‘Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie’ Tops Studios’ TV Ad Spending

In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by the TV advertising attention analytics company iSpot.tv, Twentieth Century Fox claims the top spot in spending with “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie.”

Ads placed for the animated film had an estimated media value of $5.56 million through Sunday for 1,290 national ad airings across 30 networks. (Spend figures are based on estimates generated from May 15-21. Estimates may be updated after the chart is posted as new information becomes available.) Understandably, Twentieth Century Fox is targeting a family-friendly crowd, with network-specific spend prioritized across Nick, E! and Cartoon Network, and show-specific spend for airings during The Voice, SpongeBob SquarePants and The Loud House.

Just behind “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie” in second place: Paramount Pictures’ “Baywatch,” which saw 1,098 national ad airings across 38 networks, with an estimated media value of $5.5 million.

TV ad placements for Universal Pictures’ “The Mummy” (EMV: $5.33 million), Walt Disney Pictures’ “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” ($5.26 million) and Warner Bros.’ “Wonder Woman” ($4.22 million), round out the chart.

Top Movie Commercials by Weekly TV Spend

Data provided by iSpot.tv

$5.56M – Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Impressions: 264,456,990

Attention Score: 92.07

National Airings: 1,290

Networks: 30

Most Spend On: Nick, E!

Creative Versions: 8

Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $11.91M

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox

Started Airing: 05/01/17

$5.5M – Baywatch

Impressions: 237,424,614

Attention Score: 94.86

National Airings: 1,098

Networks: 38

Most Spend On: Comedy Central, NBC

Creative Versions: 32

Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $18.85M

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Started Airing: 02/13/17

$5.33M – The Mummy

Impressions: 214,191,694

Attention Score: 90.92

National Airings: 717

Networks: 38

Most Spend On: TNT, NBC

Creative Versions: 13

Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $17.41M

Studio: Universal Pictures

Started Airing: 12/04/16

$5.26M – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Impressions: 240,984,743

Attention Score: 95.59

National Airings: 716

Networks: 37

Most Spend On: ABC, Univision

Creative Versions: 39

Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $24.19M

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

Started Airing: 10/02/16

$4.22M – Wonder Woman

Impressions: 212,766,000

Attention Score: 91.74

National Airings: 857

Networks: 51

Most Spend On: NBC, TNT

Creative Versions: 21

Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $16.28M

Studio: Warner Bros.

Started Airing: 03/11/17

¹ Movie titles with a minimum spend of $100,000 for airings detected between 05/15/2017 and 05/21/2017.

* TV Impressions – Total TV ad impressions delivered for the brand or spot.

* Attention Score – Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.

Variety has partnered with iSpot.tv, an attention analytics company that tracks TV ads in real time across more than 10 million smart TVs, to bring you this weekly look at what studios are spending to market their movies on TV. Learn more about the iSpot.tv platform and methodology.