Sony Pictures Signs Promotional Deal with Heineken for 'Casino Royale'

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures Entertainment has signed a six-figure promotional partnership with The Netherlands-based Heineken Brewing Company to showcase the company's product in the upcoming James Bond action thriller 'Casino Royale.'

Promotional activities will include heavy product placement in the film, to include scenes with new James Bond actor Daniel Craig drinking the beer. While the on-screen placements seem to counter the "shaken not stirred" vodka martini image usually seen in Bond flicks, it may work well with the new tougher, "man's-man" approach the producers are taking with the Bond character. Plans are also in the works for a special tie-in commercial starring Bond girl Eva Green, which will be directed by Oscar-winner Stephen Gaghan ('Syriana,' 'Traffic'), who will have access to the actual production sets for the ad.

No word yet as to how this new beer-swilling, Bond will sit with fans, but the initial backlash to Craig's casting seems to be cooling. On the promotional side, the number of official partners has been cut back significantly from 2002's 'Die Another Day,' which was criticized for going over the top with irrevelant tie-ins. Smirnoff will remain the offical vodka for this installment, will produce a custom commercial, hold an on-pack promotion tied in with the film's release.

The James Bond franchise has grossed nearly $1.3 Billon dollars domestically since the release of 'Dr. No' in 1963, according to Box Office Mojo. 'Casino Royale' hits theaters November 17th.

Lionsgate and Warcon Records promo ‘Saw III’ with Live Musical Event

Lionsgate and Warcon Records teaming up next month to put on a ‘Saw III’-themed live music show in support of the upcoming feature film and soundtrack.

“A Musical Evening Inspired by the Soundtrack of SAW III” will kick off at New York’s Webster Hall on October 19th. The evening will feature appearances by bands from the film’s soundtrack, with headlining acts to include Helmet, The Smashup and Hydrovibe. Shawnee Smith, who stars as “Amanda” in all three ‘Saw” movies, will emcee the show, and other cast members will be on hand for appearances as well.

A special ‘Saw’ museum will also be set up on the premises, which will include actual film props, torture devices, and the creepy ‘Billie’ puppet. There’s also an opportunity to join a “Circle of Blood” fan club, which will entitle members to gain early access to the venue for a meet and greet with cast members and the bands and a big bag of ‘Saw’ swag.

The informational site for the event is here. Advance tickets are also available through Ticketweb.

The ‘Saw III’ soundtrack will drop on October 24th, and the film hits theaters on October 27th. The ‘Saw’ franchise has grossed Lionsgate over $247 million to date in worldwide box office and has sold-through over 1.8 million DVDs, according to Nielsen Videoscan.

RKO and AMC Theaters Partner for New Film Series

According to Variety, AMC Theaters and RKO Distribution have announced plans for a recurring film series next year.

Called the “RKO Distribution Film Series,” the six film slate will run for 12 weeks in 16 markets starting next February. Each film will play run exclusively at AMC theaters for a minimum of two weeks. If the films take off, they could be held over or expanded according to the agreement. If the series is successful, a second slate of six films will bow in August.

The deal falls under the recently launched AMC SELECT program, which is designed showcase specialty and independent films at 72 AMC theatres in 39 markets across the country. AMC has dedicated at least one screen at each participating theatre to indie programming. Recent titles that have run under the AMC SELECT moniker include ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ and ‘A Prairie Home Companion.’

Thinkfilm and Clickstar Test Release Windows with ’10 Items or Less’

Clickstar will make Morgan Freeman’s latest drama '10 Items or Less' available on the web just two weeks after its release in theaters, according to a recent Los Angeles Times article.

The company also announced that the film will be available for purchase and rental on DVD in tandem with Thinkfilm’s theatrical release. ClickStar, Freeman’s joint venture with Intel, will handle web distribution. Thinkfilm announced theatrical distribution rights earlier this week at the Toronto Film Festival.

