Spider-Man could soon swing over Beijing, chasing Optimus Prime and Despicable Me minions through a US$3.3 billion Universal theme park aimed at capitalizing on China’s rising middle class and growing demand for all things animated.
China has been a major booster of such movies as Transformers: Age of Extinction — which was partly filmed in China — and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Brand is becoming more important to the Chinese market, as its middle class pours cash into entertainment, and malls and parks across China are installing animation and cartoon-themed attractions to woo visitors, according to global architecture firm AECOM.
The Chinese film industry is set to overtake the US box office in the next three years, leading to more demand for Western entertainment, said Gary Goddard, founder of entertainment design firm Goddard Group in North Hollywood, California.
The rising middle and upper classes “all have money to spend and they want to spend time together with their families,” he said.
The 404-hectare Beijing park is to include attractions from other Universal parks, rides that reflect China’s cultural heritage, a Universal CityWalk entertainment zone and a Universal-themed resort hotel. It is to be the third Universal park in Asia, joining others in Singapore and Osaka, Japan.
Comcast NBCUniversal is set to build the property with four Chinese state-owned partners. An opening date was not announced.
China is home to 11 of the top 20 amusement parks in Asia, with about 166 million visits last year.
Revenue is expected to total nearly US$3 billion this year, research firm IBISWorld estimated. There are 59 more parks in the pipeline, and by 2020, theme park attendance in China could overtake the US market’s 220 million visits last year, AECOM said. As US and European amusement parks see stagnant or declining attendance, theme park companies are betting on China to drive expansion.
Hong Kong Disneyland said in February that it was profitable for the second year in a row, partly due to new attractions that drew more visitors from the mainland. It plans to build a third hotel and new ride based on the Iron Man movie franchise.
The Walt Disney Co’s estimated US$5.5 billion Shanghai Disneyland resort is to open next year. It reportedly aims to take an “East meets West” approach, with attractions like the “Garden of the Twelve Friends,” with murals of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac depicted by popular Disney characters.
Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc is building an estimated US$2.4 billion complex with Chinese partners in Shanghai, scheduled to open in 2017. It is to feature a 500-seat IMAX cinema with international film festivals and red carpet events in mind, bars, restaurants and performance venues, the companies said. It also aims to showcase a “Dream Avenue” theater district modeled on London’s West End and New York City’s Broadway.
In June, Six Flags Entertainment Corp announced plans to build six parks in the Asian giant over the next decade.
Developers will increasingly use international brands in theme parks, AECOM analysts Chris Yoshii and Beth Chang wrote in a leisure report last year.
“We’re already seeing major [intellectual property] groups active in the market in Asia: Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros and Dreamworks — all very much so,” they wrote.
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