Olsen Twins Let Dualstar's Star Rise

By: Seth Goldstein

TWIN POWER: Let us take a moment to reflect on the marketplace clout of Dualstar Video, otherwise known as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The twins and their handler, Los Angeles attorney Robert Thorne, haven't exactly gone unheralded. The Wall Street Journal and the ABC magazine show "Prime Time Live" did feature pieces on the Olsens (fitting for ABC, where the girls grew from tots to schoolage on the network's long-running sitcom "Full House").

Nonetheless, although its owners have moved several million cassettes, Dualstar remains hidden in the trade. Part of the reason is that the twins haven't had one home video label to call home. Their titles were released through BMG and then A*Vision, which became WarnerVision before folding into Warner Home Video. Distribution headquarters shifted from New York to Los Angeles and a different staff.

Thorn expects a stable relationship into 1999, when Dualstar's latest Warner production agreement expires. "It was a tough deal but successful for both sides," he says. For the twins, "It's at least as rich" as the old contract "if you look at the total package." Dualstar plans eight more programs in the next 18 months, expanding the line to about two dozen titles. Warner has distribution rights until the Olsens turn 18, about six years hence.

In the meantime, the girls will be doing their best to create brand awareness that can only brighten the studio's outlook. According to Thorne, the Olsens have the third-best-selling children's book series, behind "Goosebumps" and "Anamorphids." The hardcover editions are packaged by Parachute Press and published by Scholastic; Thorne's No. 2, veteran video executive Harold Weitzberg, spends much of his time shepherding the books into retail.

The first dozen were "mirror images of the videos," Weitzberg says. But as the publishing frequency increased from quarterly to monthly, Dualstar has gone to original plots. With reorders ballooning initial print runs of 250,000- 300,000 units, Thorne fully expects to sell 1 million copies per title next year.

Video has required some tweaking to maintain demand. The twins' detective series, for boys and girls, was "hitting a wall" at 400,000 tapes, Thorne says, while the more feminine "You're Invited To.." titles often did 600,000 each. "So we made a conscious move toward all-girl product." In doing so, Dualstar has picked up some high-profile partners- Mall of America for "You're Invited To Mary-Kate and Ashley's Mall Party" and the New York City Ballet for a Lincoln Center dance entry.

Thorne, trying to keep the yin and the yang in balance, is looking for a third line to beef up the twins' in-store presence. Wal-Mart have given the Olsens permanent sidepanel displays, while other chains have offered a row in the family section. In the works are free-standing "outposts" of videos, books, and CDs, another growth area. Brand identification has emboldened Thorne to look beyond the current arrangement. "The word's got out that we don't want long deals," notes Thorne, who says he's been contacted about new projects. On his lists are Dualstar's first non-Olsen productions- "within the next six months" and an effort to move Mary-Kate and Ashley from half-hour cassettes to feature- length television movies.

Sales of three ABC telefilms have ranged from 200,000-1.5 million; the twins' one theatrical movie, "It Takes Two," did 3 million copies. Supported by another hit sitcom (one is in development), anything running 90 minutes has a six- figure video potential, according to Thorne.