FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sony Pictures Virtual Reality Partners With Vr Leader Survios To Expand <i>Jumanji </i> Experience To Vr Audiences Worldwide
Jumanji: The VR Adventure, Co-Produced by MWM Immersive, to be Available Through Survios's Global Network of VR Arcades and In-Home via PlayStation®VR
JANUARY 18, 2018 - CULVER CITY, CA - On the heels of the global blockbuster Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle having taken in over $650M at the box office worldwide, including its #1 release in China this past weekend, Sony Pictures Virtual Reality (SPVR) today announced a deal with Survios, a global leader in virtual reality (VR), to bring Jumanji's VR experience to new audiences in Asia and throughout the world.
Under the agreement, Survios will expand distribution of Jumanji: The VR Adventure to its global network of VR arcades reaching more than 36 countries on six continents. Known for its best-selling, breakthrough title Raw Data and upcoming adrenaline platformer Sprint Vector, Survios has quickly built the largest network of location-based VR arcade partners in the world. In addition to developing and publishing its own titles, Survios is distributing VR titles such as SPVR's Jumanji: The VR Adventure to its VR arcade network.
Audiences will experience what it is like to enter a magical, fully interactive 3D jungle in Jumanji: The VR Adventure. In the VR experience, which was co-produced by MWM Immersive (formerly Madison Wells Media's Reality One), fans control their favorite movie characters as they build a team and set out to lift the curse of Jumanji while outwitting evil henchmen and evading dangerous wildlife.
"SPVR is leading the way to build a new, multi-tiered distribution model for virtual reality. For the first time, with Jumanji: The VR Adventure, we are enabling audiences around the world to experience VR in locations and in-home on a variety of channels that are accessible to them," said Jake Zim, senior vice president, virtual reality, Sony Pictures Entertainment.
"We found a great partner in Sony which shares our vision of expanding VR's global reach through great content and experiences," says Seth Gerson, Survios Chief Business Officer. "Jumanji is a beloved film that's perfectly set in virtual reality, and we're excited to bring the experience into our distribution network, that gives the franchise access to the largest location-based VR audience."
"We're thrilled the success of Jumanji is translating into more demand for the virtual reality experience around the world. We are in the business of taking great IP like Jumanji to attract more fans to immersive content and excited to expand the reach of our work to a wider audience and continue to grow the reach of this new storytelling medium," said Executive Producer of MWM Immersive Ethan Stearns
Jumanji: The VR Adventure will also be available in-home on Steam and at the Oculus Store this month, followed by PlayStation®VR in February.
To coincide with the film's US release last month, Jumanji: The VR Adventure debuted at 50 VRX Networks virtual reality kiosks in movie theaters and shopping malls across the United States and UK. This relationship with Survios is the latest in a series of deals to bring fully immersive content based on SPE's unique intellectual property to new audiences. In 2016, SVPR announced their partnership with MWM Immersive (then Reality One) to develop VR experiences based off SPE's slate of motion pictures and franchises leading with the release of Passengers: Awakening VR Experience. SPVR also teamed up with THE VOID in 2016 to launch Ghostbusters: Dimension in which fans got to battle against supernatural foes. In 2017, SPVR released Can You Walk The Walk through IMAX VR locations. In June, the studio unveiled Spider-Man: Homecoming VR, a multi-platform VR experience in which players don the superhero's costume and test their web-slinging skills.
In the motion picture Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the game has changed as four teenagers in detention are sucked into the world of Jumanji. When they discover an old video game console with a game they've never heard of, they decide to play and are immediately thrust into the game's jungle setting, in the bodies of the avatar characters they chose (Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan). What they discover is that you don't just play Jumanji - Jumanji plays you. To win, they'll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives, or they'll be stuck in the game forever… Directed by Jake Kasdan, the screenplay is by Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers and Scott Rosenberg & Jeff Pinkner with a screen story by Chris McKenna, based on the book Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg. The film is produced by Matt Tolmach and William Teitler.
ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., which is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. SPE's Motion Picture Group includes film labels Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, and Sony Pictures Classics. For additional information, visit http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html .
ABOUT SURVIOS
Founded in 2013, Survios is a Los Angeles-based virtual reality studio focused on building connected VR experiences with emergent interactivity, social multiplayer, and visceral play. At Survios, gaming is seen as an art form, and we don't just want to make games more immersive—we strive to make them more human. Our mission is to expand the human experience and unlock our creative potential through the power of virtual reality. For more information, visit www.survios.com.
ABOUT MWM IMMERSIVE
Founded in 2015 by Gigi Pritzker and Clint Kisker, MWM Immersive (formerly Reality One) is a premium immersive media content company dedicated to producing and distributing the highest quality VR and AR experiences created by the world's best storytellers. The company is based in Los Angeles, California and is a subsidiary of MWM, a diversified premium content company.
Contact:
Lisa Broock
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Lisa_Broock@spe.sony.com
310-244-4148
Maria Gonima
Survios
maria.gonima@survios.com
Jonesworks
MWM Immersive
MWM@Jonesworks.com