News
Fox Licenses Smithsonian Name For Sequel
By Robert Marich
May 20, 2008 – 20th Century Fox paid a $550,000 licensing fee to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington for use of its name in Night of the Museum 2: Escape from the Smithsonian, according to the Washington Post newspaper.
The film, which starts production shortly, already lays claim to a U.S. theatrical release a year from now on May 22, 2009 and its predecessor was a sleeper hit grossing $251 million domestically in 2006.
The decision to buy rights to the Smithsonian name is a marketing decision that gives a fresh angle for promotion, a degree of respectability and credibility for the sequel’s merchandising. The Washington Post article says the museum gets 7.5% of net receipts from movie-related merchandise with the Smithsonian name.
Smithsonian officials say they were interested in the association because the 2006 film piqued interest in museum attendance. “The studio approached the Smithsonian about setting the film in D.C., and officials spent six months reading scripts until approving the final version last month. Stars Ben Stiller and Amy Adams will be shooting at the (Smithsonian’s) National Air and Space Museum this week,” notes the article by Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts.
Besides the $500,000 upfront fee and 7.5% merchandising royalty, Fox is also paying $200,000 in location fees to film in and outside the museum for four days, plus penalty fees if the production stays longer, according to the Post. In addition, the Smithsonian gets bonus fees of $125,000 if the sequel’s box office hits $200 million and another $250,000 if the sequel passes $250 million. Those are escalators that Fox would love to pay because it would mean the studio is making even more money.
The Smithsonian Institution, of course, is a cluster of museums that are the de facto national U.S. museum and the institution is government run.
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