News

'Night at Museum' Sequel Nabs McDonald's

By Robert Marich

   Dec. 22, 2008 – McDonald’s unveiled a major promotion with a second Night at the Museum, which Fox is scheduled to release May 22, 2009 (at the moment, its only rival on that date is Warner’s Terminator Salvation, aiming at an older audience).
   It’s a coup that Fox nabbed a fast food chain – McDonald’s has 14,000 U.S. restaurants and another 1,400 locations in Canada -- because restaurants have becoming increasingly picky about film tie ins. They’ve concluding that most Hollywood alliances don’t pay off because movies underperform and there’s not enough rub off. Hollywood finds music (with downloads) and TV shows rivals for alliances with quick service restaurants.
   The deal with Night at the Museum II: Battle of the Smithsonian reflects a cautiousness since McDonald’s is linking to sequel. The press release below says that McDonald’s Happy Meal website carries a teaser trailer for the family yarn starring Ben Stiller and McDonald’s restaurants will offer movie-themed items as premiums.
   Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition notes that McDonalds let expire without renewal a 10-year movie tie-in with Disney animated films from 1996, after finding itself attached to some dud movies. McDonalds entered into the original deal in the euphoria after Disney’s Lion King blockbuster in 1994, with which rival Burger King did a lucrative tie-in. The Disney tie is difficult to quantify because theme parks and other Disney operations were said to be involved.

   For related marketing stories, click link below:

www.marketingmovies.net/news/fox-licenses-smithsonian-name-for-sequel/

www.marketingmovies.net/news/hp-touts-kung-fu-panda-promo/

   December 19 08 -- LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--McDonald’s will host the exclusive online launch of the teaser trailer for the upcoming motion picture comedy NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN, via its HappyMeal.com website, beginning Friday, December 19th.
   This first-look/trailer event is part of overall promotions deal between the restaurant giant and Twentieth Century Fox, which releases the much-anticipated film, the follow-up to the blockbuster NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM, on May 22, 2009. Timed to the movie’s theatrical debut, McDonald’s will launch a special Happy Meal collection of toys, which will be available in eight different designs featuring characters from the original NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM and the upcoming film.
ABOUT NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN
   It's a new "Night" and "Museum" for Ben Stiller, who is joined by several other stars from the original film, as well as new characters from history -- including Amy Adams as famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart, Hank Azaria as villainous Egyptian pharaoh Ka Mun Rah, Christopher Guest as Russian tyrant Ivan the Terrible and Alain Chabat as Napoleon. Owen Wilson is back as cowboy Jedediah, and Robin Williams again rides into history as Teddy Roosevelt. The centerpiece of the film will be bringing to life the Smithsonian Institution, which houses the world’s largest museum complex with more than 136 million items in its collections. No major film has ever shot inside the Smithsonian in Washington…until NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN. Shawn Levy, who helmed the first film, is directing.
About McDonald’s
   McDonald’s is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 30,000 local restaurants in 118 countries. Approximately 70 percent of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent, local men and women. Please visit www.mcdonalds.com to learn more about the company.
About Fox Filmed Entertainment
   One of the world’s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox Atomic, and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.