Emerging independent film company Legion M will test its crowd-funding capability to support the cinema release of a theatrical documentary on “Star Trek” icon William Shatner. The Shatner biography, “You Can Call Me Bill,” is a PG-13 rated documentary set for March 22 theatrical release. It’s Legion M’s first time going in-house for a cinema release. The documentary … [Read more...] about Film Marketer Banks on Crowd Funding
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‘Dune 2’ Blasts Off With Global PR Tour
Big-budget “Dune: Part Two” basks in the glow of copious good press after distributor Warner Bros. Pictures mounted an extensive six-country, whistle-stop publicity tour of talent. The “Dune 2” publicity parade made stops earlier this month at New York City, Mexico City, Paris, London, South Korea and Abu Dhabi. That press tour covered the world because each stop became a … [Read more...] about ‘Dune 2’ Blasts Off With Global PR Tour
Film Blurbs Engulf Pricey Super Bowl
Movies from three of Hollywood’s five major studios played during Sunday’s Super Bowl, with advertisers reportedly paying $7 million for each 30-second spot. Nine movie, film branding and streaming platform spots were televised in-game, at the high end of the four-to-eight range typical for Hollywood fare in the NFL finale. Another handful of film-related commercials ran in the … [Read more...] about Film Blurbs Engulf Pricey Super Bowl
Young Adults Boost Specialty, Art House
The hardscrabble independent and art house segments of cinema are getting a lift from the young adult demographic, which is augmenting the traditional mainstay of older adults, according to a Hollywood Reporter story. Upmarket indie and art house have relied on middle-aged and older adults, or in industry slang the “elderverse,” so the recent influx of ages 18-49 young … [Read more...] about Young Adults Boost Specialty, Art House
Film Awards Juggernaut Suffers Dings
The movie awards industry, whose apex will be the Oscars telecast coming March 10, is buffeted by isolated storms though the promotional juggernaut keeps cruising along. It’s estimated that several hundred million dollars are spent each year on awards marketing. A film critic organization is fighting allegations of vote tampering, the bellwether Golden Globes is in rehab, … [Read more...] about Film Awards Juggernaut Suffers Dings
‘Mean Girls’ Cast Leverages Social Clout
The casts of the two “Mean Girls” movies pack a wallop in social media, which was leveraged for a theatrical premiere this past weekend. The high-school satire musical opened Jan. 11-23 in cinemas to an estimated $28 million in domestic boxoffice (decent given horrible winter weather across the nation). The PG 13-rated film mixes in the cast of an identically titled movie … [Read more...] about ‘Mean Girls’ Cast Leverages Social Clout
Cinema Ascends, But Still Off-Peak
Domestic boxoffice climbed a healthy 21% in 2023, though that’s still 15% below pre-pandemic levels, in a pattern experienced around the world. Universal Pictures became the top-grossing distributor (major studio), snapping Walt Disney Studio’s seven-year reign. Disney was torpedoed by late-year underperformance of cinema adaptations from its Marvel comics … [Read more...] about Cinema Ascends, But Still Off-Peak
Netflix Embraces Cinema-Style Merchandise
Netflix is a video streamer not particularly interested in cinema release of its original films, but embraces a theatrical-style approach to licensed merchandise. For its biographical drama “Maestro,” Netflix offers a 288-page, photo-driven coffee-table book about the Making Of the streaming film about conductor Leonard Bernstein. The book “Maestro” provides a … [Read more...] about Netflix Embraces Cinema-Style Merchandise
Radio Plugs its ‘Reach’ for Film Ads
Radio is making its case that audio media merits a bigger slice of movie advertising budgets because it provides breadth — a wider swath of audiences than alternatives — and a higher percentage of heavy moviegoers. At the moment, radio gets just 1-2% of movie advertising (linear TV and digital media gobble up around 95% of movie ad spending). In custom research commissioned … [Read more...] about Radio Plugs its ‘Reach’ for Film Ads
Turmoil Opens Cinema to Gatecrashers
With the flow of mainstream Hollywood films interrupted by now-settled labor strikes and the pandemic, expect occasional unusual successes to surprise in domestic theatrical boxoffice. In an unusual occurrence, the Japanese animation import “The Boy and the Heron” was the No. 1 grossing movie at cinemas in the U.S./Canada for the Dec. 8-10 weekend with $13 million. This … [Read more...] about Turmoil Opens Cinema to Gatecrashers