London, Thursday, 4 September 2025.
Merlin Entertainments and Sony Pictures unveiled plans on Wednesday to roll Jumanji‑branded rides, resort hotels and waterpark elements across Europe, starting project planning in 2025. For retail operators this signals a deliberate IP‑licensing strategy: recognizable studio IP will be deployed as a multi‑asset, integrated guest ecosystem designed to lift attendance and per‑capita spend. The most intriguing fact is Merlin’s intent to couple ride engineering, themed hospitality and waterpark operations under one commercially linked product—forcing operators to rethink licensing fee structures, revenue‑share models and cross‑inventory distribution. Expect sharper demand for immersive dark‑ride and trackless suppliers, tighter integration between park and hotel reservation and POS systems, and operational complexity at launch. Competitors may respond with similar studio deals or local experiences. Practical takeaways for retail teams: model revised spend profiles, negotiate lockstep commercial terms for in‑resort retail, and prepare tech stacks for unified booking, inventory and F&B upsell flows for upcoming openings.