Movie Trailers Have Become A Main Event

The trailer for "Prometheus" was teased and it "was viewed 29.7 million times", says Fox Chief Marketing Officer. As we all already know, trailers are viewed more online than they are in theatres. To really pull in your viewers/audience, you have to market it online and toward your demographic (even if that means teasing the trailer). As the article states, "studios now market the marketing". This is probably because of the rapid growing industry and social media websites. The article goes on to talk about the pros and cons of trailers and how they should be marketed. The article gives statistics and examples of many films, but this is the paragraph that stuck with me the most:

"The increasing numbers of trailers online and commentary surrounding them mean increased scrutiny for the people who make them. Bloggers and tweeters dissect every frame of a trailer for mysterious projects like "The Hunger Games" or "Prometheus" and can create instantaneous bad buzz for films whose trailers they don't like, as happened to the flops "John Carter" and "Green Lantern."

Empire's Shiny Holographic Cover

This Huffington Post article previews Empire Magazine's shiny, holographic Prometheus cover for May's issue and praises the film's marketing strategies. 

Fans Treated To Five Minute Prometheus Preview

Fans in London were treated to a five minute preview of Prometheus yesterday afternoon, which helped reveal some desired answers to a film that has been very hush hush in terms of storyline. The Guardian breaks it down for fans of the upcoming Summer Blockbuster, and as expected, there's a lot to decipher.

Movie Trailer Mania

The Los Angeles Times discusses Prometheus' by presenting the idea that the trailer of a film is almost as important as the actual film. Through the web a trailer is seen a lot more than in the theaters. Additionally, online the trailer can get constant immediate feedback that can either start a positive or negative buzz. "...Studios now market the marketing." Fox marketing officer said "We teased the teaser." As teasers and trailers get longer it is somewhat like presenting a premiere for the trailer. Stil, it is important not to give away the whole plot!

‘John Carter’: Disney’s Quarter-Billion-Dollar Movie Fiasco

Click Here Even back in February, journalists and the general public could tell that John Carter didn't have the right hooks or a clear audience.  People didn't know what it was.  This article looks at the marketing problems in relation to Disney's recent business as a whole. "'You take out ‘of Mars,’ you don’t tell where he came from? That’s what makes it unique!' a former Disney executive said. 'They choose to ignore that, and the whole campaign ends up meaning nothing. It’s boiled down to something no one wants to see.'"

'Prometheus' and its unstoppable marketing

This article touches on many of the marketing techniques used by the team behind 'Prometheus'. From teaser trailers to apps 'Prometheus' has it all. 


In addition to the roll out of teasers, the viral campaign, Imax trailer and the full length preview, andthe 11 recently revealed crew stills - now say hello to the "Discovering Prometheus" Facebook app. Featuring a 3D star map, 5 new stills, and the promise of "more exclusive reveals and activities from this groundbreaking mythology" between now and opening day on June 8 - the new app is only the latest to come from the creatives behind this movie.

‘THE HUNGER GAMES’ SCORES $214.25M: $155M U.S.-Canada + $59.25M Foreign; #3 Biggest Weekend Beats ‘Twilight Saga’

This article broke down the revenue for The Hunger Games during its opening weekend. Aside from the numbers, the article analyzed why The Hunger Games was able to be so successful due to its ability to attract major audiences. The movie's goal was to attract teenagers. That was their only audience. By choosing such a narrow target, the hype from the teenagers leaked into the curious minds of the adult demographic who keep up to date with pop culture.

The marketing was a huge success to the movie's success. The article mentions how 90% of this weekend's viewers were fully aware of the movie and its synopsis before actually viewing the movie. That knowledge was able to reach out to the audience and get them intrigued enough to see it opening weekend.

Five Reasons Why 'Hunger Games' is Worth Five Stars

This article from the NY Daily News covers five important aspects of why the Hunger Games works in terms of marketing and as a franchise. The author, Joe Neumaier, has seen the film and unlike many of the critics he feels as if the film does a successful job in portraying the classless society/dystopian government dichotomy.

Also, there's no voiceover. Thank God.

Hunger Games Fever

Featured in the New York Times online today, this article by Hollywood reporter Brooks Barnes details Lionsgate's interactive marketing campaign for The Hunger Games, which hits theaters this Friday. 

How 'Hunger Games' is Trying To Reach Every Demographic

This article from the Wall Street Journal discusses how the marketing team behind The Hunger Games is trying to reach nearly every demographic and stray away from portraying the film as a cheesy teenage love triangle. So far 48% of young males have shown an interest in seeing the film, but Lionsgate is determined to get the attention of older male adults as well.