Directed by Brad Silberling, the film follows a washed up former A-lister (Freeman) who, while prepping for a role in a low-budget movie, strikes up a friendship with a fiery-tongued checkout clerk (Paz Vega) at a local market. According to the Los Angeles Times, Clickstar produced the film for under ten million dollars and shot it guerrilla-style in under three weeks with handheld HD cameras.

Thinkfilm has yet to announce the theatrical premiere date.

Universal promos 'The Black Dahlia' with Fake Newsreel on YouTube

Yesterday evening, Universal launched a newsreel-styled promo video on YouTube for their upcoming release ‘The Back Dahlia’', reports Adrants.

In addition to using recreated footage and archival crime scene clips, the four minute piece also utilizes vintage clips of other early twentieth century crimes to help set the tone. Exopolis, a creative shop specializing in design and development for broadcast, print and interactive, produced the promo.



This video furthers the vintage aesthetic of the film’s marketing campaign. Earlier this week, a special promotion with the Los Angles Times featured a special wraparound which included vintage clips. The Black Dahlia is an adaptation of James Ellroy's 1940s-set novel about two Los Angeles detectives heading the hunt for the killer of newbie actress Elizabeth Short. Directed by Brian De Palma and starring Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johansson and Hillary Swank, the films hits theaters on Spetember 15th.

Report: Canadian Theatrical Revenue, Attendance Up in 2005

According to Variety, a new study released by Statistics Canada showed a substantial increase in theatrical revenue and attendance last year.

Canadian theatrical receipts rose 16.6% between the 2003-04 and 2004-05 periods to C$446.3 million, or $401.7 million, according to a survey of the film and video distribution businesses by the agency. Attendance figures were up as well, and according to the article the growth came predominantly from an over 20% rise in drive-in attendance. Per-family spending on theater-going averaged $101, up from $95 the prior year. Canadian DVD revenue growth was flat, with sales of $1.6 billion.

Anyone with any insight as to why Canadians are in love with the drive-in experience, let us know. Here’s a list of Canadian Drive-ins if you’re curious.

Update: Here's a link to the full report. It has a wealth of interesting facts and data that Canadian movie marketers might want to note, including a growth in market share of Canadian-produced content.

2006 Key Art Awards on Starz Tonight

The Starz Network will be broadcasting highlights from the Hollywood Reporter's 35th Annual Key Art awards tonight - you can check local times here. It looks like there will be encore presentations as well.

For those not in the know, the Key Art Awards are held annually to recognize movie marketing achievement for all forms of film ad collateral including posters, trailers, print ads and TV commercials. This year's event was hosted by comedian and Saturday Night Live alumnus Kevin Nealon.

If you never had a chance to review the winners, the full listing is available here. VNU Media also sells illustrated programs highlighting the best of the print work.

Paramount's 'An Inconvenient Truth' Marketing Taps Current Events

With the brutal heat wave making headlines across the country, the marketing team behind ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ have spun current events into a creative series of advertisements, according to the “Marketplace Report” broadcast yesterday on American Public Media:

Global warming might seem like counter-intuitive programming for folks trying to escape the heat, but the new ad campaign for the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" has used the toasty weather to its advantage.

Newspaper ads for the film now list scorching temperatures in several US cities.

"It's kind of unusual in the 7th, 8th week of release to have fresh ad campaigns going out to keep a film in the public eye. I think it's been pretty effective."

The film has grossed just under $19 million through July 24th (very impressive for such a "didactic" documentary), and the platform release up to the current peak of 560+ theaters has been handled exceptionally well by the Paramount team. Keeping a film"fresh" during a long roll-out is one of the biggest challenges in film marketing, and tying into current events on both the publicity and advertising fronts is a smart approach to achieve that end.

The film is likely on track to gross in the $20-22 million dollar range, and has a good chance of usurping ‘Bowling for Columbine’ for the number three spot on the list of top-grossing documentaries of all time (‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ holds the top spot at $119 million, and ‘March of the Penguins’ is at #2 with $77.4 million).

