How to stay relevant if you're a delayed movie
Have you watched this week's new teasers for Tenet and Wonder Woman 1984 yet? Admittedly, it's a little hard to get excited about them. Tenet is now in its 13th month of promotion, after its first teaser debuted ahead of Hobbs & Shaw last August, and it's been more than two years since director Patty Jenkins showed a brief clip of the Wonder Woman sequel at Comic Con.
Both Tenet and Wonder Woman 1984 were among a handful of movies that were in the midst of major marketing campaigns when COVID-19 shuttered theaters around the globe this spring. But as the pandemic now threatens the fall, distributors have struggled to find ways to keep their long-delayed forthcoming blockbusters feeling relevant. The result? Endless marketing campaigns and slow-drips of teasers, which may be doing more to lessen excitement than build it.
Campaigns for major blockbusters used to begin about a year ahead of release, but the industry has trended toward shorter marketing windows. Disney, for example, spent three-plus years promoting 2010's Tron: Legacy; now "executives are moving in the opposite direction, tightening efforts to as little as four or five months for major releases like Aquaman [or] Avengers: Endgame," The New York Times reported last year. That's because distributors found "when you can watch anything anytime, you're less likely to get excited about a movie coming out in a year," as Digital Marketing News puts it. Hype has a short lifespan.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Movie marketing is also absurdly expensive; generally, it runs about half the total cost of production, meaning Wonder Woman 1984, Mulan, and Tenet — which ranged from $175 to $205 million to make — likely had earmarked campaigns of about $100 million. All three movies have now passed their intended release dates, though. Each delay "could amount to losing $200,000 to $400,000 in marketing fees," executives estimated for Variety, and "that number could increase to just under $5 million."
Now that Tenet and Mulan have seemingly nailed down assured release dates, their marketing campaigns can begin to ramp up in earnest (the biggest pushes come about two weeks ahead of release). But after hearing about both movies for years now, new trailers feel like wearying obligations to watch, rather than buzzy cultural moments.
Wonder Woman 1984, meanwhile, has made a renewed marketing push ahead of its new Oct. 2 release date, with a clip that shows Kristen Wiig's transformation into the villainess Cheetah. The timing feels boldly optimistic; might want to save that one until late September, at least.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Today's political cartoons - December 8, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - pardon me, consumer gloom, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 inexcusably funny cartoons about Hunter Biden's pardon
Cartoons Artists take on nomination qualification, absolute turkey, and more
By The Week US Published
-
What Donald Trump owes the Christian Right
The Explainer Conservative Christians played an important role in Trump’s re-election, and he has promised them great political influence
By The Week UK Published
-
Wicked fails to defy gravity
Talking Point Film version of hit stage musical weighed down by 'sense of self-importance'
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
Can AI tools be used to Hollywood's advantage?
Talking Points It makes some aspects of the industry faster and cheaper. It will also put many people in the entertainment world out of work
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
The Apprentice: will biopic change how voters see Donald Trump?
Talking Point 'Brutal' film depicts presidential candidate raping first wife Ivana, but some critics believe portrayal is surprisingly sympathetic
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Monsters: why is the Menendez brothers Netflix hit so controversial?
Talking Points Ryan Murphy’s latest true-crime series recounts infamous 1989 Beverly Hills murders, but some critics say his retelling takes too many liberties with the truth
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
From 'Teenage Dream' to millennial nightmare – where did it go wrong for Katy Perry?
Talking Points Brutal reviews for new album represent a serious setback in the pop star's attempted return
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
A Very Royal Scandal: more trouble for the royals?
Talking Points Amazon Prime's new Prince Andrew drama could be another headache for the royal family
By The Week UK Published
-
Trigger warnings on screen spark dissent
Talking Point Are they a measure of sensitivity or just unnecessary posturing?
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: pure 'nostalgia bait'
Talking Points Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder return for sequel to the 1988 cult classic
By The Week UK Published