Holy Hannah Montana: From TV Show to a Record-Breaking Movie
Hannah Montana. Disney Channel. The show is not even two years old and it's already redefining the profits that can be made in children's entertainment, like Sponge Bob and High School Musical did. HM follows the life of a normal teenage high school girl, Miley Stewart. Outside of school, though, Miley turns into her alter ego, Hannah Montana, the most popular singer in the world. Double identity? Wigs? Costume changes? It's like Superman, but with microphones and tighter clothes. The role of Miley/Hannah is played by Miley Cyrus, daughter of country stay Billy Ray Cyrus. Miley's annual salary has soared to $3.5 million, which is a bargain considering what Disney's hauling in with this property. First, there's the TV show that averages 2.1 million viewers in the 2-12 age range. Let's compare that to The Daily Show (Comedy Central) that is thrilled when it gets one and a half million viewers, of any age. HM's kicking ass. In addition to the TV show, Hannah Montana's released two albums that have combined to almost 8 million global sales.... in under 2 years. That is crazy, especially considering what the record industry's sales have been doing.
In addition to the TV show and the albums, there is merchandising. Unfortunately, I can't find any "merch" numbers, but Walmart just signed a partnership with Disney to be, officially, Hannah Montana's Headquarters with over 140 exclusive products being sold in Hannah Montana kiosks. The products range from wigs to cupcakes. There are no reports on how much money that deal is expected to generate, but I know one thing: Walmart likes to make money and they focus their time on projects that are lined with green.
In addition to the TV show, the albums and the merchandising, the entity that is Hannah Montana just wrapped a 69-show, 4 month tour, of arenas and stadiums, like the Rose Garden (Portland, OR), Staples Center (L.A., CA), Wachovia Center (Philly, PA), MGM Grand (Las Vegas, NV - three shows), FedEx Forum (Memphis, TN), Prudential Center (Newark, NJ) and American Airlines Arena (Miami, FL). Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert was sold out in minutes. The promoter capped the ticket price at $65 with a 4 limit ticket-per-transaction limit. Scalpers still had their way, and the average ticket re-sold for around 4 times the original price, $246. Let's compare that to other tours: Timberlake ($182), Beyonce ($193), Springsteen ($232) and The Police ($209). Consider that Hannah's tickets start much lower than those other concerts, and it's even more impressive. StubHub (a ticket reseller) said Hannah Montana sold 35% more tickets than the Police, with over 25% more value, in an equivalent time period. There were reports of people paying over $5,000 for a ticket on Craigslist. FOR A CONCERT!
As if having the most successful end-of-year tour wasn't enough, Disney recorded the concert with 3D digital cameras. The film of the concert was just released into theaters on Friday, making $31.1 million on its opening weekend. It broke the record for largest movie opening during a Super Bowl weekend (beating the previous record-holder by almost 50%). The most amazing thing about it, though, is that this movie was number one while on only 683 screens. That is the lowest screen count for a number one movie EVER, another record. That means the movie averaged $45,560 per screen. Is that a lot? Well, let's compare to other $/screen on opening weekends: Cloverfield (a box office phenomenon): $13,529; National Treasure Book of Secrets: $17,078; I Am Legend: $21,412; Charlie Wilson's War: $6,195. A good comparison might be U2 3D, right? Another 3D concert movie? It averaged $15,808 per screen when it opened two weekends ago. I mean, Hannah Montana's a powerhouse.
I tried to sit through an episode of the TV show to get a feel for the phenomenon. I lasted 2 minutes. Phew. I'm glad my cup of tea isn't served at a 6-year-old girl's tea party, so to speak.
Disney's board just extended President and CEO Robert Iger's contract for 3 additional years with an annual base salary of $2MM (with up to $10MM in upside). Their CFO Thomas Staggs also signed a contract extension. Successes like Hannah Montana are what board of directors like to see, even for a giant, $57 billion company.
Hannah Montana? HAWT action [hot ak-shuh
n] (If I was a 6-year-old girl with generous parents...)
In addition to the TV show, the albums and the merchandising, the entity that is Hannah Montana just wrapped a 69-show, 4 month tour, of arenas and stadiums, like the Rose Garden (Portland, OR), Staples Center (L.A., CA), Wachovia Center (Philly, PA), MGM Grand (Las Vegas, NV - three shows), FedEx Forum (Memphis, TN), Prudential Center (Newark, NJ) and American Airlines Arena (Miami, FL). Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert was sold out in minutes. The promoter capped the ticket price at $65 with a 4 limit ticket-per-transaction limit. Scalpers still had their way, and the average ticket re-sold for around 4 times the original price, $246. Let's compare that to other tours: Timberlake ($182), Beyonce ($193), Springsteen ($232) and The Police ($209). Consider that Hannah's tickets start much lower than those other concerts, and it's even more impressive. StubHub (a ticket reseller) said Hannah Montana sold 35% more tickets than the Police, with over 25% more value, in an equivalent time period. There were reports of people paying over $5,000 for a ticket on Craigslist. FOR A CONCERT!
As if having the most successful end-of-year tour wasn't enough, Disney recorded the concert with 3D digital cameras. The film of the concert was just released into theaters on Friday, making $31.1 million on its opening weekend. It broke the record for largest movie opening during a Super Bowl weekend (beating the previous record-holder by almost 50%). The most amazing thing about it, though, is that this movie was number one while on only 683 screens. That is the lowest screen count for a number one movie EVER, another record. That means the movie averaged $45,560 per screen. Is that a lot? Well, let's compare to other $/screen on opening weekends: Cloverfield (a box office phenomenon): $13,529; National Treasure Book of Secrets: $17,078; I Am Legend: $21,412; Charlie Wilson's War: $6,195. A good comparison might be U2 3D, right? Another 3D concert movie? It averaged $15,808 per screen when it opened two weekends ago. I mean, Hannah Montana's a powerhouse.
I tried to sit through an episode of the TV show to get a feel for the phenomenon. I lasted 2 minutes. Phew. I'm glad my cup of tea isn't served at a 6-year-old girl's tea party, so to speak.
Disney's board just extended President and CEO Robert Iger's contract for 3 additional years with an annual base salary of $2MM (with up to $10MM in upside). Their CFO Thomas Staggs also signed a contract extension. Successes like Hannah Montana are what board of directors like to see, even for a giant, $57 billion company.
Hannah Montana? HAWT action [hot ak-shuh
n] (If I was a 6-year-old girl with generous parents...)
I forgot to mention that the movie was released for one-week only, AND that ticket prices were sold at a premium, someplaces, of up to $15. Well, it worked ($31 million) and Disney has decided to extend the movie another week. Oh, they are playing this one just perfectly...