How IP Movies Are Evolving into Spatial Contents

Can Disney exist without Disneyland? The opening sequence of the Disney animations I first watched on TV as a child featured a panoramic view of Disneyland. I believed I could meet all the characters from the animations — Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh — at Disney. And that belief turned out to be true. Today, not only in the United States but also in Tokyo, Paris, and Hong Kong, you can experience the fantasy worlds once seen on TV and in theaters by visiting Disneyland or Disney World.

This phenomenon isn't limited to animation. There are places around the world where you can step directly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe or witness the magic of Harry Potter. Space-based content like Disneyland and Universal Studios, built around movies, has rapidly grown to become the centerpiece of modern entertainment. Moving beyond films shown in theaters, these spaces bring movie universes, characters, and stories into the real world, offering fans highly immersive and engaging experiences. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how major film and entertainment companies with passionate fan bases — such as Disney and Warner in the U.S., and Ghibli in Japan — are creating movie-based spatial content.

Going Beyond “Watching Movies” to “Experiencing Content”

Hayao Miyazaki’s animation studio, Ghibli, operates both the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo and Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture. Opened in 2001, the Ghibli Museum is a charming space that offers an in-depth exploration of the Ghibli world and production processes behind Ghibli animations directed by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. It provides a free-flowing and immersive experience where visitors can see, feel, and connect emotionally with the studio’s creations. Ghibli Park, which opened in 2022, is an immersive theme park that brings Ghibli animations into real-life spaces, allowing visitors to walk through iconic scenes and settings from the films and experience their magic firsthand.

Meanwhile, the Avengers Campus, located in Los Angeles, Paris, and Hong Kong, offers a variety of experiences based on the Marvel movie universe. Visitors can become rookie S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, meet Avengers members, catch Spider-Bots using Spider-Man’s web shooters, and enjoy food crafted with Pym Particle technology — all within spaces designed to bring the cinematic world to life. It goes beyond simply recreating scenes from the movies, enabling visitors to step directly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and create their own stories.

The Harry Potter Studio in London feels like a place where the magical world of the film franchise has been brought to life. At Platform 9¾, where Harry Potter departs for Hogwarts, visitors can take photos with the train as a backdrop and experience the sensation of flying through the sky on a broomstick. Iconic locations such as the Hogwarts Great Hall, Dumbledore’s office, and the Gryffindor common room have also been faithfully recreated. While seeing the sets and props from these beloved films is a special treat, the true strength of the Harry Potter Studio lies in its vivid, immersive experience that makes you feel as if you’ve stepped right into Hogwarts.

Disneyland’s powerful rival, Universal Studios, takes a far more aggressive approach. Universal has relatively few original intellectual properties (IPs) of its own to expand upon. Instead, it has pursued a strategy of acquiring and featuring popular IPs such as Harry Potter, Transformers, Spider-Man, Minions, and Pokémon to attract audiences. Among these, the IP content strategy of Universal Studios Beijing is particularly noteworthy. The park effectively blends globally recognized Hollywood IPs with Chinese IPs that resonate with local audiences. This approach seeks to satisfy a broad range of visitors — from younger generations familiar with Western pop culture to older audiences who take pride in their own cultural heritage.

At Universal Studios Beijing, zones based on Hollywood blockbusters such as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Transformers: Metrobase, Jurassic World: Isla Nublar, and Minion Land are especially popular. One standout zone is Kung Fu Panda: Land of Awesomeness. The Kung Fu Panda series from DreamWorks Animation, set against the backdrop of Chinese culture and featuring the iconic panda character, is a familiar and beloved piece of content among Chinese audiences. Exclusive to Beijing, Kung Fu Panda: Land of Awesomeness recreates the film’s setting and offers a unique experience through themed shows, food, and beverages. It serves as a prime example of how global IPs, founded on Hollywood’s powerful storytelling and technological prowess, can successfully blend with the cultural appeal of locally rooted Chinese IP. It clearly demonstrates how global entertainment companies should craft effective localization strategies when entering specific national markets.

While Universal carefully selects IPs to create signature attractions tailored to each region, Disney takes a different approach: expanding deeply into its rich library of IPs. Released in 2010, Tangled marked the beginning of a new golden era for Disney. Breaking away from the familiar portrayals of fairy tale princesses like Snow White and The Little Mermaid, Tangled introduced Rapunzel as an active, energetic, and independent character. With global earnings exceeding USD 600 million, the film was a commercial success and received high praise from both critics and audiences. Since then, Disney has expanded Rapunzel’s forward-looking character across various platforms and formats. The short film Tangled Ever After (2012) was produced, followed by the animated TV series Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure (2017–2020), which aired on Disney Channel. A dedicated area called Rapunzel’s Forest was created at Tokyo DisneySea’s Fantasy Springs, featuring attractions and a themed restaurant, with the Rapunzel character roaming the area to interact with guests and participating in parades. Rapunzel also appears in musical performances aboard Disney Cruise Line and features in various Disney-related games. Naturally, she was added to the Disney Princess lineup, which spans a wide range of merchandise.

