Unit G322 - Frozen (Case Study)

AUDIENCE AND INSTITUTIONS:

FROZENLEARNING OBJECTIVES: AM I ABLE TO EVALUATE THE

ELEMENTS OF DISTRIBUTION AND EXHIBITION WHICH

CONTRIBUTED TOWARDS FROZEN’S SUCCESS?

FIRST THINGS FIRST

• In pairs, create a spider diagram about what you know about The Walt

Disney Company.

• What do they do?

• What products do they make?

• What subsidiaries do they own?

• What are they most famous for?

Formed in 1923 by

Walt Disney.

First full length

animated feature

Snow White and

the Seven Dwarfs

was released in

1937.Disneyland in

California is first

opened in 1955.The Disney

Channel is

launched in

1983.

The first

Disney

Store is

opened in

1987.

The first

Disney

Store is

opened in

1987.

In 1991, Beauty

and the Beast is

the first Disney

film to win an

Oscar for Best

Picture.

2006 –

Disney buys

Pixar.

2009 –

Disney buys

Marvel.

2012 – Disney buys

Lucasfilm.

Overall…

The Walt Disney Company

is the 2nd largest

conglomerate in the world.

Walt Disney Studios is the

2nd largest film production

company.

In 2014 the company

made around $48 billion.

UNLESS YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK…

• Frozen was first released in December 2013 (in the UK) and is Disney’s 53rd

animated feature.

• The film’s budget was $150 million.

• To date (Jan 2015) the film has made $1.274 billion worldwide – making it the

highest-grossing animated film of all time, the fifth highest-grossing film of all

time, the highest-grossing film of 2013.

• Frozen won two Academy Awards in 2014: Best Animated Feature and Best

Original Song ("Let It Go").

• The film will be followed by a short sequel ‘Frozen Fever’ in Spring 2015.

• The film also managed to top the UK Box Office TWICE – firstly, on its initial

release and then for it’s re-release to the cinema in December 2014.

SO… HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE SEEN IT?

• If you have seen the film, did you like it? Why?

• Why do you think the film has been so successful – generally

AND in comparison to other recent Disney animations (such as

Tangled – which I think is WAY better)?

Try to think about the different stages of the production,

distribution and exhibition – not just what the film’s about. What

can a company like Disney do that a small, British production

company cannot?

HANDS UP IF YOU’VE HEARD OF THE FOLLOWING MARKETING

STRATEGIES/MERCHANDISE…

COMPARE IT…

• How does Frozen’s marketing campaign compare

to the British case studies we have looked at?

• Do any of them easily compare? How?

• What advantage does Frozen have, ahead of these

films in relation to its production company and its

audience?

EXHIBITION…

Cinema:

• First released on the 8th December 2014 on around 500 screens (a wide

release).

• The film made £4.7 million in it’s opening weekend and was top of the UK

box-office.

DVD/Blu-Ray

• Released on 31st March 2014 – the film sold over 500,000 copies in the

first few days and by the end of the first three weeks of its release had

sold 1.45 million units. Frozen is the biggest selling video title of 2014.

• Frozen continues

to earn money at

the box-office NOW

through special

sing-a-long

screenings.

• For example at The

Prince Charles’

Cinema in

Leicester Square.

Typically, this

cinema is

associated with

classic, cult and

independent films –

but they are

screening Frozen!

• What does this tell

about the film’s

COMPARE IT…

• How does Frozen’s exhibition methods compare to

the British case studies we have looked at?

• Do any of them compare? Why/why not?

• What exhibition methods could British films take

advantage of, to help them compete with global

institutions, such as Disney?

LINK IT…

• Overall, how does Disney and Frozen link into the exam question

themes?

a) Media ownership

b) Cross-media convergence and synergy in production, distribution

and marketing

c) New technology and its impact on distribution, marketing and

exchange

d) The proliferation in hardware and content

e) Technological convergence

f) Targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British)