringe copyright but we get asked to all the time.

Far away and the 2 most popular requests this season have been for Harry Potter and Nintendo. I'm genuinely astonished at how popular these 2 IPs have been compared to everything else.

 

[Mike S]

I print a lot of personalised back to school items like pencil cases, water bottles, lunch boxes etc.

We don't infringe copyright but we get asked to all the time.

Far away and the 2 most popular requests this season have been for Harry Potter and Nintendo. I'm genuinely astonished at how popular these 2 IPs have been compared to everything else.

I bet any Universal exec that randomly reads this will grin like the Grinch.

 

[shiekra38]

I print a lot of personalised back to school items like pencil cases, water bottles, lunch boxes etc.

We don't infringe copyright but we get asked to all the time.

Far away and the 2 most popular requests this season have been for Harry Potter and Nintendo. I'm genuinely astonished at how popular these 2 IPs have been compared to everything else.

Well I sell Avatar pencil cases and we're going bankrupt


Someone please help

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Well I sell Avatar pencil cases and we're going bankrupt


Someone please help

N'avi or benders?

 

[shiekra38]

N'avi or benders?

The FernGully one

 

[TheDecemberists]

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the theme of this park.

Universal Studios = “Ride the Movies”
Islands of Adventure = Books, comics, stories, etc.
Epic Universe = ???

Is it really just “We want you to spend more days at our resort so here’s another park”?

Since ”wish list” is in the title of this thread... Why not a video game park?

Super Nintendo Land
Pokemon Land
A fantasy rpg land could include a stupid amount of IP’s. Just pick and choose whatever would be the most popular and whoever’s willing to cooperate.
Same thing could be said for a sci-fi setting: Halo comes to mind but there are soooo many options.

Ready Player One brought in more than 500 million dollars. There are enough gamers that would flock to a video game theme park. (DisneyQuest doesn’t count)