Entertainment Industry Driven by Fandom and Experience

At the heart of today’s pop culture trends are experience and fandom. While movies, animations, and games are rooted in fantasy, fans increasingly seek firsthand experiences that allow them to become part of the story in the real world. In the past, theme parks offered attractions inspired by movie IPs with limited storytelling elements. Today, they expand entire universes, enabling visitors to actively participate in the narrative and immerse themselves in the characters. For fans, the ultimate experience goes beyond merely watching and listening — it involves stepping into the story alongside the main characters.

Fans crave the opportunity to visit and experience the worlds of their favorite films, longing for the feeling of becoming a character within the story. This is why VR attractions, AR-based spatial explorations, and theme zones featuring highly sophisticated animatronic characters are gaining popularity. New forms of spatial content are also rapidly emerging, including immersive exhibitions and experience spaces located in bustling city centers, limited-time pop-up stores and cafés, and hybrid formats like Secret Cinema, which combine film screenings with theatrical performances. Moreover, a strong fandom seeks more than just individual experiences — it desires connection with other fans, reinforcing a sense of community and shared identity. Sharing and spreading experiences through social media has become crucial, making photo spots where fans can capture their “once-in-a-lifetime shots” increasingly important. These shared moments significantly contribute to the promotion and viral spread of spatial content.

The stronger the storytelling and visual elements of a film IP, the greater its potential as spatial content. The industry is moving beyond fragmented merchandise releases or basic themed zones toward expanding the IP’s universe itself and offering fans deeply immersive experiences. Spatial content, now emerging as a new revenue model for film studios, represents more than just the development of new products — it expands the very horizons of the entertainment industry. As online and offline experiences become increasingly interconnected, the boundaries between digital platforms — such as games, streaming services, and apps — and physical spaces — like theme parks, pop-up stores, and interactive exhibitions — will continue to blur. Passionate fans are evolving beyond passive consumers of IP; they are becoming active creators of experiences and engaged participants in fan communities. With the growing popularity of spatial content, the future of IP expansion is likely to move toward experiences that are even more immersive, personalized, and seamlessly integrated across both online and offline platforms.

The Future of Korean Film IP

There are still relatively few theme parks that leverage Korean visual content. For now, most efforts involve repurposing historical drama sets or filming locations as tourist attractions. Unlike Disneyland or Universal Studios, Korea lacks permanent themed spaces that consistently draw fans of specific films.

Korean visual content is currently enjoying global popularity, ranking second only to the U.S. in global viewership on Netflix. Hit titles and critically acclaimed works continue to emerge. In addition to spectacular thrillers and action series like Squid Game and Kingdom, story-driven works such as Extraordinary Attorney Woo and When Life Gives You Tangerines are resonating widely with audiences. Challenges certainly remain, but the Korean visual content industry remains highly competitive. With a strong and loyal international fan base, the future holds tremendous potential.

Which Korean visual content IPs have the greatest potential for expansion? The Netflix hit Squid Game has already proven its strength as a global IP. Its intuitive premise of extreme survival games and striking visual style offers vast opportunities for expansion. Real-life game events, reality shows, and immersive pop-up stores inspired by the series have already been created. VR and AR adaptations are also highly feasible. If developed into spatial content, Squid Game would likely take the form of an immersive survival experience targeted at adults rather than a family-oriented theme park. Its artistically crafted visual environments could easily captivate fans if recreated in the real world, offering immersive experiences where visitors actively participate in survival-style games.

The “Joseon zombie” series Kingdom also lends itself well to spatial content, with its settings of palaces and villages overrun by the undead. Chase scenes with zombies could be transformed into thrilling attractions, and the story could be expanded into formats like action RPG games. Given the enduring popularity of the zombie apocalypse genre, spatial content based on Train to Busan — featuring KTX trains and train stations — also holds strong potential. This IP could further expand into VR/AR-based zombie survival experiences, along with possibilities for remakes or spin-off series.

The expansion potential of an IP depends not only on the universality or spectacle of its themes but also heavily on the reputation and acclaim of the original work. In that sense, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite holds strong potential for immersive expansion. Experiences such as exhibitions recreating the stark contrast between the semi-basement home and the luxurious mansion, or escape rooms simulating a dramatic flight from the basement, could effectively bring the film’s world to life. Ultimately, the stronger the appeal of the original IP, the greater its expansion potential — and the ability to extend its characters and storyline is the critical key.

With theater revenues declining, the overall landscape of the entertainment industry is undergoing significant change. Maximizing the value of both newly created and well-established IPs could become a powerful new growth engine for the Korean entertainment industry.

By Kim Bong-seok (Film Critic)

Korean Film Council Webzine (Click)