New I, Frankenstein Poster Released

A few months ago I wrote an article about a rather decent start to the I, Frankenstein marketing campaign. Sadly, it seems that any enthusiasm for the movie seems to have evaporated in recent weeks and the they've churned out this very average poster (see right).

If we base our enthusiasm for this movie on this one-sheet, well... we wouldn't have any. It's not only generic, it quite effectively unravels all of their early good work on this marketing campaign.

Elysium: Proof that concept marketing doesn't work

On Thursday 9th May, I wrote a reaction commentary to an intriguing article found in Variety. The original piece explored the notion that studios are favouring a more concept-driven marketing approach for major summer tent-poles as opposed to campaigns driven primarily by star-power and narrative.

"The idea is to sell a film initially based on a concept", says Par domestic marketing and distrib prexy Megan Colligan.

The article focused on blockbuster hopefuls such as World War Z, The Lone Ranger and Elysium (see right). It claimed that setting an "iconic" tone was the most important aspect of selling these movies.

I disagreed with this notion at the time of the article's publishing but opted to reserve overall judgement until sufficient box-office numbers were available.

Elysium  is the last of this year's summer tent-poles to implement this marketing strategy. It was released in the US on 9th August and is due for release in the UK on 21st August 2013.

Interestingly, the film's marketing campaign has completely transformed in recent months, there is now less focus on concept and more on star power and narrative. Aside from it being a drastic tactical change, it does suggest that recent box-office disappointments have exposed the flaws within the concept marketing strategy.

Luckily for Sony, the film's distributor, there was still time to adapt and refine their campaign, which would allow them an opportunity to exploit the film's assets and hopefully avoid becoming an expensive box-office casualty, like Disney's The Lone Ranger.

This article will seek to explore these flaws and the subsequent risks that accompany such an ambitious yet inconsistent style of movie marketing.

X-Men: Days Of Future Past - Viral Marketing Campaign Builds Momentum

The viral marketing campaign for Bryan Singer's X-Men Days of Future Past is picking up some serious momentum with the recent launch of the excellent Trask Industries website.

The fictional company site delves into the history and mythology of Trask Industries and its creator Bolivar Trask (played by Peter Dinklage - TV's Game of Thrones). The site also explores the creation of the Sentinels from Mark I to X.

Pacific Rim: Big-Budget Action Movie or Emotional Romantic Drama?

A recent article from Variety has raised some interesting points regarding the ever evolving marketing strategy for Pacific Rim.

The piece, written by David S. Cohen, explores Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. hope that the big-budget sci-fi movie will become a global blockbuster and subsequently, one of the biggest films of the year.

Priest

Priest arrived in US cinemas on 13th May 2011 and opened to a three-day gross of $14.95 million on it's way to an appalling $29.1 million, which was less than half of its reported $60 million budget. The film didn't fare much better internationally, grossing just $49.1 million, which meant that the movie vanished with barely a whimper.

The film received a terrible critical response and judging by this poster, it's not difficult to understand why.

Commentary: A Reaction to the shift in Tentpole Movie Marketing in Hollywood

Last week, Variety published a brief article about the state of film marketing in Hollywood. The fascinating piece explored the thought-provoking notion that concept is now bigger than star-power, which indicates a major shift in the necessity of A-List stars fronting big-budget blockbusters.

"The idea is to sell a film initially based on a concept", says Par domestic marketing and distrib prexy Megan Colligan.

Main theatrical poster for Oblivion

Ten years ago it would have been unfathomable for Tom Cruise not to feature in almost the entire marketing campaign for his latest blockbuster; however, times have changed.

Coming off the back of his biggest success to-date (Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol), Cruise's next major release was Oblivion, a big budget sci-fi film from the director of Tron:Legacy. There was immense pressure on Cruise to deliver another major hit and reassert his dominance as an unrivalled global box-office star. However, this was somewhat contradicted by his presence within the marketing campaign being strangely understated.

Dredd 3D

In September 2012 Dredd 3D hit cinemas hoping to work some reboot magic on a stagnant movie franchise. The first attempt at an adaptation, Judge Dredd, was released in 1995 and starred Sylvester Stallone, it was a box-office disaster and swiftly faded into obscurity. When the reboot was announced, it was generally met with scepticism due to the unwanted association with its predecessor and consequently, expectations were modest at best.

The resulting movie, Dredd 3D, was (in my opinion) one of the best and most underrated films of the year! It knew exactly what it needed to be and delivered, it was great fun with effective violence and minimal gore. It was a comic-book adaptation with heart and yet it will go down as one of the biggest box-office disappointments of the year! 

But why?

Daybreakers

In 2010 the little-known vampire film, Daybreakers, hit screens across the globe... and swiftly vanished with barely a whimper.

The film starred Ethan Hawke (Training Day), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park) but sadly failed to establish a firm footing at the box-office and closed with slightly over $50 million worldwide.

While the gross wasn't a disaster, it was very far from impressive for a film that could (and perhaps should) have been a big hit. It was actually a very stylish and enjoyable film, so why was it ignored by the legions of vampire movie fans out there?

Pacific Rim - New poster released

A new theatrical poster has been unveiled for visionary director, Guillermo del Toro's (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) latest movie, Pacific Rim.

The poster for this big-budget sci-fi flick is quite visually stunning and depicts a giant robot seemingly terrorising a busy city street. The image is chaotic and evidently extremely reliant on the aesthetic impact of CGI, which will impress some and bore others. The image is bleak and full of menace, which indicates that humanity has no chance against such an unstoppable foe.

The cars appear to all be abandoned and a devastating explosion looks to be on the verge of engulfing the entire street. This robot is causing mass destruction so it's little wonder that the civilians have abandoned their cars and fled.

But wait... these robots are on our side!

World War Z

The problems surrounding the entire production of World War Z have been very well documented over the last year. The expensive adaptation of Max Brooks' best-selling novel has been hampered by lengthy re-writes, on-set feuds, re-shoots and a reported budget in excess of $400 million. All of which have contributed to audience expectations becoming virtually non-existent.

It also appears as though the marketing campaign for the movie is just as muddled, which is evident from the two one-sheets currently doing the rounds:

The first one is arguably the main theatrical poster and focuses on the film's leading man, Brad Pitt, as he surveys the apocalyptic carnage from the safety of a helicopter.