Sony Pictures Entertainment has teamed with theme park firm Merlin Entertainment to create branded attraction rides and hotel rooms based on the studio’s popular Jumanji franchise movies.
The themed attractions will be launched across Merlin’s theme parks and waterparks in Europe, UK and North America. The agreement will kick off with the first Jumanji ride, Jumanji – The Adventure, to open at Merlin’s Gardaland resort in Italy next month, along with themed hotel rooms.
A second activation is in development at a different theme park to launch in 2023. “Merlin is the ideal company to bring the world of Jumanji to life. Their commitment to strong storytelling, quality of craftsmanship and fantastic guest experiences ensure that fans of Jumanji will be fully immersed into the worlds of our films and have an unforgettable experience,” Jeffrey Godsick, head of location based entertainment at Sony Pictures, said in a statement.
Merlin operates the Legoland, Madame Tussauds and Sea Life attractions and worked with Oceaneering and Framestore to create the first Jumanji ride for Gardaland. Sony Pictures is joining other Hollywood media giants in expanding its location-based entertainment business by adapting film and TV brands for out-of-home consumer experiences.
Earlier, Merlin and Sony Pictures launched themed experiences with the Ghostbusters 5D ride at Heide Park in Germany and the Ghostbusters experience at Madame Tussauds New York.
After the original Robin Williams-starring Jumanji film in 1995, the franchise continued with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level, starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan.
Sony’s film franchise has taken in over $2.1 billion at the global box office.
