Denzel Washington and the Equalizer Celebrity Brand Assessment and Market Positioning Topline

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Denzel Washington and The Equalizer Celebrity Brand Assessment and Market Positioning Topline

Methodology & Key Findings METHODOLOGY ► PENN SCHOEN BERLAND conducted a Denzel Washington Brand Study and Equalizer franchise and positioning study to evaluate Denzel Washington’s and The Equalizer’s health and essence, and potential interest in The Equalizer movie adaptation starring Washington. The online study was conducted among 1000 moviegoers 17-54 including: 300 African Americans, 275 Equalizer Viewers and 550 Denzel Washington Fans. TOPLINE FINDINGS ► DENZEL IS TOP TIER: Denzel Washington is among the top of his class – he has extremely strong fanship, (50% of moviegoers say they are ‘big fans’ - only below Morgan Freeman and Tom Hanks), 7 in 10 say he is ‘on the way up’ (among the top third of all actors tested), and he drives the highest interest in seeing a new movie with a stellar 44% of moviegoers saying they are ‘definitely interested’ in seeing the next film he stars in.

► FANSHIP SKEWS AA & OVER 35 : Denzel Washington's fans skew AA (23% of his fanbase vs.15% overall) and Older (58% of his fanbase are over 35 vs. 50% overall). Additionally, while both Older Males and Older Females are similarly strong supporters, there is a gender split among Younger moviegoers with Younger Females much less enthusiastic than Younger males (36% ‘big fans’ for Younger Females vs. 48% for Younger Males).

► MOVIEGOERS WANT DENZEL TO BE THE CONFIDENT PROTECTOR: Moviegoers want to see Denzel as tough, confident, and intense and at the same time likable and heroic. They want to see him in an action or crime thriller where he is protecting people as well as solving crimes and overcoming personal challenges. They like him as the badass protector who will do anything to set things right, including turn to violence.

► THE EQUALIZER HAS LITTLE BRAND AWARENESS: The Equalizer has the lowest awareness of all 15 brands tested, with Males over 35 the most likely to be aware of the late ‘80s show and Females under 35 the least likely. However, even though very few moviegoers know the brand, they are interested in seeing a film based upon the title, with interest in a film based upon The Equalizer testing in the middle of the competitive set.

► CONCEPT SURPASSSES NORM: Interest post-concept is very strong with 44% of moviegoers saying they are ‘definitely’ interested in seeing the film, far above norm. Interest is strongest among Males (48%) and AAs (60%) with Younger Females (36%) and White Moviegoers (38%) the least interested. However, even among the weakest audiences, interest is above norm. Additionally, while Denzel Washington’s involvement drives very strong interest based upon title/star (35%), there is still a significant jump post-concept with the interest improving by 9 points overall and 11 points among Males.

► ACTION AND SURPRISES DRIVE INTEREST: Moviegoers find the mix of action and suspense in The Equalizer compelling and theater-worthy, and are excited to see McCall’s transition from ‘everyman’ to CIA trained man on a mission.

► THE FILM EMBODIES WHAT MOVIEGOERS WANT FROM DENZEL: The combination of suspense, crime drama, and realistic action is the perfect genre for Washington. Additionally, the tough, determined, and heroic McCall embodies both the badass and likeable qualities moviegoers want in a Denzel character. McCall is best positioned as a mysterious everyman man that you want on your side and who your enemies fear. 1

Denzel Washington Comparative Evaluation FANSHIP % saying "Big Fan" 56 51 50 45 44 43 42 40 39 39 39 38 35 35 34 32 30 29 27 26 26 26 23

Denzel Robert Morgan Tom Will Harrison Leonardo Samuel L. Mark Matt Bruce Hugh Dwayne George Liam Nicolas Vin Christian Channing Ben Tom Russell Jaime Wash- Downey Freeman Hanks Smith Ford DiCaprio Jackson Wahlberg Damon Willis Jackman Johnson Clooney Neeson Cage Diesel Bale Tatum Affleck Cruise Crowe Foxx ington Jr.

