Aging or ageless? That’s the question for Nickelodeon and its plucky sea sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea.
In 2014,Viacom’s Paramount Pictures unit will introduce a new“SpongeBob SquarePants”movie intended to give the global franchise and its Nickelodeon network a boost. In addition to box-office sales, Viacom is hoping the movie will also set off a rush on related consumer products.
“This will be a Nickelodeon-branded movie,” Viacom’s chief executive, Philippe Dauman, said in an interview in his Times Square office. “We’ll license the toys, but we own it.”
Created by a marine biologist turned animator, “SpongeBob SquarePants” had its premiere on Nickelodeon in 1999 and became one of the biggest hits of all time — with high ratings and big demand for products like SpongeBob backpacks, beach towels and skateboards. Ratings are still good, but in recent years rivals like “Phineas and Ferb” onDisneyand the live-action “iCarly” on Nick have come along.
The character’s last time on the big screen was in 2004, in “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,” which followed SpongeBob as he tried to track down a stolen crown outside the comfort of his Bikini Bottom dwellings. The movie grossed $85.4 million domestically and $54.7 million abroad, according toBoxOfficeMojo.com.
Fresh off an Oscar victory for best animated feature for“Rango,”Mr. Dauman said he was bullish about Paramount’s new animation studio. The goal is to use new technology to make animated movies that cost no more than $100 million.
The “SpongeBob” movie also fits into Paramount’s larger effort to make fewer films each year but focus on franchises that can be easily exported abroad and lead to consumer products. The studio has a“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”movie in development to coincide with the debut of the revamped cartoon on Nickelodeon.
“SpongeBob is as vigorous as ever and firmly fits into that slate of franchise brands,” Mr. Dauman said.
The new release is meant to help reinvigorate the series on the cable network, whose ratings have slipped a bit recently. Nick, the top-rated network for children, has long wanted to forge a relationship with Paramount, but internal squabbling delayed collaborations.
Mr. Dauman said he expected the new movie to do much better overseas than the 2004 feature, given Nickelodeon’s increasingly global reach. “This will continue to propel SpongeBob internationally,” he said.
Let’s hope SpongeBob, Squidward and Patrick the starfish have valid passports.
