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Post by anticonscience on Jun 13, 2011 19:47:41 GMT -5
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Post by Michael Coello on Jun 13, 2011 19:48:37 GMT -5
It says I gotta log in. Can you sum up the reasoning. It's strange, considering the influx of new movies coming out.
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Post by Rumble McSkirmish on Jun 13, 2011 19:53:28 GMT -5
The article for people who can't read it on the NYT site. LOS ANGELES — In summers past, Warner Brothers used Comic-Con International, the premiere convention for comic book, science fiction and fantasy fans, as a marketing platform for movies like “Sherlock Holmes,” “300” and “Sucker Punch.”
The three years and millions of dollars Disney spent promoting “Tron: Legacy” at Comic-Con did not translate into ticket sales.
Walt Disney Studios staged “Tron: Legacy” stunts there three years in a row. Last July, DreamWorks Animation paraded Will Ferrell, Tina Fey and other members of the “Megamind” cast through the convention.
This year? Warner’s main studio operation is bringing nothing. Ditto Disney and DreamWorks. The Weinstein Company, a perennial presence, will also sit this one out. Even Marvel Entertainment, whose panel for “The Avengers” was a highlight of Comic-Con 2010, is on the fence about whether it will mount a major presentation.
Comic-Con, as a growing number of movie marketers are realizing, has turned into a treacherous place. Studios come seeking buzz, but the Comic-Con effect can be more negative than positive. The swarm of dedicated fans — many of whom arrive at the convention in Japanese anime drag or draped in Ewok fur — can instantly sour on a film if it doesn’t like what it sees, leaving publicity teams with months of damaging Web chatter to clean up.
“It’s a red-letter opportunity, but you shouldn’t go simply because it sits there on the calendar,” said Michael Moses, co-president of marketing for Universal Pictures. “You have to be absolutely certain you have goods ready that can really make a difference for your film.”
Even a joyous reaction at Comic-Con, which takes place in San Diego from July 21 to 24, can skew expectations, as a platoon of studios learned last year, if hard-core enthusiasm doesn’t spill into the mainstream.
Warner got burned with “Sucker Punch,” which had fans vibrating with excitement in July but failed in its March release. The millions that Disney spent on “Tron: Legacy” at Comic-Con had a less-than-fantastic payoff. A stunt involving video of attendees trapped in coffins made a splash for Lionsgate’s “Buried,” but the film sold just $1 million in tickets when it opened two months later.
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” was the big alarm. That Universal movie was the belle of last year’s convention, and the studio spent heavily to make it so, draping the entire side of a skyscraper with an ad, for instance. Released just three weeks after the convention, “Scott Pilgrim” fizzled and the $60 million movie sold just $32 million in tickets.
Comic-Con, which attracts about 130,000 people, usually doesn’t lock in its schedule of presentations until two weeks before the convention — a practice that keeps studio publicists on edge, as they struggle to wrangle stars for appearances in slots that remain at a premium.
David Glanzer, the convention’s director of marketing, said he didn’t detect any major shift in the film industry’s stance toward Comic-Con.
“We get more and more requests, and have less ability to fulfill them,” he said, adding, “Not every studio comes every year.”
For certain, Big Hollywood will still be represented. Universal is plotting a stunt for “Cowboys & Aliens,” which has the advantage of a July 29 release date, when memories of a Comic-Con splash will be fresh. Paramount plans to trot out “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn,” with a possible appearance by its director, Steven Spielberg.
Twentieth Century Fox is expected to tackle Comic-Con head-on, particularly with its “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” which arrives in theaters on Aug. 5. And Sony will roll out an aggressive promotion for its “The Amazing Spiderman,” even though the film won’t be seen until July 2012.
And the light schedule of some major studios leaves a void that newer players want to fill. Relativity Media, once a film financier and now a producer, is expected to make a push at the convention for “Immortals” and “The Raven,” while promoting “Shark Night 3-D,” which is bloodier than the convention usually tolerates.
Among smaller studios, Lionsgate, which won strong results last year for “The Expendables,” will be back; and Summit Entertainment will stage a panel for “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1.”
The industry has also realized that Comic-Con’s timing, in late July, is actually friendlier to TV shows, which are getting revved up for fall debuts.
Fox plans to increase its Comic-Con footprint, mounting promotions for at least 10 series, including “Terra Nova,” a dinosaur show produced by Mr. Spielberg. Warner’s Digital operation is planning to promote several original Web series, including “Mortal Kombat: Legacy,” and Warner’s TV division wouldn’t mind stealing the show.
“We’re certainly hoping to,” said Lisa Gregorian, chief marketing officer for the Warner Brothers Television Group, which plans to promote as many as 16 shows — including returning ones “Big Bang Theory” and “Chuck” — at the convention.
Still, even Ms. Gregorian, who said she had spent six months planning to reach fans at Comic-Con — whom she calls “evangelists” — doesn’t foresee her medium displacing the movies in the convention’s Hall H, which annually takes on the aura of a pop cinematic shrine.
“That’s a creative decision by the convention,” she said of the movies’ pride of place in the largest room. “We’re very respectful of that.” |
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Jun 13, 2011 19:53:52 GMT -5
It says I gotta log in. Can you sum up the reasoning. It's strange, considering the influx of new movies coming out. Basically, it is the backlash of the nerd crowd at Comic-Con that is doing damage to film marketing, if a film's presentation doesn't instantly wow the audience at the presentation. Word gets out that the film didn't thrill the Comic-Con audience, and thus, it sets their marketing campaign back a few months. Here's a direct quote from the article: So basically, thanks to a good chunk of Comic-Con attendees being cynical, and their cynicism is negatively affecting the marketing campaigns of these films, they are just not going to bother showing up at all. |
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Post by Bob Schlapowitz on Jun 13, 2011 19:57:14 GMT -5
Maybe if most of the movies mentioned didn't ABSOLUTELY SUCK people wouldn't be so cynical!!!!!