ON THE WAY UP % saying "On the Way Up"

83 79 79 78 75 74 73 71 71 68 67 67 65 64 62 62 61 57 57 56 53 44 39

Robert Denzel Hugh Mark Channing Christian Matt Morgan Leonardo Samuel L. Liam Tom Ben Dwayne Will George Vin Harrison Jaime Russell Bruce Nicolas Tom Downey Wash- Jackman Wahlberg Tatum Bale Damon Freeman DiCaprio Jackson Neeson Hanks Affleck Johnson Smith Clooney Diesel Ford Foxx Crowe Willis Cage Cruise Jr. ington

DEFINITE INTEREST IN A NEW MOVIE % saying "Definitely Interested"

44 43 42 41 40 38 37 36 35 34 33 33 32 32 31 31 30 29 27 26 26 26 26

Denzel Robert Morgan Tom Leonardo Mark Hugh Samuel L. Will Bruce Liam Harrison Matt Vin Dwayne Christian Ben George Nicolas Channing Russell Tom Jamie Wash- Downey Freeman Hanks DiCaprio Wahlberg Jackman Jackson Smith Willis Neeson Ford Damon Diesel Johnson Bale Affleck Clooney Cage Tatum Crowe Cruise Foxx ington Jr. Denzel Washington Deep Dive Only 5% of moviegoers are Big Fan Definte Interest in a New Film ‘lapsed’ fans of Denzel, only 10% are ‘non- fans.’ 7670 56 59 5044 4845 52 48 5353 43 3631 35

All M<35 M35+ F<35 F35+ AA Hispanic White

FAVORITE DENZEL MOVIES FAVORITE DENZEL MOVIE TYPES FAVORITE DENZEL MOVIE THEMES (% Saying Picking as their favorite movie) (% Picking Each Type) (% Picking Each Theme) Among All Moviegoers 17-54 22% Action % 34 % selecting each theme Protecting his 40 family/innocent people 22% 28% Solving Crimes 36 Crime 15% Overcoming personal Thriller 36 21% challenges Inspirational Inspiring others 27 23% Drama Uncovering a secret 26

3 The Equalizer Brand Evaluation AWARENESS % Saying "I've Seen it" or "I haven't seen it, but I'm familiar with it"

96 95 93 90 88 87 87 85 85 79 74 71 69 56 55

Mission Die Hard Twilight Beverly Taken Bourne MacGyver Dirty Harry Magnum Shaft Perry The Mod The Airwolf The Impossible Zone Hills Cop PI Mason Squad Rockford Equalizer Files

FANSHIP (AMONG AWARE) % Big Fan 47 45 39 39 35 33 32 28 26 24 24 24 23 22 20

Die Hard Taken Bourne Twilight Mission Beverly Dirty Harry MacGyver The The Magnum Perry Airwolf Shaft The Mod Zone Impossible Hills Cop Rockford Equalizer PI Mason Squad Files DEFINITE INTEREST IN A NEW MOVIE % Definitely Interested

46 44 41 36 36 35 34 29 28 27 27 27 25 25 23

Taken Die Hard Bourne Mission Twilight Beverly Dirty Harry MacGyver The Shaft Airwolf Magnum The Perry The Mod Impossible Zone Hills Cop Equalizer PI Rockford Mason Squad Files 4 The Equalizer Film Evaluation DEFINITE INTEREST COMPARISON Title/Star Post-Concept 60 60 51 53 55 54 48 49 45 44 40 43 41 35 37 37 36 38 29 Norm = 33* 25 Norm = 29*

Norm = 19*

All M<35 M35+ F<35 F35+ AA Hispanic White Big Fan of Familiar *Norm is among general moviegoers 13-49 Denzel with Equalizer TOP 10 INTEREST DRIVERS TOP 10 HOLDBACKS (Among Non-Defs) % selecting statement All M<35 M35+ F<35 F35+ AA % selecting statement All M<35 M35+ F<35 F35+ AA I am a fan of Denzel Washington 41 33 47 38 47 52 The story seems predictable 21 19 16 21 27 21 (Robert McCall) The story seems unoriginal 16 14 17 17 18 14 I like the action elements 40 38 48 36 38 44 I do not like the extreme nature of I like the suspenseful elements 37 31 37 35 42 42 15 7 11 19 22 5 the violence I like that McCall is a mysterious 32 25 35 30 40 37 It seems too dark and gritty 11 4 8 21 9 3 figure I like how McCall plans out his It does not look like my kind of 32 26 34 34 35 37 11 8 6 17 10 7 attacks movie The character of McCall is It seems too serious 9 8 7 14 5 5 31 25 32 28 39 39 compelling I don’t like the story of one man I like the story of one man trying to trying to take down the entire 8 5 8 6 12 6 29 25 33 31 27 30 take down the entire Russian mob Russian mob It seems like a good movie to see 8 2 6 15 9 3 28 25 31 26 29 34 There is not enough humor in the theater The story is not interesting 8 6 7 10 9 7 I like the cast overall 27 30 30 21 29 31 It does not seem like a good movie 8 5 11 6 9 54 I like the genre 27 31 33 21 25 34 to see in the theater Character One Words Both Denzel Washington’s characters and Robert McCall are intense, cool, tough, and badass. Additionally, Robert McCall is also seen as mysterious.

Denzel Washington Characters One Word Association

Robert McCall One Word Association