Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment has inked a deal to offer virtual goods based on the films Beowulf, The Spiderwick Chronicles and Mean Girls in Habbo, a popular online virtual world for teens. One of the first such licensing agreements between a major motion picture studio and a virtual world commodity, the deal will provide Habbo with merchandising rights for all three properties throughout the U.S. and Canada.
In February, Habbo will begin offering its North American community of more than 1.8 million teens virtual items based on the fantasy flick The Spiderwick Chronicles, which hits theaters on Feb. 14. Offerings will include themed apparel to accessorize avatars, virtual furniture and other accessories. Virtual merchandise featuring themes and characters from Robert Zemeckis’ performance-capture adaptation of Beowulf and the 2004 runaway hit Mean Girls will follow in the coming months.
‘Many of our movie properties naturally lend themselves to unique and innovative opportunities in the traditional, digital and virtual worlds,’ adds Alex Carloss, exec VP and general manager of worldwide digital distribution for Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment. ‘This agreement allows us to access Habbo’s exceptional virtual community and built-in audience base where users can extend and enhance the film experience with a suite of themed virtual goods.’
Operated by Finnish online entertainment company Sulake Corp., Habbo currently hosts communities in 31 countries on five continents. To date, more than 86 million Habbo characters have been created and more than 8 million unique users worldwide visit the environment each month, according to Google Analytics.
