Jeffrey Godsick: Last News

EXCLUSIVE: The World of Jumanji theme land, the first ever connected to the $2.03 billion grossing Sony feature franchise, will open its gates in spring 2023 at the UK’s Chessington World of Adventures Resort in Chessington, UK.

Sony Pictures is launching an immersive entertainment destination next month called Wonderverse at the giant Oakbrook Center mall near Chicago with attractions from the studio’s film, TV series and video games including Jumanji, Ghostbusters, Bad Boys, Zombieland and Uncharted.

K.J. Yossman Bringing dreams to life is the fastest growing frontier in entertainment. Or if not exactly dreams, then movies, shows, even toys (see: the new World of Barbie immersive experience, which opened in Santa Monica last month) and music (RIP the short-lived Britney Spears-themed The Zone, which launched in LA just two months before the global pandemic hit). The official name for these pop culture encounters is “location-based entertainment” (or LBE for those who work in the field). And as Merlin Entertainments CEO Scott O’Neil and Sony Pictures partnerships EVP Jeffrey Godsick told Variety ahead of the official opening of World of Jumanji in the U.K. this week, with the developments in technology, licensing and audience appetite for IP there’s never been a better moment to be in the LBE business.