CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE International Theatrical Marketing Strategy Main Genre: 3D CG-Animated Family Comedy James McAvoy Voice of: Arthur X-Men: First Class, Wanted, Atonement Bill Nighy Voice of: Grandsanta Love Actually, Underworld, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Hot Fuzz, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Hugh Laurie Voice of: Steve House (television series) Jim Broadbent Voice of: Santa Moulin Rouge!, Gangs of New York, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 1 CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE Imelda Staunton Voice of: Mrs. Claus Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Nanny McPhee TARGET DEMOGRAPHICS Primary: Families—children under 12 and their parents Secondary: Young teens—12-14 year olds; Aardman fans; holiday filmgoers POSITIONING SYNOPSIS Arthur Christmas is a CG-animated comedy from Aardman Animations (Wallace and Gromit titles, Flushed Away) for Sony Pictures Animation. This soon-to-be Christmas classic at last reveals the incredible, never-before seen answer to every child's question: 'So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?' The answer: Santa's exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation manned by a million elves and hidden beneath the North Pole. But, in the end, a human touch will make all the difference, even if it involves our unlikely hero Arthur, who must urgently find a way to deliver one last gift before Christmas morning dawns. STRATEGIC MARKETING RESEARCH KEY STRENGTHS Aardman is a unique and recognized brand. ARTHUR CHRISTMAS is sure to stand out from other typical animated fare. Aardman already has three titles under its belt earning more than 100m USD internationally: FLUSHED AWAY (111m USD, 2006), WALLACE AND GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (135m USD, 2005), and CHICKEN RUN (112m USD, 2000). ARTHUR CHRISTMAS has the potential to appeal to the young and old alike. The humor in the film is appropriate for children, while still also appealing to adult sensibilities. A catchy hook: How does Santa deliver all those presents over night? The idea of a 1.6 million elves scurrying about to help Santa deliver 2 billion presents over night is winning. Add in the spaceship in place of a sleigh and the hook becomes all the more intriguing. A heartwarming story with strong family messaging. Arthur‘s urgent attempt to deliver the final gift is touching and something parents and kids alike will enjoy. KEY CHALLENGES The perception ARTHUR CHRISTMAS is a children‘s film. It‘s not. It is for everyone. Let‘s not lose sight of this. Christmas-themed titles can have a hard time in the international marketplace. Few Christmas titles have achieved a high level of international success, but those that have tended to be animated titles. A CHRISTMAS CAROL and A POLAR EXPRESS are the notable exceptions, grossing a respective 187m and 124m USD internationally. On the other hand, live action titles 2 CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE such as CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS, FOUR CHRISTMASES, and FRED CLAUS had trouble finding an international audience. Also to our benefit is that we are the only true Christmas- themed film this season. (A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS does not count.) This makes ARTHUR CHRISTMAS the obvious option for families seeking holiday fare. RULES OF ARTHUR CHRISTMAS Market the idea that this is not your typical holiday film. While we want the film to have plenty of heart at its core, it should also come across as unconventional, even irreverent. The early teaser trailer did a nice job of setting the tone we are seeking. The idea of a reindeer wearing a cone also captures the balance of Christmas cheer and irreverence we are seeking. Our goal is to not only bring in families interested in seeing a heartwarming movie for the holidays, but we also want to attract non-family audiences seeking playful entertainment. But be careful in positioning Santa. He still needs to come across as a positive and endearing character. Also avoid showcasing scenes that take place in the Control Room or have Steve at the helm. At screenings, some audience members have stated that these scenes can come across as austere. On the other hand, gadgets are not a problem because they bring an element of whimsy and are something tech-savvy young kids enjoy. To age up and bring in older kids and young teens, emphasize a greater sense of ―misadventure‖ and humor. The non-family audience will likely assume the final gift does get delivered on time, and so that story will not be much of a hook for them. Thus, the magic of Christmas theme is not necessarily going to drive them into the theaters. Instead, the non-family audience is looking for humor. They want to be transported on a fun and funny ride – an entertaining journey involving a group of unlikely heroes. Scenes with crotchety Grandsanta and superelf Bryony should be showcased as they offer much comic relief. Give the film international scope. Let‘s do everything we can to counter any perception that the film is UK-centric. Whenever possible, draw attention to a diverse range of characters and settings. Come up with attention-grabbing stunts and try to make use of the elves in publicity and promotions. It will be important to come up with stunts and promotions that are imaginative and shine a considerable light onto the film. With a quirky Christmas theme and a million elves at the ready, the possibilities are limitless. UK RECRUITED AUDIENCE SCREENING ARTHUR CHRISTMAS received a positive response from this London audience despite the extensive number of unfinished scenes, garnering above-norm top-two box ratings from kids 8-12 (78% vs. norm 70-75), parents (72% vs. norm 55-60), and general audiences 13-49 (53% vs. norm 50). ARTHUR CHRISTMAS played particularly well among kids 8-10, among whom 57% gave the film an ―excellent‖ top box rating. ARTHUR CHRISTMAS attracted recommendation scores at or above the norm among most adult subgroups, with 57% of parents saying they would ―definitely‖ recommend the film to other parents (led by mothers, 60%) and 39% of non-parent generals ―definitely‖ advocating the film to friends (led by females, 40%). The ―story‖ and the ―comedy‖ were identified as the most important reasons for deciding to attend among adults. The scenes with Grandsanta and Byrony, in particular, elicited considerable laughter. Aardman was also a key draw, and 66% of non-child audience members claimed to be a fan of Aardman animation (breaking down as 71% of parents, 59% of teens, and 63% of the general audience). Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, and Flushed Away were all cited positively. 3 CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE 4 CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE AARDMAN ANIMATIONS – PERFORMANCE BY TITLE FLUSHED AWAY (2006) Rank Territory Date Gross (USD) Percent 1 United Kingdom 01-Dec-06 22,147,493 19.80 % 2 France 29-Nov-06 10,598,156 9.48 % 3 Italy 22-Dec-06 8,634,175 7.72 % 4 Spain 01-Dec-06 8,226,282 7.36 % 5 Australia 21-Dec-06 7,290,432 6.52 % 6 Mexico 15-Dec-06 6,446,429 5.76 % 7 Russia 02-Nov-06 6,381,706 5.71 % 8 Germany 07-Dec-06 5,632,634 5.04 % 9 Brazil 15-Dec-06 5,032,975 4.50 % 10 Poland 01-Dec-06 2,362,197 2.11 % 11 Belgium 29-Nov-06 2,179,220 1.95 % 12 Korea 23-Nov-06 2,012,888 1.80 % 13 Sweden 01-Dec-06 1,765,129 1.58 % 14 Holland 30-Nov-06 1,692,694 1.51 % 15 Argentina 04-Jan-07 1,603,220 1.43 % 16 Portugal 30-Nov-06 1,398,958 1.25 % 17 Austria 07-Dec-06 1,354,053 1.21 % 18 Turkey 15-Dec-06 1,260,184 1.13 % 19 South Africa 15-Dec-06 1,257,631 1.12 % 20 Israel 07-Dec-06 1,166,168 1.04 % 21 Switzerland (Fr) 29-Nov-06 1,063,606 0.95 % 22 Venezuela 15-Dec-06 1,036,460 0.93 % 23 Switzerland (Ger) 07-Dec-06 1,013,816 0.91 % 24 Chile 14-Dec-06 952,847 0.85 % 25 Norway 08-Dec-06 944,972 0.84 % 26 Denmark 01-Dec-06 728,890 0.65 % 27 New Zealand 07-Dec-06 688,250 0.62 % 28 Greece 30-Nov-06 658,391 0.59 % 29 Hong Kong 30-Nov-06 646,021 0.58 % 30 Czech Republic 30-Nov-06 633,939 0.57 % 31 Colombia 15-Dec-06 608,048 0.54 % 32 Singapore 03-Nov-06 567,333 0.51 % 33 Finland 01-Dec-06 519,301 0.46 % 34 Hungary 30-Nov-06 456,803 0.41 % 35 Malaysia 02-Nov-06 317,055 0.28 % 36 U.A.E. 28-Dec-06 296,594 0.27 % 37 Lithuania 08-Dec-06 284,638 0.25 % 38 Peru 14-Dec-06 250,613 0.22 % 39 Ecuador 15-Dec-06 226,587 0.20 % 40 Croatia 07-Dec-06 187,087 0.17 % 41 Taiwan 04-Nov-06 159,894 0.14 % 42 Latvia 08-Dec-06 155,618 0.14 % 43 Indonesia 03-Jan-07 133,353 0.12 % 44 Iceland 01-Dec-06 121,795 0.11 % 45 Central America 15-Dec-06 112,990 0.10 % 46 Slovakia 30-Nov-06 96,676 0.09 % 47 Estonia 08-Dec-06 91,966 0.08 % 48 Philippines 28-Feb-07 84,067 0.08 % 49 Uruguay 05-Jan-07 63,786 0.06 % 50 Lebanon 21-Dec-06 47,770 0.04 % 51 Slovenia 30-Nov-06 47,280 0.04 % 52 Romania 05-Jan-07 43,354 0.04 % 53 Bolivia 14-Dec-06 34,368 0.03 % 54 Serbia 04-Jan-07 23,182 0.02 % 55 Egypt 17-Jan-07 20,853 0.02 % 56 Kenya 22-Dec-06 17,644 0.02 % 57 Nigeria 29-Dec-06 17,222 0.02 % 58 Jordan 27-Dec-06 15,175 0.01 % 59 Thailand 15-Mar-07 12,982 0.01 % 60 Bulgaria 08-Dec-06 9,235 0.01 % Territories: 60 Total: 111,833,085 100.00 % 5 CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE WALLACE AND GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (2005) Rank Territory Date Gross (USD) Percent 1 United Kingdom 14-Oct-05 56,168,660 41.36 % 2 France 12-Oct-05 15,645,556 11.52 % 3 Germany 13-Oct-05 9,432,940 6.95 % 4 Australia 15-Sep-05 8,085,148 5.95 % 5 Spain 07-Oct-05 4,637,908 3.41 % 6 Mexico 07-Oct-05 4,513,898 3.32 % 7 Italy 03-Mar-06 3,502,427 2.58 % 8 Japan 18-Mar-06 3,270,792 2.41 % 9 Korea 04-Nov-05 2,333,165 1.72 % 10 Switzerland