Sony to Bow 'Spider-Man 3' IMAX Release Day and Date with Theatrical Run

Sony and IMAX announced today that ‘Spider-Man 3’ will be simultaneously be released at both conventional and IMAX theaters when the film debuts next year on May 4th, 2007.

According to IMAX co-chairman Richard Gelfond, the film will be available on at least 100 screens, a significant increase from the 63 screens that ‘Spider-Man 2’ debuted on during its IMAX run. This is the third IMAX release announced by Sony Pictures, with the third being the animated film ‘Open Season,’ which will bow in IMAX on September 29th this year.

In addition to adding valuable screens and significant revenue to a film’s launch, IMAX launches have also become an excellent marketing tool for the studios due to high-level of word-of-mouth that the format generates. For example, the IMAX release of ‘The Polar Express’ was widely credited with reviving the non-IMAX version’s fortunes in late 2004, which boosted theatrical revenues above $100 million and helped the title to become a smash hit on DVD.

Last year, the latest installment of the ‘Harry Potter’ series earned over $16 million in its IMAX run, and ‘Batman Begins’ grossed $15.9 million, according to the-numbers.com.

New Line Decides Against Critics' Screenings for 'Snakes on a Plane'

According to Variety, New Line has decided to forgo any pre-release screenings of their upcoming horror film 'Snakes on A Plane.'

In a move calculated to reduce the chances of any poor critical reviews or buzz-killing word of mouth, the earliest the public and critics alike will be able to see the film is Thursday night on August 17th. No press screenings or sneaks will be available.

Holding back press screenings for genre and action fare has become a common practice lately, mostly because the films' core audience is typically made up of genre fans who don’t read newspaper reviews. However, for the rest of the public, a lack of early reviews is starting to be interpreted as "this film sucks." New Line is spinning this move as “a chance for fans to see the film first.” However, if you look at past films that have withheld press screenings, it doesn’t bode well for the quality of 'Snakes.'

Recent films that have withheld press screenings include: 'Aeon Flux,' 'Cursed,' 'Phat Girlz,' 'Scary Movie 4,' 'See no Evil', 'The Benchwarmers,' 'The Fog,' 'The Hills Have Eyes,' 'Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion,' 'Ultraviolet,' 'Underworld: Evolution', and 'When a Stranger Calls.'

If we've missed any, please add them in the comments.

Lionsgate Announces Nationwide Public Word of Mouth Screening Event for 'The Descent'

Lionsgate has teamed up with in-theater ad & promo outfit National CineMedia and Horror rag Fangoria Magazine to launch a one-night-only advance screening event for the upcoming horror thriller 'The Descent.' The special screening will take place next week on July 26th at 8:00 p.m. - nine days ahead of the film's August 4th wide release. The event will be held at 47 participating Regal, United Artists, Edwards, and Cinemark around the country in key markets including New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Miami and Atlanta, among others (a full list of markets is available here). A regular admission charge will be in effect, and tickets can be purchased either online or at the box office the day of the screening.

The producers of the film have created exclusive behind-the-scenes content created especially for the event, and Fangoria has created a microsite to promote the screenings as well. Lionsgate has also linked to the advance ticket sales site from the film’s homepage.

Based on the numerous positive early reviews from fan boy and genre sites such as AICN, Joblo.com and bloodydisgusting.com, the potential for good word of mouth arising from this effort are high, especially since the structure of the event is designed to cater to the "mavens" of the horror genre – Fangoria readers eager to see both the previously-unseen U.S. cut as well as the exclusive extras. Collateral for the film has also been exceptional, with one of the most compelling one-sheets, trailer and web sites of 2006.

This isn't National CineMedia's first foray into movie marketing promotions – Last year, they conducted advance screenings to promote MGM’s 'North Country', as well as a one day re-release of New Line's 'The Wedding Crashers' earlier this year in support of the DVD release. Both screenings also had "special features," including a live satellite Q&A for 'North Country' and exclusive "uncorked" extras for 'Wedding Crashers.'

