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‘HANNAH’ AND ‘HIGH SCHOOL’ HIGHLIGHT HOLIDAY SEASON
By Alison Jalbert
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y., Dec. 3—High School Musical star Zac Efron will earn a $3 million paycheck for the series’ third film, signifying another success for a Disney Channel franchise.
The High School Musical franchise has earned the Walt Disney Corporation over $1 billion in profits since the premiere of the first movie in 2006, according to a report on CNN Money. Add the Disney Channel’s equally successful show “Hannah Montana” to the equation and it demonstrates why the Disney Channel franchises have become popular with preteens across the country and are predicted to be popular among shoppers this holiday season.
The High School Musical movies and “Hannah Montana” series are successful on their own, but each franchise has produced a successful line of related merchandise, including DVDs, books, beauty products, clothing and home décor.
Marist College junior Lauren Plante works at the Poughkeepsie-area Club Libby Lu, a retail chain that caters to preteen girls. The store carries merchandise from both Disney Channel franchises. Plante says the High School Musical and “Hannah Montana” merchandise are among the top-selling items at the store.
“The most common question we get from customers is where the “Hannah Montana” or High School Musical things are,” she says.
Plante says the focus in Club Libby Lu for the holiday season has been on Disney Channel-related merchandise.
“High School Musical 2 is coming out on DVD in time for Christmas, and the “Hannah Montana” concert tour is going on right now,” she said. “We have received many new items in the store as well as created many promotions for each franchise.”
Toy analyst Chris Byrne says Disney has found a winning combination in marketing their franchises.
“What Disney has done so brilliantly is leveraged teenage fascination with music and put it into properties that really appeal to a younger age demographic,” he told the Associated Press.
Acclaim for the Disney Channel franchises extends beyond preteen girls and their parents. Entertainment Weekly recently named High School Musical star Efron and “Hannah Montana” star Miley Cyrus to their “Top 25 Entertainers of the Year” list, calling Efron the “Hollywood heartthrob du jour” and Cyrus “the hottest ticket in the U.S.”
The compliment to Cyrus is far from an exaggeration. Since the summer, controversy surrounding ticket sales for Cyrus’ “Hannah Montana: Best of Both Worlds” concert tour has plagued both heartbroken young girls and frazzled parents.
After a shortage of tickets for “Hannah Montana” fan club members, many parents have turned to scalpers and ticket re-sale websites, spending as much as $800 per ticket, according to a CBS News report.
Lauren Plante, who works at Club Libby Lu, thinks that even though parents are spending too much money on tickets, she can see where the demand from young girls comes from.
“I think it is a fad that will fade quickly, and five years from now, kids won't care if they were there or not because they’re on to the next new trend,” she said. “But, I definitely would have wanted the tickets because “Hannah Montana” is to today’s preteen girls what the Spice Girls were to me when I was that age.”
Regardless of the controversy, Cyrus’s tour is one of the most successful tours of 2007, according to online ticket broker Ticketmaster. High School Musical has also proved to be a success on the road, with a concert tour, professional stage tour and ice show selling out across the country, according to Disney’s website.
Following the holiday season sales surge that Disney expects, they are optimistic about their franchises in 2008. Shooting for High School Musical 3 is set to begin in March, with a theatrical release date scheduled for later in the year, according to a press release from Disney. A feature-length “Hannah Montana” movie is set to hit theaters in winter of 2008, as Cyrus confirmed during a recent appearance on “Oprah.”
Plante says she cannot see the Disney Channel phenomenon dying any time soon.
“When girls come into the store, I hear them say how they want to be like Hannah Montana, and they can sing and dance along with every High School Musical song,” she said. “The bottom line is that both of these franchises are extremely relatable to the kids who are watching.”