Copyright Investor's Business Daily
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. — Streaming video giant Netflix (NFLX) will open its first major in-person amusement attraction called Netflix House in a Philadelphia suburb on Wednesday. With the move, Netflix is expanding its media empire into the physical world. Located in a shopping mall at the site of a former Lord & Taylor department store, Netflix House features immersive experiences and games based on Netflix shows like "Wednesday" and "Stranger Things." It also offers themed food and drinks at the Netflix Bites eatery. And of course, there's a sizable gift shop. The 100,000 square-foot destination is free to enter to shop and dine and offers paid add-on experiences for guests. Those premium experiences include 60-minute adventures in themed rooms with games and mysteries to solve. Ideal for birthday parties and corporate team building, those adventures start at $39 per person. Current adventures are based on "Wednesday" and "One Piece." Netflix House also has virtual reality experiences based on "Squid Game," "Stranger Things" and "Rebel Moon." The VR experiences cost $25. Plus, there's a mini-golf room, which costs $15 per person. Netflix House will be open seven days a week year-round, the company said. The company held a preview event Monday evening with Netflix executives as well as celebrities, government officials and other dignitaries. Notables on hand included Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and "Wednesday" actors Luis Guzmán, Isaac Ordonez and Hunter Doohan. "This Netflix House here is to celebrate the fans," Netflix Co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos said at the opening. Netflix House Seen As Tourist Destination Co-CEO Greg Peters envisions Netflix House as something fun for locals as well as a tourist destination. "We believe this will be a great reason for folks from all over the Philadelphia area to come and come again repeatedly because the accessibility makes it so easy," Peters said at the event. "But we also see it as another reason for fans from out of town to travel here, to dine in local restaurants, stay in local hotels and enjoy everything that not only this mall but this whole area has to offer." Peters said Netflix House Philadelphia has much to offer fans of the company's internet television network. "We imagine folks coming here and wandering the halls of Nevermore Academy from 'Wednesday' or maybe going on a daring adventure with the pirates from 'One Piece' or playing golf in the universe of 'Bridgerton,'" Peters said. Netflix House Philadelphia also has a 229-seat movie theater for screening content, holding premieres, "KPop Demon Hunters" sing-alongs and other events. It also will host screenings of live sports like WWE RAW and NFL games. First Of Three Planned Netflix Houses Netflix House Philadelphia is the first of three such attractions Netflix plans to open in the U.S. Netflix will open its second Netflix House in Dallas next month, followed by a third in Las Vegas in 2027. With the moves, Netflix seems to be taking a page out of Disney's (DIS) playbook. Netflix said the attractions at their physical venues will change to showcase different popular shows and movies over time. The company notes that it isn't new to in-person attractions. To date, it has launched over 40 limited-time experiences linked to its movie and TV series premieres. But Netflix House is a first-of-its-kind, permanent, ever-changing entertainment venue for the company. Meanwhile, Netflix stock has been in a slump lately. It is trading beneath its 50-day moving average line and is right at its 200-day line. Netflix stock plunged more than 10% on Oct. 22 after the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company missed estimates with its third-quarter earnings. In afternoon trades on the stock market today, Netflix stock was up about 1%, near 1,132. Follow Patrick Seitz on X at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: What Aiming To Be The Next Disney Could Mean For Netflix Stock Spotify Rocks Q3 Financial Beat, But Gives Mixed Outlook Discover Profitable Trades Each Day With MarketDiem. See How. Find Winning Stocks With MarketSurge Pattern Recognition & Custom Screens
