Discussing Q4 2011 results, the CEO of Walt Disney, Robert A. Iger, revealed a small recent marketing transaction with Sony Pictures, who of course houses Spider-Man and his much-anticipated reboot;
The Amazing Spider-Man. Evidently, there's still no cinematic connection with Disney's Marvel Studios, but could this be a step closer? Anyhow, check out the excerpt below, via
Seeking Alpha, while the CEO also elaborates on the current and future success of Marvel Studios.
"Marvel's Thor and Captain America were among the top 10 non-sequel releases of the year and we are pleased with the performance of both films and the true benefits of our Marvel acquisition should be quite visible in 2012. First, in May, Thor and Captain America will join Iron Man, The Hulk and Black Widow in Marvel's The Avengers, the first Marvel film to be marketed and distributed by Disney. The Avengers shows great promise with a record 10 million downloads on iTunes when the trailer debuted, and it is well on its way to being our next great franchise. Then in July, Sony Pictures will release The Amazing Spiderman. We're excited about the film and expect it will drive significant benefits for Spiderman consumer products."
Division is expected to benefit next year from the release of "The Avengers" and Sony's "The Amazing Spider-Man." Disney recently brokered a new deal with the studio that enables the Mouse House to collect most of the coin from Spider-Man movie products.
"To that end, we recently completed a transaction with Sony Pictures to simplify our relationship. And then in the deal, we purchased Sony Pictures' participation in Spiderman merchandising, while at the same time, Sony Pictures purchased from us our participation in Spiderman films. This transaction will allow us to control and fully benefit from all Spiderman merchandising activity, while Sony will continue to produce and distribute Spiderman films. We won't be specific about the economics of this 2-way transaction, but we expect it will drive attractive returns for Disney."
Walt Disney reps have stated in the past that they're "just fine" leaving Spidey's franchise over at Sony Pictures, especially with
The Amazing Spider-Man releasing next year. Of course, today's transaction further indicates they have no plans to spend wads of cash for Spidey to have a place in Marvel's ever-growing cinematic universe. What do you think?
The Amazing Spider-Man focuses more on Peter Parker’s high school days and the development of his powers while navigating the troubles of a brainy geek in high school. And starring Andrew Garfield
(Peter Parker), Emma Stone
(Gwen Stacy), Denis Leary
(George Stacy), Rhys Ifans
(Curt Conners), Martin Sheen
(Ben Parker), and Sally Field
(May Parker), the film hits July 3, 2012 in 3D!