Which 2006 film did Starbucks promote in its North American stores through a partnership with Lionsgate?

Starbucks promoted the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee through its partnership with Lionsgate. The campaign was announced in January 2006 and represented Starbucks Entertainment’s first major move into film marketing.

The promotion reached Starbucks locations across the United States and Canada. Stores used spelling-themed trivia, “word of the day” messages, coffee-cup sleeves, in-store displays, and wireless content such as trailers. The campaign matched the film’s story, which follows 11-year-old Akeelah Anderson as she prepares for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Akeelah and the Bee was written and directed by Doug Atchison and starred Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne, and Angela Bassett. Lionsgate distributed the film, while Starbucks Entertainment was also involved in its presentation and promotion. Starbucks later sold the film’s DVD in its stores, making it easy to confuse the campaign with a broader movie-distribution venture. The other choices were also associated with education or documentary themes, but none was the Lionsgate-Starbucks project described here.