Paramount Vantage and the Sierra Club Promo 'An Inconvenient Truth' with Robo-calls

According to Variety, last week Paramount Vantage and The Sierra Club teamed up to promote the release of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ with “robo-calls” – the same sort of prerecorded telephone calls that are usually used to promote political candidates.

On July 7th, approximately 300,000 of the automated calls were placed in New York and four other key markets. The call was a 38 second message from Al gore urging the listener to get out and see his film about global warming, which began like this:

"Hi, I'm Al Gore. The fight against global warming is not about right vs. left, it's about right vs. wrong. That's why the Sierra Club and I are asking you to see my film, 'An Inconvenient Truth,' this weekend.”

According to the article, this is the first time this technique has been used to promote a film, and at least one studio executive believes that this is just the tip of the iceberg. The real question is if people will consider this sort of "push" advertising as an intrusion or not. If done well and correctly targeted, it may work for certain genres of films -- political documentaries and comedies come to mind. And If this technique could be paired with Moviefone-like ticketing capabilities, the ROI tracking capabilities would be a huge boon to movie marketers.

‘An Inconvenient Truth’ has grossed $15.6 million since its release in late May.

Warner Independent Releases First 24 Minutes of 'A Scanner Darkly' on IGN

Warner Independent Pictures has made the first 24 minutes of 'A Scanner Darkly' available as an online exclusive at IGN FilmForce. You can watch the extended preview, - nearly the first quarter of the film - at this link.

While the studios have been releasing clips under ten minutes on a fairly regular basis, this is without a doubt the longest preview released by a studio or specialty division to date. This shrewd marketing move is undoubtedly meant to drum up interest preceding the film's expansion onto 190 screens this weekend, up from 17 during the opening weekend. In its first weekend of limited release, 'A Scanner Darkly' earned over $392K, averaging just over $23K per screen.

MPAA Launches Online Consumer Market Research Panel

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) announced the launch of a new online consumer panel called “My Movie Muse” today. According to their release, the site will allow interested, qualified consumers to register so that they can participate in online surveys on issues affecting the organization’s member companies, including topics such as theater attendance, home video rental, advertisements, and piracy. The site plans on commissioning quarterly generalized surveys, and will also conduct “one-off” surveys that relate to specific demographic groups as the need arises.

The My Movie Muse site plans on enrolling 7,500 participants this year, and plans on doubling that figure in 2007. An international version of the site is also in the works.

Registration is currently open to the public at mymoviemuse.com, although it appears that studio employees or individuals involved in the market research of movies are ineligible to participate.

De Beers to counter `The Blood Diamond`

The De Beers Group, the Johannesburg-based diamond mining and trading company, has announced plans to spend $15 million dollars to counter any potential bad press from the release of 'The Blood Diamond,' the Mining Journal reports.

Slated for a January 2007 release, the Warner Brothers film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a man involved in a diamond smuggling ring. According to reports, the film depicts the exploitation of diamond miners in Sierra Leone and the plot implies that "conflict diamonds," or diamonds used to fund the ongoing civil wars in Africa, are still prevalent. This contradicts the stance in the Diamond Industry that the problem has been eliminated. However, with the promotion of the film beginning during the holiday season, the $15 million will go towards an education campaign touting "conflict free diamonds" in TV, print and online channels in an attempt to counter a public backlash.

[link]

Foreign Film Marketing Insights from Picturehouse's Bob Berney

There was a great piece on The Reeler yesterday about the difficulties facing the marketing and distribution of Foreign film. Framed by the recent shutdown of Wellspring, Berney talks about the challenges faced in marketing the recent Picturehouse releases '13 Tzameti' and 'Ushpin', and he describes the difficulties in breaking out of the typical art house and in finding the core audience. It's definitely worth checking out...

New Line Pulls Racy Viral Marketing Game for 'Running Scared'

Without an announcement, New Line has pulled the sexually-themed portion of the flash game on the 'Running Scared' website, according to Variety. The move comes amidst pressure from the National Institute on Media and the Family, who had made several requests to pull the game. While the game generated considerable buzz throughout the blogosphere (as can be seen here) those conversations didn't translate into box office dollars for the Paul Walker action vehicle -- 'Running Scared' generated a paltry $3.4 million during its opening weekend.

