Avengers Uses Blockbuster Sports Weekend For Record Box Office Take

There you had it…the Kentucky Derby, the NHL Playoffs, the NBA Playoffs, MLB on Fox , even the UFC back in primetime. It would have been hard to find some event that the casual sports fan didn’t have an interest in last weekend, and all that viewing, downloading and tweeting helped The Avengers release break all records for a box office opening.

On the activation side in the movie, a host of familiar sponsors with ties to the sports world also did a flawless job of integrating into the film, pulling in over $1.84 million in equivalent brand value through product placement and integration according to Front Row Analytics, the Philadelphia-based firm that specializes in conducting product placement analyses for films and television broadcasts, sporting and entertainment events, and venue naming rights. This value was derived by using a metric developed from the overall theater viewers, exposure time, and the value attributed to each viewer.

Acura led the way in brand value as it continued serving as the vehicle of choice for S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and Tony Stark. Acura vehicles have also appeared in past Marvel films with The Avengers tie-in, including “Captain America: The First Avenger”, “Thor” and “Iron Man 2”. In addition, The Avengers are seen wearing Bose headphones and Oracle engineered systems are visible in the opening scene. Dr. Pepper, Southwest Airlines, & MAC Cosmetics as well as other brand partners also received exposure during the film.

Additionally athletes themselves, from Shaquille O’Neal and the entire Indiana Pacers team, spent the weekend tweeting about the film after seeing it on their own, and a host of other athletes, like the Nets Brooke Lopez, did some outreach on who his favorite Super Heroes would be, should he decide to morph into one.

Should the movie hype continue into the next round of playoffs, look for even more cross-over into sports, as fans’ real life heros on the court, ice and field and the world of the created ones brought to the screen by Marvel mesh even more, and other brand partners join into the mix.