Marvel’s The Avengers
Smashing Blockbuster Status
Through the Concept of Synergy
By Amanda Parham
Marvel’s The Avengers
• The film was released on
May 4, 2012.
• The film had a record
breaking opening weekend
of $ 207,438,708 million.
• Marvel’s The Avengers
holds the record for best
opening weekend of any
film to date.
• The film was directed by Joss Whedon.
• Key Cast- Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man,
Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo
as The Hulk, Chris Hemsworth as Thor,
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy
Renner as Hawkeye, and Samuel L. Jackson as
Nick Fury.
• The production companies
involved were Marvel Studios in
association with Paramount
Pictures.
• In 2009 during the development
of the film, The Walt Disney
Company acquired Marvel
Entertainment for four billion
dollars in a stock and cash
transaction.
• In 2010 Walt Disney Pictures
acquired the distribution rights to
2012's Marvel’s The Avengers
which diminished an expected
five-year relationship Marvel had
with Paramount that began in
2008 with Iron Man.
It’s A Hit!
• The movie was shown in
4,349 theaters in the U.S.
• The total box office gross
for Marvel’s The Avengers
was:
– Domestic- $ 623,357,910
– Foreign- $ 888,400,000
– Grand total- $1,511,757,910
• The film is ranked third of
highest grossing films of all
time.
• Additional media products related to The
Avengers include:
– The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man (2008), Iron
Man 2 (2010), Iron Man 3 (2013), Captain America:
The First Avenger (2011), Thor (2011), Thor: The Dark
World (2013-in post-production), Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D. (television series to be debut in fall 2013),
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (in preproduction, scheduled 2014) and The Avengers 2:
Age of Ultron (in pre-production , scheduled 2015).
Industry Trend
• The Avengers is one of
the largest blockbuster
films to date.
• The Avengers’
franchise is ranked
third as the highest
grossing franchise with
a seven film collection
that is continually
growing.
Synergy Through Horizontal
Integration
• Since the purchase of Marvel
Entertainment by The Walt Disney
Company they have included The
Avengers into many of their
different media products:
broadcast stations, cable television,
radio, and other various media
products they own.
• The company has seen an increase
in their consumer products division
due to the success of their Marvel
line of Disney apparel, accessories,
toys, and other products. The
revenue at the consumer division,
gained 8.3 percent in 2012.
• Disney has horizontally integrated
Marvel into their company. Here
are a few examples:
– The creation of Avengers’ cartoon
series, appearing on Disney XD
• 2010 The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest
Heroes
• 2013 Marvel's Avengers Assemble.
– In 2010 the Walt Disney Company,
which owns ESPN, depicted Marvel
images on multiple covers for ESPN
The Magazine by transforming key
basketball players and teams into
superheroes.
– Fall of 2013, Disney owned ABC
premiered the new Avengers’ spin
off show called Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
– Recently, in 2013 Disney announced
that they plan to add a Marvelthemed land to Hong Kong
Disneyland in 2017.
Synergy Through Vertical Integration
• The Walt Disney Company is also
vertically integrated, which
involves owning assets involved in
the production, distribution,
exhibition, and sale of a single
type of media product.
• Under The Walt Disney
Company’s film and theater assets
are Marvel Entertainment, Walt
Disney Studios Motion Pictures
International (Distribution), and
Walt Disney Studios Home
Entertainment.
Maximize Profits Through Product
Placement
• Another strategy for a successful blockbuster film like
Marvel’s The Avengers is the use of product
placements.
• Product placement is a form of advertisement, where
branded goods or services are placed in a media text.
• Marvel’s The Avengers cost a good deal to produce
and in today’s marketplace, the multinational
conglomerates, like Disney, are looking more
strategically at how to maximize profits.
• The film’s advertising promotional partners included
18 different brands that provided over 1.84 million
dollars in equivalent brand value through product
placement and integration.
Most Memorable
Product Placement
• The Acura RDX is
driven by the
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
• The NSX Roadster
concept car is driven
by Tony Stark/ Iron
Man.
• Acura has a multipicture deal in place
with Marvel which
was seen in the
release of Iron Man 3
and started with Thor
in 2010.
• Acura Commercial
http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=FcLdR7Z
2f9Q
Other Product Placements
• The film also includes
Harley-Davidson's $15,500
FLS Softail Slim
motorcycle, the ride of
choice for Captain
America.
• Other featured brands in
Marvel’s The Avengers
include ABC (Disney
owned), Bose, CNN, Dr.
Pepper, Farmers Insurance,
Jansport, LG, Oracle, and
Southwest Airlines.