Comcast, IFC Announce Simultaneous Theatrical and Video On Demand Releases

Comcast and the Independent Film Channel have announced a tandem release strategy, according to the AP:

Comcast said indie films from "IFC in Theaters" will be shown through its "On Demand" service, which stores movies, TV shows and other video for subscribers with digital set-top boxes to watch at any time.The offerings, priced at $5.99 each, will be launched nationwide on Mar. 22.

IFC, a cable channel and independent film studio owned by Cablevision Systems Corp. in New York, will offer about two dozen new films every year to Comcast with simultaneous release in theaters.

According to the article, IFC is also in talks with other cable companies, though the "IFC in Theaters" On Demand service is only available on Comcast right now. This offering comes on the heels of recent experiments with release windows, the most prominent of which has been Magnolia's 'Bubble'. The studios have been less eager to experiment, but it's probably the smaller releases that will benefit from this strategy anyway.

Via AP Wire

Angry Bond Fans to Boycott 'Casino Royale'

According to the website craignotbond.com, an international group of James Bond fans is organizing a boycott of the next James Bond film, Casino Royale, due to the casting choice of Daniel Craig as James Bond. In a release posted on their website, the group gives a straightforward explanation for the boycott:

Even in the movie business, the old saying that 'the customer is always right' holds true. Since EON and Sony Pictures have chosen to ignore their most loyal customers, we have no choice but to boycott the 21st James Bond film, Casino Royale.

We call upon Bond fans around the world to join us in this boycott. If we all stand together, and stay home when this ill-conceived movie is released, it will send a message to EON [the production company] once and for all, that the sacred trust of Ian Fleming's iconic hero James Bond belongs not to them, but to all of the James Bond fans across the globe!

There has not been a response from Eon or Sony regarding the boycott yet. These days, casting choices are an important part of the marketing game, and its hard to see how the choice of Daniel Craig, a rough-edged character actor, helps the Bond franchise. Will hard-core Bond fans really stay away, or are these empty threats? Our hunch is that EON will stay with Craig and milk the "controversy" for all its worth.

Wellspring Theatrical Distribution Division to Cease Operations

Genius Products is shutting down the theatrical distribution arm at Wellspring, the indie DVD label the company acquired last year. According to Variety, the decision to shutter the label was largely affected by a theatrical distribution partnership announced with the Weinstein Company late last year, a move which effectively eliminated the need for a costly theatrical distribution arm:

A Genius spokesman said that Wellspring will remain a label under the Genius banner but would not elaborate on how many employees the label would have.

Genius said that the move to fold Wellspring's efforts into its other divisions would save about $1 million in annual overhead expenses.

This move exemplifies just how hard of a climate it is to market foreign films theatrically right now. The studios' specialty divisions have been churning out sophisticated, independent fare and English language docs over the last several years, and the net effect has been an erosion of foreign film market share. Genius Products will benefit down the line though, because the 700+ Foreign titles from the Wellspring library will surely rebound in value when consumer tastes realign with foreign fare.

Marketing Toned Down for Controversial 'Karla' Movie

'Karla', the controversial film about the infamous Canadian killers Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, is finally coming to Canadian screens on January 20th. However, according to the Ottawa Sun News, Montreal-based Christal Films will adjust the marketing, promotion and playdates due to the sensitive nature of the film's subject matter.

According to the article, the film will be advertised on television, but will not be trailered in theaters. Plans for a premiere have also been scrapped. Additionally, the film will not be shown in St. Catherines, Ontario, where the murders actually took place.

The film has been the subject of scrutiny since its announcement:

The movie has been the subject of intense debate. It was pulled from the Montreal World Film Festival last year after sponsors, including Air Canada, complained. Passions were rekindled when Homolka was released from her Montreal-area prison last July and became the subject of a media frenzy. And Premier Dalton McGuinty urged Ontarians to boycott it.

