Hollywood will rack up a record summer box office haul, despite some big-budget flops, according to a USA Today story package that also points out the limits of social media in marketing. The industry is heading to a $4.7 billion total for summer box office (with days left in the season), compared to $4.4 billion in 2011—the current record.
One article of the two-article package by Scott Bowles quotes an expert saying online buzz did not automatically translate into box office dollars. “Studios and analysts may be putting too much stock in social media, where films like ‘Pacific Rim’ ($99 million in boxoffice) and ‘Kick-Ass 2’ ($23 million) lit up Facebook and Twitter but didn’t translate into dollars,” says the USA Today article.
“Remember that every theatrical uses digital-media marketing,” points out the book “Marketing to Moviegoers: Third Edition”, “so there is no competitive advantage in merely having a Facebook page. Every theatrical has one (as well as direct-to-video non-theatrical ‘movies’!). While some digital campaigns are more clever and impactful than others, it is the TV-advertising blitz just before theatrical premiere that is the single-biggest force determining box office on opening weekend.”
“Marketing to Moviegoers: Third Edition” estimates that between 5-20% of marketing spend for every major studio film is allocated to new media, which is a figure that is appropriate for the payoff at this time.
Related content:
Leave a Reply