Features
Cirque Du Soleil Acquires ‘Paw Patrol Live’ Producer VStar; Children’s Shows Now Under The Big-Top
Courtesy Cirque Du Soleil – Paw Patrol Live
Cirque Du Soleil has acquired Minnesota-based VStar Entertainment and its Florida-based subsidiary Cirque Dreams, giving it a new stable of children’s content including the massively popular Paw Patrol Live! production.
“Building on the successful integration of Blue Man Group over the last year, today we are taking another decisive step towards realizing our ambition,” Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group president and CEO Daniel Lamarre said in a statement. “While circus arts will always be at the core of our creative offering, we continue to look for ways to expand and diversify our portfolio with new forms of entertainment and new brands, reaching new audiences and expanding our own creative and production capabilities.”
VStar Entertainment Group produces theatrical shows, exhibits, cruise ship shows and outdoor events, and is best known for its children and family shows, presenting 39,000 performances in more than 40 countries, reaching over 2 million guests annually.
On its own, PAW Patrol Live “Race to the Rescue” toured in 250 cities in 18 countries on 4 different continents in 2017. For Pollstar’s Q1 Ticket Sales Charts, Paw Patrol Live was No. 23 with 113,327 tickets reported sold at the time.
Similar to other kids shows like Peppa Pig Live and PJ Masks Live the “Paw Patrol” production often does multiple shows per day at large theatres, with recent boxoffice reports submitted to Pollstar including five shows at Durham Performing Arts Center in North Carolina June 2-3, which sold 9,459 tickets and grossed $383,566, and the show has global reach with six sold-out shows at the ICC Theatre in Sydney, Australia, which reported more than 19,000 tickets sold and $568,792 grossed for promoter TEG Dainty.
Chase, Rocky and Rubble (among the many other pup pals) also brought nine shows to the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden March 22-25, moving 29,030 tickets and grossing $1.7 million, and seven shows at Detroit’s Fox Theatre grossing another $1 million-plus.
Another VStar production, Bubble Guppies Live! just wrapped a North American tour with four shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York ($414,000 grossed) and two at the Chicago Theatre ($136,000) among the stops reported to Pollstar.
Cirque’s many live productions remain popular, with eight different shows figuring high on 2017’s Year-End Top 100 Worldwide Tours including “Kurious,” “Luzia” “Toruk” all grossing just north of $60 million and ending around the No. 30 mark for the year. For Q1 of this year the “Totem” production was No. 9 based on ticket sales reported.
Cirque Dreams, founded by Broadway Director Neil Goldberg and established in Florida, is the entertainment group’s circus arts division that produces and operates tours and shows in theatres and various popular touristic venues through partnerships with Norwegian Cruise Line and Gaylord Hotels, among other business to business opportunities.
“I have always admired the creative forces behind Cirque du Soleil and could not wish for a better partner to continue developing Cirque Dreams. I look forward to contributing my creative mindset to the company’s evolution”, added Cirque Dreams President Neil Goldberg.
Established in Montreal, Cirque du Soleil has brought the circus spectacle to more than 190 million spectators with productions presented in close to 450 cities in 60 countries, with more than 4,000 employees, including 1,400 artists, from nearly 50 countries.