Getting a movie title right is of growing importance as the entertainment landscape gets cluttered by mushrooming digital media, says a Variety story by Rebecca Rubin. When research screenings audiences didn’t warm to “Something’s Wrong With Rose,” the Variety story says, Paramount Pictures renamed its 2022 horror film “Smile." The scare flick went on to generate $107 in … [Read more...] about Searching for Catchy Movie Titles
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Unofficially Yours: Some Oscars Glow
It’s Academy Awards season, and a raft of consumer-goods companies that are outside the inner circle of official sponsors are angling to snag some Oscar glow. The outsiders making a splash in awards season glitz include a fabrics maker revealing winner colors and video streaming program guide Clix (see featured image) with its own rankings of actresses. Allianz Global … [Read more...] about Unofficially Yours: Some Oscars Glow
Burnout Worries for Marvel Cinema Universe
Boxoffice for the Marvel Cinema Universe (MCU) has been impressive over 15 years, but there are signs lately of declining audience enthusiasm and burnout for comic-book adaptations. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” opened with a sizeable $106.1 million in domestic (U.S. and Canada) boxoffice for the weekend of Feb. 17-19. Walt Disney Studios distributes the film … [Read more...] about Burnout Worries for Marvel Cinema Universe
Movie Spots Saturate Super Bowl
Theatrical film distributors were a force with seven in-game commercials out of 51 in the Super Bowl football game, according to USA Today Ad Meter, returning after a pandemic withdrawal. Hollywood movie spots were also heavy in Super Bowl adjacencies with another eight commercials in the pregame, halftime and postgame. A normal range is four to eight theatrical films … [Read more...] about Movie Spots Saturate Super Bowl
AMC Tiers Tix Prices by Sightlines
Movie theater chain AMC Theatres will charge premium prices for seats with best view of screens, taking from the live concerts and airlines playbooks that charge more for better-placed locations. Concert and airlines are under fire from dissatisfied consumers, so it’s a head scratcher, other than the AMC variable pricing will certainly be geared for more revenue. Online … [Read more...] about AMC Tiers Tix Prices by Sightlines
Over-the-top Oscar Awards Campaigns
Over the years, campaigns seeking Oscar awards aimed at Hollywood insiders have prayed to the Academy Award gods from the Alamo fortress and hosted a pop-up street stand in Hollywood hosted by a celebrated filmmaker who chatted up passers-by. And an actress personally wrote letters to every Academy Awards voter that she could find. A Hollywood Reporter feature story by Scott … [Read more...] about Over-the-top Oscar Awards Campaigns
Film Fests Wobbly on Free Speech
Once self-proclaimed bastions of free speech, film festivals increasingly kowtow to woke progressive and grievance-culture growing in U.S. society. As a consequence, acclaimed and quality films perceived to be on the wrong side of mandated group-think get the boot from movie fests in acts of self-censorship. “A new, unspoken modus operandi [is that] festivals — once the … [Read more...] about Film Fests Wobbly on Free Speech
Even ‘Avatar 2’ Can’t Fix China Doldrums
There’s little chance for a return to past highs for Hollywood in the China cinema market, which is the world’s second largest overall. And it’s not just because of pandemic. While “Avatar: The Way of Water” is a blockbuster, Chinese regulators reduced theatrical distribution slots for foreign imports — meaning Hollywood films — that in years past bulked up overall cinema … [Read more...] about Even ‘Avatar 2’ Can’t Fix China Doldrums
Oscars Endured Rough Road to Fame
The Hollywood organization that confers the Oscars was founded in 1927 with strikingly different ambitions than the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) that the world knows today. “The Academy and the Awards” book by Bruce Davis details Oscar’s little-known history going back nearly a century. The Academy Awards — Oscar honors — were not a high priority and … [Read more...] about Oscars Endured Rough Road to Fame
Will Crowd-Pleasers Rule the Oscars?
“Top Gun: Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” can win Oscar Best Picture, say awards pundits, instead of the low-grossing, high-brow movies that usually scoop up Hollywood’s most prestigious award. The National Board of Review (NBR), which is composed of up-market film buffs, actually voted Paramount Pictures’ “Maverick” its Best Picture earlier this month. That’s not … [Read more...] about Will Crowd-Pleasers Rule the Oscars?