In its extensive discussion of trailers, “Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition” calls them essentially “free samples” of movies. Now, 20th Century Fox is taking the trailer concept to an extreme level with “Avatar,” which is the Jim Cameron (“Titanic”) sci-fi epic set for Dec. 18 theatrical release.
A “Los Angeles Times” article says big-screen Imax theaters will present a 16-minute section of the film starting Aug. 21. Trailers typically run just 2 minutes to 2 minutes-30 seconds.
“The unprecedented promotion signals just how aggressively Fox is pushing its massive event film and how Imax is trying to position its theaters as consumers’ first-choice destination for ‘Avatar’,” notes the article by Ben Friz and John Horn.
Fox, which originated “Titanic” and distributed it internationally, has a $240 million production in “Avatar,” says the article.
“Advance screenings of movie footage for the media and at events such as Comic-Con [comic book convention] are fairly common for big-budget Hollywood movies,” continues the “Los Angeles Times” article.
“But no studio has ever shown such an extended excerpt of a film in a broad public setting months before its release,” the article continues. “Fox is not paying Imax to use its theaters for the preview, though the studio is bearing the cost of producing and distributing the digital prints. Imax will provide 3-D glasses.”
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