Share

Perfectly Placed

Superman’s Man of Steel made US$160m from product placement and partnership opportunities. The silver screen is turning into a rolling billboard for advertisers. Subtle yet lucrative, product placement is a growing trend in Hollywood.

Hollywood is a big business. In 2019, US films brought in US$11.4b. That’s roughly equivalent to Uber, Square and Charles Schwab’s recent annual revenue. Ticket sales and subscription rights aren’t the only way production houses put up these mega-figures. Product placement is a subtle but lucrative way of easily making money.

You’ve probably noticed product placement on the screen before. The way every soda can is perfectly facing the camera, without any fingers interfering with the logo. Or the habit of referring to products by their brand names, like Sprite instead of lemonade.

With that, how lucrative are the 15 seconds of fame? Very.

2013’s Superman rendition, Man of Steel generated US$160m in promotional partnerships. For reference, it did US$668m at the box office. Man of Steel had a record-breaking 100 partners for the film. From Budweiser, to Nokia to 7-Eleven, if you spot a known brand it’s probably a deliberate placement and comes with a 7-figure price tag. Every second and pixel of screen space can be monetised.

These fictional characters are very real global celebrities. James Bond Skyfall generated US$45m from Heineken for a product partnership. The deal included a handful of ads and rights to use the Bond character in ads on top of brief in-film flashes. Daniel Craig himself admitted that without product placement, the film was unlikely to have been financially feasible. In fact, even Bond’s pistol was a sponsored inclusion by German manufacturer Walther.

The most obvious is the Lego Movie. While Lego made over US$400m alone from box office sales, following the release of the film, Lego has a record year of sales (US$4.4b).

It’s an arguably necessary shift, even if the art of cinema is being sold out as a rolling 2-hour long billboard. Since the 2002 peak, annual cinema ticket sales have dropped by 22% to 2019, before the lockdown. Producing for streaming services just isn’t as prosperous.

Sign up to Stake

Want more?

You know what to do

Insights, trends and company deep dives delivered straight to your inbox.


Stake logo
Over 7,000 5-star reviews
App Store logoGoogle Play logo

Subscribe to our free newsletters

By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy.

Stakeshop Pty Ltd, trading as Stake, ACN 610105505, is an authorised representative (Authorised Representative No. 1241398) of Stakeshop AFSL Pty Ltd (Australian Financial Services Licence no. 548196). Stake SMSF Pty Ltd (‘Stake Super’) is not licensed to provide financial product advice under the Corporations Act. This specifically applies to any financial products which are established if you instruct Stake Super to set up a self managed super fund (‘SMSF’). When you sign up to Stake Super, you are contracting with Stake SMSF Pty Ltd who will assist in the establishment of a SMSF under a ‘no advice model’. You will also be referred to Stakeshop Pty Ltd to enable your trading account and bank account to be set up in order to use the Stake Website and/or App. For more information about SMSFs, see our SMSF Risks page. The information on our website or our mobile application is not intended to be an inducement, offer or solicitation to anyone in any jurisdiction in which Stake is not regulated or able to market its services. At Stake and Stake Super, we’re focused on giving you a better investing experience but we don’t take into account your personal objectives, circumstances or financial needs. Any advice given by Stake is of a general nature only. As investments carry risk, before making any investment decision, please consider if it’s right for you and seek appropriate taxation and legal advice. Please view our Financial Services GuideTerms & ConditionsPrivacy Policy and Disclaimers before deciding to invest on or use Stake or Stake Super. By using our website or service in any way, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. All financial products involve risk and you should ensure you understand the risks involved as certain financial products may not be suitable to everyone. Past performance of any product described on this website is not a reliable indication of future performance. Stake and Stake Super are registered trademarks in Australia.

Copyright © 2024 Stake. All rights reserved.