Experiential advertising agency Momentum Worldwide is expanding its sports sponsorship expertise with the naming of Parisa Howard as Verizon Sports Partnerships lead and NFL expert, who joins from Octagon. Howard was appointed in June before taking maternity leave, and now takes up her role with immediate effect. Based in New York, Howard brings a wealth of agency and sporting experience, having formerly worked at the NFL, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. In her new role at Momentum, Howard will lead strategic planning and execution of Verizon’s NFL partnerships. Howard joins at an exciting time in the NFL season, with the playoffs beginning in mid-January and the Super Bowl around the corner. She has previously worked with a variety of clients, including Snickers, Honeywell, MGM Resorts, Sprint, Papa John’s, Intel, Dannon, Meijer, as well as Johnson & Johnson and its consumer brands. The agency’s sport offering is led by Sampson Yimer, SVP sponsorship consulting at Momentum Worldwide, with Howard reporting into Melissa Misiak, EVP, group account director, North America….
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” Tops Weekend Box Office
In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures' "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" sped past the Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters.
"Sonic the Hedgehog 3" debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates. With strong reviews (86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a high score from audiences (an "A" on CinemaScore), "Sonic 3" is well positioned to be the top choice in cinemas during the busiest moviegoing period of the year.
It was telling of some wider trends that "Sonic 3" — made for $122 million — bested one of Disney's top properties. Videogame adaptations, once among the most derided movie genres, have emerged as one of the most dependable box office forces in recent years. The two previous "Sonic" movies together grossed more $700 million worldwide and the third installment appears likely to do better than both of them. A fourth "Sonic" movie is already in development.
"Mufasa," however, was humbled in its opening weekend, with its $35 million in domestic ticket sales coming in notably shy of expectations . The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel even opened wider than "Sonic 3," launching on 4,100 theaters and gobbling up most IMAX screens, compared with 3,761 locations for "Sonic 3."
Though "Mufasa's" reviews were poor (56% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore.
"Sonic 3" nearly doubled the haul for "Mufasa," which cost more than $200 million to make. Disney could look to $87.2 million in international sales to help make up the difference. The third "Sonic" will rollout in most overseas markets in the coming weeks.
In director Jeff... Read More