There's no word yet if a U.S. distribution deal is in place.

Previously: 'Karla' Biopic Stirs Controversy in Canada

Official Movie Website: Karla

High Movie Marketing Costs a Factor in Lions Gate 2Q Loss

Lions Gate's $14.1 million loss for the Second Quarter of 2005 is mostly attributed to a $26 million dollar loss from marketing the late summer releases 'Lord of War' and 'The Devil's Rejects,' Reuters reports.

According to company statements, Lions Gate spent a combined $35 million to market both titles, but neither of them generated the theatrical revenues to make up for the spend. However, the studio is still confident that they can make up the deficit on the home video front. That is, of course, if they can keep the additional marketing spend required for the home video release under check.

In analyzing the marketing-to-production spend for these movies, you can see why the industry is freaking out about rising marketing costs. The combined production budgets for both of these films was approximately $49 million dollars (roughly $42 million for 'Lord of War' and $7 million for 'The Devil's Rejects' according to IMDBpro.com). That would put the marketing costs at around 71% of the production budget -- an alarming figure at any rate.

Consider for a moment what Dawn Taubin was quoted as saying when interviewed for in article about the recent Warner Bros. layoffs:

"Marketing costs are just skyrocketing, and if we don't address this we are going to put ourselves out of business"

That 71% percent the Lions Gate spent looks even worse when you compare it to marketing spend figures touted in that same New York Times article:

Consider this: the average cost to market a film domestically in 2004 was $34 million, roughly half the $64 million average price tag to make one, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. Blockbusters cost even more to market: as much as $60 million.

Given Lions Gate's strategy of marketing lower budget pictures as if they were bigger releases, they could potentially get themselves into a whole heap-o-trouble with even a minor slump...

AMC Offers Money-back guarantee on 'Cinderella Man' Ticket Purchase

According to Reuters, AMC, the #2 movie chain in America, is offering a money-back guarantee for those who purchase tickets to see 'Cinderella Man':

Advertisements offering on-the-spot refunds to AMC patrons unhappy with the film began running on June 24 in newspapers and on the exhibitor's Web site (www.amctheaters.com), AMC spokeswoman Pam Blase said on Tuesday.
The ads, welcomed by the film's distributor, Universal Pictures, say in part: "AMC believes Cinderella Man is one of the finest motion pictures of the year!"
Blase said AMC provides occasional rebates to dissatisfied moviegoers on a case-by-case basis. But the "Cinderella Man" offer marks the exhibitor's first money-back guarantee since "Mystic Pizza," Julia Robert's breakout 1988 film.

The move comes amidst the widespread belief that releasing 'Cinderella Man' as a counter-programming measure was a failed move, and there has been speculation the Universal may try a limited re-release in the fall. This guarantee is an interesting effort to drum up business, particularly because the demographic most receptive to these types of offers is also the same one most likely to be interested in seeing this film. And much like rebates, the redemption levels are, barring aberrations, usually pretty low. AMC isn't releasing any numbers, and so far has just said that the refunds requested have been "minuscule."


[Via Reuters]

'Revenge of the Sith' Drives Jump in Online Ticket Sales

According to a comScore Media Metrix press release, the release of 'Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith' was a huge boon for websites selling movie tickets:

Star Wars fanatics turned to the Web in droves to secure quickly selling tickets. Nearly all of the top ticket merchants saw increases compared to last May. Category leader Moviefone, which was partnered with StarWars.com, drew 15.3 million visitors, an increase of 29 percent compared to a year ago. With 12.5 million visitors, Yahoo! Movies jumped 26 percent compared to last year, while Fandango.com and MovieTickets.com were up 65 and 75 percent, respectively.

With more pressure on movie marketers to measure ROI, expect to see a greater emphasis on measurable actions like online ticket sales. We also wouldn't be surprised if a "premium seating" or "assigned seating" trend emerges to further drive pre-sales.