Lionsgate is also releasing the film in 300 IMAX screens to bring in the "fanboys" who are already accustomed to seeing films screened that way. So far this method is working, 47 IMAX screens have sold out for the film's Midnight release.

5 Lessons Marketers Can Learn from 'The Hunger Games'

Here are some good tips for marketers that Lionsgate is doing well for 'The Hunger Games'. We have already learned about some of these, but this article hits on what Kevin said in class yesterday about 'The Hunger Games' doing everything right in making this film a success with their marketing.

John Carter Fails Miserably in the Box Office

"Moviemaking does not come without risk. It's still an art, not a science, and there is no proven formula for success. Andrew Stanton is an incredibly talented and successful filmmaker who with his team put their hard work and vision into the making of 'John Carter.' Unfortunately, it failed to connect with audiences as much as we had all hoped."

Rich Ross, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios

Snow White in the Modern Age

The video below puts a new spin on the story of Snow White, telling the Queen's quest to be the fairest of them all via social networking sites. Pretty smart viral marketing, the question is whether or not this type of marketing is too niche. The director commented on how the marketing of Snow White was gearing the film too much towards the younger demographic, and not towards audiences looking for a friendly family affair.

"Mirror Mirror" Marketing Angers Director

The director of "Mirror Mirror," Tarsem Singh is upset by the marketing and trailers for his film, according to this article. Though he is known for his visuals, Singh believes the trailers do not do his film justice with its content. "The movie looks fantastic and the trailers look so hammily off," said Singh. He created this film for families, but the United States marketing is focusing on the physical comedy more for kids. Whereas internationally, the trailers are making it seem more of a family-friendly fairy tale.

Hunger Games Stars Appear at a Los Angeles Mall, Fans Go Crazy

Fans camped out overnight to meet or even just catch a glimpse of three of the stars of the upcoming Hunger Games film at a mall in Los Angeles. The stars signed posters and met with the first 100 fans in line. They also did a brief question and answer session. This EW article claims that this event proves that The Hunger Games is "the most anticipated film series since... Twilight". Over 1000 fans showed up to the event, "some of whom came from as far away as Mexico, Utah, and Montana". There was plenty of screaming and a DJ on the scene claimed "I have never seen so many people cry in my entire life". This kind of pandemonium seems like a good sign for the upcoming film, as teens are clearly very excited about the series.

Prometheus TED Talk Goes Viral

For those of you familiar with TED Talks (Technology Entertainment & Design), the video below plays off of the popular series in the form of a viral Prometheus "talk" starring one the film's stars Guy Pearce.

In the film, Pearce plays Peter Weyland the head of the Weyland Corporation. For a film that's been widely debated on due its secretive story line, this is a strong start to what should be an impressive marketing campaign.

The Impact of Winning an Oscar

This is a nice article that talks about how winning an Oscar shapes careers and has a huge affect on how much money a movie will make. It mentions how The King's Speech made $100 million more than expected after it won Best Picture last year and that Natalie Portman's salary for movies is now $10 million since she won Best Actress. It also talks about how just being nominated will bring in money for a movie and that is particularly important this year because none of the movies are really huge hits.

Act Of Valor Faces a Unique Marketing Dilemma

The soon to be released film Act Of Valor faces a unique problem: how do you market a film starring people whose identities must be kept secret? The film, which started out as a documentary-style recruiting film, has evolved into a full-fledged action film starring real life active duty Navy SEALs. However, due to the secrecy surrounding the elite group, the identities of the men involved must be kept from the public. This Los Angeles Times article highlights the dilemma "'There's quite a spotlight on a group who have operated for years in silence,' said Terry Curtin, Relativity's president of theatrical marketing. 'We want to respect that and we're operating in accordance with their code for anonymity. We can't entirely trot them out on the 'Today' show.'" The film is instead relying on the recent exposure that the SEALs have gotten in the last year (killing Osama Bin Laden amongst other high profile missions) to get people to see the film.

The Hunger Games: Viral Marketing Update

If The Hunger Games haven't done enough marketing already new motion posters have come out. BUT... this time they are from what would be featured from around the actual Captiol. Would you want these products if you lived there?  Check them out!

'The River' Is A 'Little Movie Every Week,' Star Says

This article explains how The River is going to work and I think it might just be right. 'River' actress Eloise Mumford states that the pace of the show, which is pretty quick, will actually work as an advantage for the series.

I think she is right. The first episode started with suspense right away and did a good job at drawing me in.