The Wonder Woman comic book/movie property is set for its own roller coaster thrill ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain outdoor amusement park in suburban Los Angeles.
The licensed merchandise ride is scheduled to open summer of 2022, after being delayed by the pandemic. The theme park’s investment in a new ride indicates confidence in the outdoor, out-of-home entertainment service industry. Woman Woman is a DC Comic property and is a corporate sibling to Warner Bros. Pictures, which distributes the movie adaptation.
Park president Don McCoy said in a press release that Six Flags will integrate “the legacy of an iconic DC Super Hero [Wonder Woman] into the theming of the ride. Additionally, we are creating a more innovative guest experience by redesigning one of our most popular areas, DC Universe, which will become the home of Wonder Woman Flight of Courage.”
The DC Universe area incorporates the popular Batman: The Ride and several other DC-themed rides. “The new ride will be flanked by a pair of DC Comics-themed coasters: Riddler’s Revenge and Batman: The Ride,” says a Los Angeles Daily News story by Brady MacDonald.
The ride will be a screamer. A press release promises speeds up to 58 mph; a steep, 87-degree first drop and overbanked cutback; and three dramatic inversions including a 180-degree stall, raven dive, and zero-gravity roll. Oooh!
This is a licensed merchandise initiative, although the “merch” is a service — a thrill ride — and not a physical object.
“Most licensees produce ‘durable goods’ — physical items expected to last more than three years — but movie incarnations can also be employed in intangible ‘services,’” notes the third edition of academic/business book “Marketing to Moviegoers.”
“For example, Universal Orlando Resort and Virgin Holidays offered ‘A Celebration of Harry Potter Films’ travel package in 2011 to tourists in the United Kingdom. The theme-park sibling of Universal Pictures licensed those rights from Warner Bros. Consumer Products — whose studio sibling produced the ‘Potter’ films. Typically, movie companies — which are licensors controlling movie rights — seek merchandising opportunities via in-house licensing arms, although in some cases the producers, star talent, and/or owner of underlying property rights (such as a comic-book publisher) also are involved.”
Warner Bros. is betting on movie adaptations of the comic book property because the 2017 theatrical release of “Wonder Woman” grossed a blockbuster $413 domestically (and $823 worldwide). Its lead female character also fits in current social consciousness of giving a voice to female-oriented movies (the star and director are both women). However, “Wonder Woman 1984” released in 2020 got whacked by theater closures amid the coronavirus pandemic, grossing just $120 million in domestic boxoffice at theaters.
Six Flags used to be owned by the parent of Warner Bros. Pictures, but was spun off; it still maintains a close relationship with the Hollywood studio. Six Flags operates 27 parks across the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
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