[Via Yahoo! Business]

Sundance Group Makes Foray into Exhibition Business

According to the Los Angeles Business Journal, The Sundance Group, parent company of the Sundance Film Festival and the Sundance Channel, has announced their intentions of creating a chain of specialty cinemas.

The circuit, which has been in the works for numerous years, will be headed by Paul Richardson and Bert Manzari, the pair who started Landmark back in the '70s. Programming looks like it will be similar to the Landmark/Laemmle paradigm:

The theaters will show in independent, documentary, and foreign language film, as well as quality studio films and original programming, which will include shorts, filmmaker interviews and forums.

This move will greatly enhance the Sundance Group's vertical marketing abilities, and will help to secure valuable publicity for their home entertainment releases. It now looks like 2929 Entertainment isn't the only integrated company in town...


[Via the Los Angeles Business Journal]

Flashback -- Hear the Original 'Star Wars' Radio Spots from 1977

If you want to see just how far ad creatives have come in the last 30-odd years, listen to these original 'Star Wars' radio ads from 1977. Quaint by today's production standards, the constant "Don't be afraid - it's only a movie" seems like it was culled from the the horror genre playbook. It's amazing that these ads are still kicking around -- get 'em before they're gone.


[Via A Small Victory]

Studios Clamoring For Trailer Slots in Front of 'Star Wars: Episode III'

According to the Los Angeles Times, the highly-anticipated 'Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith' is bowing in 3,700 theaters, and movie marketing executives are jockeying for coveted trailer slots. Further exacerbating the demand is Lucas' demand that no more than five trailers bow before his feature. Given how lackluster the box office has been so far this year, many films are banking on this added push to help get butts in seats:

Others in the mix, according to another studio: New Line's 'Wedding Crashers,' DreamWorks' 'The Island,' Universal's 'Cinderella Man' and Warner Bros.' 'Batman Begins.' And some studios are also sending trailers for other films directly to exhibitors in hopes of screening with 'Revenge of the Sith.' Sony, for example, is distributing a new "teaser" trailer for 'The Da Vinci Code,' even though the movie doesn't come out for a year

The article mentions that the only film guaranteed placement is 'The Fantastic Four.' Of all of these films, the films that probably need the marketing boost most are New Line's 'Wedding Crashers,' and Universal's 'Cinderella Man.'


[Via the Los Angeles Times]

'The Interpreter' Draws Older Female Audiences to the Box Office

According to the USA Today, the Nicole Kidman thriller 'The Interpreter' drew a significant amount of its audience base from older viewers. Based on internal research by Universal, approx. 60% of the audience was 35 and older, and 58% was female. So what's the story behind $22 million take this weekend?

"We didn't bother marketing the film on MTV," says Nikki Rocco, Universal's distribution chief. "We knew that adults were going to be drawn to this more than the kids."

The industry's summer of explosions and special effects unofficially begins next weekend, with XXX: State of the Union and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Rocco says that, after months of romantic comedies and horror movies, audiences were ready for espionage.

"It was time for a serious movie," she says.

Combine the hunger for adult pics with a talented, A-list cast, and you've got the recipe for a spring success. Universal seemed to be focused more on getting Kidman in the press and advertising in appropriate, targeted places like women's mags and outdoor advertising.


[Via USA Today]

Warner Bros. to promo 'Batman Begins' during 'Smallville' Finale

According to Brand Republic, Warner Brothers will promote the upcoming release of 'Batman Begins' during the season finale of the hit series Smallville.

The finale, which will air on May 18th, will be showing an exclusive clip at some point during the show:

The eight minutes of footage will air within the 90-minute season finale of 'Smallville'. The two [Batman and Superman] have always been linked in comic book fiction and bringing the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight together is designed to further explore the relationship on the screen of two most popular superheroes in the history of American pop culture.

We've seen the broadcast of exclusive clips become an integral part of the movie marketing process over the past year, but none have been so topically on the mark as this one.

Batman begins is due out in theaters on June 17th.