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Jun 13, 2011 19:58:57 GMT -5
Maybe if most of the movies mentioned didn't ABSOLUTELY SUCK people wouldn't be so cynical!!!!! True, a lot of crap does get shown at Comic-Con, but now, not even the good films that show up will show up for the foreseeable future.  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2011 20:00:55 GMT -5
Maybe if most of the movies mentioned didn't ABSOLUTELY SUCK people wouldn't be so cynical!!!!! This is why I'm hoping Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish bring Attack the Block to the event since it's opening in the states the Friday after Comic-Con. |
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Post by Rumble McSkirmish on Jun 13, 2011 20:03:04 GMT -5
I would of thought the main reason a lot of these studios are pulling out, is because these a-list panels can drive the attendees into a savage frenzy, like last year when someone got stabbed in the eye over his seat at the Harry Potter 7 panel.
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mattperiolat
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Post by mattperiolat on Jun 13, 2011 21:51:40 GMT -5
Maybe this will allow Comic-Con to be more about, oh, I dunno... COMICS rather then having to practically murder someone to get into Hall H?
Seriously, if Comic-Con is going to survive, it has to get back to the roots. The movie thing, when movies are tied to comics, is fine or have a cult following, but it's been getting out of hand the last five years or so.
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Post by Bang Bang Bart on Jun 13, 2011 22:19:15 GMT -5
Alas, now you can Blame Canada for this.  |
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Post by Non Banjoble Tokens on Jun 13, 2011 22:24:43 GMT -5
Alas, now you can Blame Canada for this. I do for everything else, so why would this be any different?  |
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BR329
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Post by BR329 on Jun 13, 2011 22:32:42 GMT -5
Alas, now you can Blame Canada for this. I do for everything else, so why would this be any different? I like the way you think! |
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riseofsetian1981
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"I met him fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left."
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Post by riseofsetian1981 on Jun 13, 2011 23:11:35 GMT -5
Maybe if most of the movies mentioned didn't ABSOLUTELY SUCK people wouldn't be so cynical!!!!! True, a lot of crap does get shown at Comic-Con, but now, not even the good films that show up will show up for the foreseeable future. I honestly think it's a good thing. I understand everyone has an opinion and all, but a lot of good films suffer because of critic reviews. Tron: Legacy was pretty good in my opinion, I watched X-Men: First Class and was surprised that I enjoyed it, and the list goes on. This will allow movie viewers to go in completely blind and have no idea what to expect. That way if it's good the word will spread and the ticket sales will generate. |
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Unocal 76
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Providing The Finest Oil
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Post by Unocal 76 on Jun 13, 2011 23:14:47 GMT -5
When I went to Chicago Comic Con, I just went to meet the people I used to see on film and TV a lot.
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Post by Red Impact on Jun 13, 2011 23:24:55 GMT -5
True, a lot of crap does get shown at Comic-Con, but now, not even the good films that show up will show up for the foreseeable future. I honestly think it's a good thing. I understand everyone has an opinion and all, but a lot of good films suffer because of critic reviews. Tron: Legacy was pretty good in my opinion, I watched X-Men: First Class and was surprised that I enjoyed it, and the list goes on. This will allow movie viewers to go in completely blind and have no idea what to expect. That way if it's good the word will spread and the ticket sales will generate. Why do you think this would mean everyone goes in blind? Critics will still review it, and the internet will still be flooded with opinions from announcement to release. The point of the article, pretty much, is that Comic Con isn't useful as a promotional tool. Even when a movie is praised there, it doesn't really translate to higher grosses. Studios were spending millions to promote at the event, yet weren't getting back their investment. So they're pulling out of the event. Economically, it makes perfect sense. |
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riseofsetian1981
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Post by riseofsetian1981 on Jun 13, 2011 23:27:04 GMT -5
I honestly think it's a good thing. I understand everyone has an opinion and all, but a lot of good films suffer because of critic reviews. Tron: Legacy was pretty good in my opinion, I watched X-Men: First Class and was surprised that I enjoyed it, and the list goes on. This will allow movie viewers to go in completely blind and have no idea what to expect. That way if it's good the word will spread and the ticket sales will generate. Why do you think this would mean everyone goes in blind? Critics will still review it, and the internet will still be flooded with opinions from announcement to release. The point of the article, pretty much, is that Comic Con isn't useful as a promotional tool. Even when a movie is praised there, it doesn't really translate to higher grosses. Studios were spending millions to promote at the event, yet weren't getting back their investment. So they're pulling out of the event. Economically, it makes perfect sense. Because not everyone has access to the internet and most critic reviews don't come online until about a day or two before the release date. So when you think about it the viewing public will be going in blind to the product. |
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Post by Red Impact on Jun 13, 2011 23:37:55 GMT -5
Them pulling out of comic con doesn't change that in the slightest. Those who don't have access aren't exactly a large segment of the crowd pouring into the event.
Beyond that, most people interested in those types of movies do have net access somewhere, and that trend isn't going anywhere but up.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2011 1:47:27 GMT -5
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Glitch
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Watching you.
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Post by Glitch on Jun 14, 2011 20:32:01 GMT -5
That's what happens when you treat the most skeptical people around like the general public.
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Jun 14, 2011 20:37:17 GMT -5
That's what happens when you treat the most skeptical people around like the general public. This I agree with. The people who attend Comic-Con, more likely than not are members of the vocal minority on the internet. |
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