• by Colin Kirkland , August 7, 2024

In the lead-up to the sequel of the 1988 cult classic “Beetlejuice,” Warner Bros. has teamed up with Roblox to launch an immersive digital experience, which happens to feature a virtual Fandango box office where eligible visitors can purchase movie tickets, marking a first for Roblox as it “tests and invests in commerce,” the company says.

Like the upcoming film, “[Beetlejuice] Escape the Afterlife,” is committed to engaging a new generation to writer and director Tim Burton’s surreal, nightmarishly hilarious cinematic universe. Developed by creative studio Sawhorse, the Roblox experience features scenes and characters from the film in “The Afterlife” lobby where users can choose to enter three different gamified worlds.

The movie trailer for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” will also be playing in the lobby, prepping visitors to check out a virtual Fandango box office where they can make a ticket purchase within Roblox and plan to see the film when it opened in U.S. theaters on September 6.

For incentive, eligible users who buy a ticket at the virtual box office will receive an exclusive avatar item related to the movie.

“As we continue to test commerce, offering an opportunity to purchase tickets within the movie-inspired immersive environment is a way to explore a new consumer category and further engage users who are looking to purchase different things,” says Roblox's Vice President of Global Partnerships Stephanie Latham, adding that the company's main goal is to deliver brands a seamless shopping experience for new and existing audiences.

Roblox has been amping up its advertising business over the past year, making video ads available on its Ads Manager in May, shortly after partnering with supply-side platform Pubmatic, which will eventually be enabling the programmatic media-buying option for Roblox's video ads inventory.

“We want Roblox to become a platform where brands can run their core business,” Roblox's Vice President of Economy Enrico D'Angelo told Venture Beat in May. “If you sell shoes or movie tickets or food, we want you to be able to sell them on Roblox. In the long-term, we want Roblox to be that platform where you are running your business, the same way you would on an app or a website.”

In addition, this is Warner Bros.' third major launch on Roblox, following in-app virtual experiences created around films “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” and the 20-year celebration of iconic holiday movie “Elf.”