Secret life of movie marketing
By Scott Bowles
USA Today
The ads say it's the "must-see film of the year!"
Critics say it's a dog.
Whom do you believe?
Amid Hollywood hype, Internet marketing and the tastes of film reviewers, the truth is out there.
Experts say the way a film is marketed and sold can indicate whether the movie is stellar or a stinker.
"There's body language" to every movie, says Senh Duong, founder of rottentomatoes.com, which culls the reviews of film critics nationwide.
"If a movie gets screened (for critics), if a star will talk, if there are sneak previews, they all tell you something about the movie," Duong says. "There are things to look for."
Here, then, are a few clues that critics, studio executives and analysts say to look for when considering a movie:
Most films that aren't screened for critics are horror flicks and goofball comedies — movies like "Silent Hill" and "The Benchwarmers" that are geared for teenagers who don't pay attention to reviews.
The movie "is probably bad, and it probably doesn't matter," says Duong. "Horror movies are usually cheap, and they can easily take in $20 million on their opening weekend. Why risk getting the bad press if the fans are going to come out, anyway?"
But the specific weekend of release can be telling, too. Unless a movie is beaten to the scheduling punch by another major release, a film that has the confidence of the studio typically opens the weekend before the holiday, not the holiday weekend itself.
"If you've got the goods, and the schedule allows it, you want to open the weekend before the holiday to get kids talking," says Don Harris, an executive vice president for Paramount Pictures. "That way, when schools let out, word-of-mouth has given you the must-see film of the holiday."
"Actors work long and hard on their movies, and they know that doing press for them is part of the job," Duong says. "If they aren't talking, they probably don't believe in it, and the movie is a stinker."
Sony Pictures, for instance, offered "word-of-mouth" screenings at shopping malls in Arizona, Oklahoma and Nebraska for the Robin Williams comedy "RV." "Madea's Family Reunion" offered screenings to church groups nationwide.
Despite poor reviews — only about a quarter of critics liked them — both were hits. The $6 million "Reunion" took in $63 million, while "RV" has done $57 million and saw ticket sales increase this weekend after five weeks in theaters.
"I'm not sure what the critics see that the audiences don't," says Rory Bruer, Sony's distribution chief. "But ultimately, the audience is the final critic."
