Not a bird or a plane — nope, it’s a new limited-time NFT-based movie marketing stunt from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
As physical disc sales have waned, Warner Bros. is trying to establish a new home-entertainment business model based on nonfungible tokens (NFTs), which verify ownership and authenticity of digital content. Customers can buy, sell and trade the NFTs in Warner Bros.’s online marketplace, powered by content blockchain technology provider Eluvio.
Its newest NFT-based bundles are built around 1978’s “Superman: The Movie,” starring Christopher Reeve and directed by Richard Donner. The Superman Web3 Movie Experience is a multimedia NFT that includes the film in 4K Ultra HD format, plus extras like image galleries and artist renderings by notable DC artists. The studio is hoping to generate excitement among NFT enthusiasts and DC aficionados, to make money through the initial sales as well as to foster an engaged community of fans with the potential for longer-term upside.
The Superman Web3 Movie Experience will be available for general purchase starting Friday, June 9 (with early access on June 8 for previous buyers of Warner Bros. NFTs) at web3.wb for a limited time — an artificial scarcity designed to drive sales of the bundles, which will cost $30 for the Standard Edition and $100 for the Premium Edition. Customers can purchase them using a credit card or cryptocurrency once they create an Eluvio NFT media wallet that acts as a “digital vault” and enables consumers to stream and view the content.
The Superman release is the second installment in the “WB Movieverse” following last year’s first-of-its-kind “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (Extended Edition) NFT movie bundle.
Details on the Superman Web3 Movie Experience’s two editions:
- Standard Edition ($30, on sale for one week from 8 a.m. ET on June 9 to 7:59 a.m. ET on June 16): Includes an interactive location-based navigation menu, Superman: The Movie Theatrical Version, previously released special features and an image gallery featuring stills and behind-the-scenes photos.
- Premium Edition ($100, on sale for 24 hours from 8 a.m. ET on June 9 to 7:59 a.m. ET on June 10): Includes three different variations available for purchase separately — Truth, Justice and Hope — each featuring an illustration of Christopher Reeves’ Superman from one of three DC artists: Ivan Reiss, Ben Oliver or Bill Sienkiewicz. Each variation includes an interactive and explorable location-based navigation menu and three versions of the feature film: Superman: The Movie Theatrical Version; Superman: The Movie Expanded Director’s Cut; and Superman: The Movie Extended TV Edition. The bundle also includes previously released special features, image galleries featuring costume and detail images from the Warner Bros. Archive and behind-the-scenes images.
Early access to all editions of the Superman Web3 Movie Experience will be available on June 8 to DC Bat Cowl NFT holders at 8 a.m. ET; to DC3 holders at 11 a.m. ET; and to The Lord of the Rings Web3 Movie Experience holders at 2 p.m. ET.
Purchasers of the Superman Web3 Movie Experience also will receive a free voucher code for a DC3 Super Power Pack: Series Superman from the DC NFT Marketplace (nft.dcuniverse), offering three randomly selected Superman comics with rarities ranging from “Common” to “Legendary.” The packs are time-gated, open-edition drops, limited to one per account. WB says it will launch new themed packs every few weeks.
“For fans of this beloved and iconic film, ‘Superman: The Movie’ is being released as an exclusive Web3 film and immersive digital collectible for the first time,” Michelle Munson, CEO and co-founder of Eluvio, said in a statement.
Customers who buy one of the Superman NFT movie bundles can watch, collect and/or sell them in the Movieverse marketplace, which is based on the Eluvio Content Blockchain. The companies say that what’s notable is that the core digital assets along with derivative NFTs are all on the blockchain, not just the token (NFT) itself.
According to Eluvio, its blockchain architecture is more efficient than traditional streaming and content distribution systems because it significantly reduces network storage and usage requirements. The Eluvio Content Blockchain also uses what the company calls an eco-friendly “proof-of-authority” consensus, which avoids the high energy consumption used in computational “proof-of-work” blockchains.
Watch the trailer for the Superman Web3 Movie Experience:
