Update, Jan. 19: “The Green Hornet” was top film for the four-day holiday weekend with $40 million, which was at the low end of the forecasted opening cited in the story below. Overall, box office for the period was down, so the Hornet opening overcame the downward trend. /update
“The Green Hornet,” which is a $130 million superhero yarn that opens tomorrow, did not have a good buzz with consumers early on, the Los Angeles Times reports. But the movie’s distributor Sony Pictures kept adjusting the marketing program to the point that tracking surveys estimate the Seth Rogen film should open with a healthy $40 million domestic box office for the four-day premiere holiday weekend, says the article by Ben Fritz.
“The problem: People didn’t know what to make of a seemingly awkward hybrid of high-octane action and lowbrow laughs,” reports the article. The breakthrough was putting its cheeky humor front and center in some clips and the trailer. The core comic book property was also a challenge because, although the name rings a bell with consumers, most didn’t have a fixed image of what it is.
“Although the Green Hornet is a crime fighter in a mask, he doesn’t bring the same brand value of superheroes like Batman or Iron Man,” says the Los Angeles Times article. “Sony has tried to take advantage of that ambiguity. ‘People know the name but don’t know what it is,’ said Marc Weinstock, worldwide marketing president. ‘We could have fun with the brand without adhering to specific things.’” That’s a turnaround from last summer when “early cuts of ‘The Green Hornet’ (drew) scoffs from fanboys at the Comic-Con comic book convention in San Diego.”
Related content:
Leave a Reply