Life-Sized Movie Characters: A Home Theater Add-On Opportunity

Hampton Black doesn't like movie posters. As an integrator, though, he has to meet his home theater clients' demand for motion picture paraphernalia. His solution is reminiscent of something Madame Tussauds might have concocted.

Instead of two-dimensional posters, West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Hampton Silver Screens offers 3-D, life-like, life-sized custom-made sculptures of film characters his clients choose.

If a Hampton client wants a sculpture of Davy Jones from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, for instance, Black says he will deliver a full-size pirate ghost to the client in three to four weeks.

"I like to go the extra step and do things a bit differently," Black says. "In my home theaters, I like to involve a lot of artwork and a lot of design elements. Doing a sculpture is something unique that we can offer customers."

Black contracts an artist -- with Disney and Universal Studios on his resume -- to create the one-of-a-kind sculptures. Abner Muoz uses composites (polyester resin, fiberglass and foam) to sculpt the bodies.

He then constructs the clothes and accessories and colors the figure to perfectly match the character. "It's the costumes that take most of the [three to four weeks]," Black says, "not the forms."

Clients that don't fully appreciate the level of detail that Muoz puts in his sculptures might not put up with the three-to-four-week lag. Besides, at $6,500 to $8,500 a pop, these add-ons aren't for every home theater client, according to Black. The key, he says, is knowing which clients might be interested.

Black has a collection of photos of the sculptures Muoz has done for him -- including Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Johnny Depp characters. He says when a client demonstrates that they want to achieve a big "wow factor," he'll break out the photos.

One parameter, he points out, is that the home theater has to be large. A Schwarzeneggar-sized sculpture can overwhelm a relatively small home theater.

The sculptures represent a respectable add-on sale, but not a huge profit center for Hampton Silver Screens. Black says he tacks on $500 to the $6,000 to $8,000 that Muoz charges.

The benefit, as Black sees it, is being able to offer outrageous flair to clients' home theaters -- and he says it works. He encourages other integrators who want to offer their clients Muoz's custom creations to visit http://www.hamptontheaters.com.