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.

Facepalm Movie Marketing

For every great movie poster, there are nine that disappoint, but occasionally one emerges that (unintentionally) stands head and shoulders above the rest... in terms of incompetence.

When this happens, it is common practice for film aficionados to truly fear for the future of the industry. This is even more poignant when considering that these are supposedly ''leading industry professionals'' who designed and approved this image...  none of which seemed to notice the glaring and unforgivable mistake on this poster.

So, here it is...

Poster Analysis: How I Live Now

How I Live Now was released in the UK on October 4th and this poster (see right) has been doing the rounds for several weeks (at least) prior to that. The film is adapted from the best-selling novel by Meg Rosoff and stars the extremely talented Saoirse Ronan who plays Daisy.

I've mostly seen this image plastered on buses in the Wandsworth area, which I'm sure is purely coincidental and not a slant against us South London folk. More importantly, after the nth time of seeing this poster, I still have virtually no idea what the film is about!

'I, Frankenstein' Character Posters Released

Several character posters for Lionsgate's upcoming Action Horror, I, Frankenstein, have been released online. The film stars Aaron Eckhart as Frankenstein's Monster A.K.A Adam Frankenstein, and is produced by the team behind the Underworld Series.

I, Frankenstein is based on the cult graphic novel of the same name and follows Adam who unintentionally becomes embroiled in a brutal war between two immortal clans.

Event Preview: Sunrise 2013 Online Film Festival Awards Ceremony

M.P.C. Marketing Consultancy is privileged to have been invited to attend the 5th annual Sunrise 2013 Online Film Festival Awards Ceremony. The event is run by Ditto, and will take place on 18th July 2013 at their Lighthouse studio in London in association with Norwich University of the Arts.

The event will "welcome Elliot Grove, founder and director of Raindance Film Festival, and Arnfinn Moseng from the BAFTA winning animation studio Blue Zoo, as our guest speakers, sharing their insights and inspiration with all present. The night will culminate with the announcing of the winners and the presentation of their amazing prizes, including internships at Blue Zoo animation studios and Mustard TV, Raindance film-making courses, and a tour of the Stanley Kubrick Archive."

Sunrise champions the latest independent filmmakers and animators and aims to help the emerging talent achieve their first break within the industry.

Riddick - New International Poster Released!

A new international poster has been released for Vin Diesel's upcoming sci-fi movie, Riddick. The film is the third instalment in the cult Pitch Black franchise and marks Diesel's first outing as the titular anti-hero - Riddick - for almost a decade.

While Pitch Black was generally well received, it was a cult success at best, though it did spawn a sequel called The Chronicles of Riddick, which received awful reviews and bombed theatrically.

The franchise has always had immense potential, but realising such potential is not always possible, hence Riddick's near decade absence from our screens.

Which brings us to Riddick, many hope that this film will rejuvenate a franchise that never really got going by capitalising on Vin Diesel's superstar status.

Honest Movie Posters - Top 10 (Part 2)

It's been a busy week, so while I work on some slightly more detailed posts, I've decided to compile another Top 10 Honest Movie Posters list. Basically, there are so many gems here that it would be a travesty if I didn't share them with you.

So, sit back (or lean forward) and enjoy...

Honest Movie Posters - Top 10

We all love a good movie poster but they usually lie and do their very best to sell an awful premise to unsuspecting cinema-goers by glossing over key points. What if movie posters told the truth? Well, a lot less movie tickets would be sold, movie stardom would be non-existent and we'd probably all be successful sports stars and Billionaires.

Here's my Top 10 ''Honest'' Movie Posters:

(Try and guess their real titles)

Sightseers

Sightseers was a much-hyped dark British comedy about a couple who go on a perverse killing-spree across the British countryside. The film was sadly ignored by the majority of UK cinema-goers and sadly disappeared with a whimper from cinemas.

It would be easy to blame its poor performance on its status as a "cult" indie movie, but that would be disrespectful. The film opened to an underwhelming £213,000 from 92 locations at the UK box-office, and struggled to build any momentum in its second weekend, falling 52% despite adding 25 theatres.

However, regardless of the fact that there was a very limited interest in the movie, it does not mean that audiences rejected the film outright. It is very probable that many were simply unaware of the film or unsure of its satirical premise.

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.

Worst Movie Posters of 2013 (so far) - Top 10

Following on from my Top 10 Best movie posters of the year (so far), here's my list of the Top 10 Worst.

All of the movies in this list have been released theatrically and all represent what's wrong with movie marketing. From the incomprehensible to the confusing to the downright bland, this list has it all and it's a wonder how any of them gained approval.

See if you agree:

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.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Alternative Marketing Campaign

A few days ago I wrote an article critically analysing the latest poster (see right) for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The theatrical marketing campaign for this big-budget Christmas blockbuster has so far been underwhelming. More so when considering that this is supposed to be one of the most anticipated movies of the year, not an arthouse movie.

Catching Fire is the sequel to the popular 2012 movie The Hunger Games and based on the second book in Suzanne Collins' book trilogy of the same name. It is, beyond anything else, an event movie made for mainstream audiences but the current marketing strategy consists of well designed posters that are ultimately very bland.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - New Poster Released

Lionsgate have released a new poster for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (see right), and although it's very visually pleasing, I have mixed feelings about it.

The poster depicts the series' heroine, Katniss Everdeen, gazing out on a cliff's edge while clutching her trademark bow by her side. The imagery is reminiscent of a vintage painting though it will struggle to attract your attention unless you know to look for it.

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.