[Via Brand Republic]

Marketing Preview: Superman Returns

Super Hero Hype is giving a brief overview of the advance marketing strategy behind the upcoming Superman Returns movie. Even though its coming from "anonymous sources," it looks in line with what we would expect from Warner Brothers:

The marketing will begin over a year in advance-starting with the teaser trailer that is now scheduled to air with Batman Begins, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Word is Sony Pictures Imageworks is about to start work on about 10 special fx shots that will be featured in the trailer. The official website is also scheduled to be activated around this time, as well, a teaser poster. Then in November, the second trailer will be released with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Rumor is W.B. wants to have the same trailer with King Kong as well. W.B. is also currently shopping for movie tie ins and product placement, and it comes as no surprise that the companies are lining up.

That's nearly 12 months of constant PR and marketing activities leading up to the theatrical, and almost 18 for the DVD release.

Superman Hype! - The latest Superman news and rumors

Bollywood Star Urges Shift to Hollywood-Style Marketing

While speaking at a conference in New York, veteran Bollywood film star Amitabh Bachchan urged Bollywood production companies to refine and redouble their marketing efforts to make them more in-line with western standards:

"Bollywood is a movement known to Americans only through satire. That needs to change. The Americans have a very good marketing system in place... which can, and should be emulated. (Bollywood producers) should get together as one united force. We need to market it [Bollywood] much better, and a lot of discipline is required for that. Hopefully with everybody's concerted efforts. I'm sure the good word will go around and there will be great interest in our cinema."

The Indian film industry's output is the largest in the world in terms of number of films produced and in number of tickets sold. Given that production values have been steadily increasing as the audiences demand quality comparable to Hollywood, it seems only natural that Indian movie marketing budgets will follow. Perhaps we'll soon see the first big "crossover" hit?

Bollywood Star Urges Shift to Hollywood-Style Marketing

'National Lampoon's Blackball' Trims Theatrical to DVD Window to Four Days

National Lampoon will release their new Vince Vaughn comedy pic 'Blackball' on DVD just four days after its theatrical premiere, according to Reuters.

With a majority of a film's revenue now coming from the DVD release, it only makes sense for film marketers to capitalize on the theatrical marketing push. While this is the shortest window so far, several holiday-themed pics rushed to market over the holiday season:

In October, 2004, DreamWorks sent out "Surviving Christmas" to major hype. When it flopped at box offices the major studio rushed the videos and DVDs into stores by December.

Atlanta's The Convex Group put a Christmas movie, "Noel" in theaters last November and on the same day issued a disposable DVD -- different from National Lampoon's long-lasting DVD -- to retailers such as Amazon.com.

Dawn Whaley, executive vice president of The Convex Group, said she believed the publicity around the theatrical release did help spur sales of the DVD.

As many DVD marketers know, generating enthusiasm for a title the second time around can be expensive and time consuming. This is especially true for B-titles and poor theatrical performers. It makes sense from a ROI standpoint to more closely integrate the marketing for select low-to-mid level performers.

Film Article | Reuters.com

'Outfoxed' to Commence Theatrical Run August 6th

According to a press release issued by Cinema Libre Studio, 'Outfoxed' will commence it's theatrical run this Friday in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C. A larger national roll-out is planned for the following week, though it will still be in limited release.

From a marketing standpoint, this very presence of the film in theaters is unusual because the DVD has been available for over two weeks on Amazon, and there has already been more than 3,700 free screenings nationwide at house parties. Given the political backdrop surrounding the films release, and it's sponsorship by moveon.org, expect special events and heavy marketing by interest groups to drive ticket demand.

Related Links:

OUTFOXED: Screenings

Press Kit for 'Outfoxed'

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to Expand Nationally

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, an extremely popular Austin, TX-based alternative cinema chain, announced the sale of their franchising operations to their current CEO. Plans call for expanding the business to more than 200 locations throughout the United States.

For those of you unfamiliar with the company, the Alamo is a beer joint/restaurant/movie theater that features an eclectic programming mix of new releases, shock and cult cinema, live film-based events and more. This makes for a movie going experience quite unlike anything you've probable experi