Above the past few months, it has become a thing of the past: studios announce plans to release a new film in theaters, epidemics have boosted those plans, and the studio Delayed again. Rinse, wash, repeat. We’ve seen this playout with high profile movies like Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet”, which has moved twice in the last month, and Disney’s “Milan”, which has been postponed three times since March.
There is a good chance that if coronavirus cases continue to rise across the country and state force theaters to close, the trend will continue.
In a pre-coronary virus world, this would be impossible for premiere dates to follow. But when the Coronavirus epidemic began closing in cinemas for the first time in March, studios began releasing films in the middle of the year or 2021 or later. Cinema reopening time.
When the cinema reopening begins, “Tenet”, “Mulan” and other films that welcome moviegoers are expected to be among the first to join, as the release Calendars are open. However, if the films that have already been moved several times continue to circulate, the studios eventually risk burning through the marketing dollars.
“Everyone is playing a wait-and-see game,” said Eric Handler, an analyst at MKM Partners. “With blockbuster movies, budgets are significant. To recover these budgets, they need theater. But there’s no point in going to reopen them, so it’s like a chicken and an egg. “
Will “Tenet” and “Milan” be able to hold their latest schedule debut – August 12 and August 21, respectively? Executives and analysts say there will be no greater economic loss. Marketing funds can be leveraged to accommodate the extra weeks here and there, but not all of them will be stressful. But this equation changes if there are delays. At some point, the studios will have to decide whether to expand beyond marketing expectations or to stop and resume them as the release date approaches.
Impact on marketing fees
Film executives privately estimate that pushing “Mulan” or “Tenet” at once in a few weeks could reduce marketing fees by 000 200,000 to ، 400,000 – the cover of a new film. Expenses that are not necessarily the same for a major studio in the Great Depression scheme. Depending on various factors, this number could rise to $5 million if they delay again without adequate notice. This is because most of the promotion and advertising efforts of a film take place in the first two weeks before its release. So far, changes to the release date have fallen out of this window.
Tentpole movie
Tentpole movie marketing, which often takes between 100 million and 200 million production budgets, is an expensive proposition in any climate. From 30-second TV commercials and billboards too fast, stardom premieres that shut down Hollywood Boulevard as usual. Studios begin implementing these efforts six weeks before the release of a film – sometimes during a competitive time, such as the movie Giving Season, in the summer before that.
Since multiplexes are closed and most personal projects are still on hold, studios have taken advantage of traditional methods such as playing trailers in theaters or arranging press tours with personalities. Live events, such as the NBA Championship or the regular MLB season games, are one of the most reliable ways to ensure eyeballs on modern movie commercials. But with so many games being held right now, this option isn’t even available.
Tiktok marketing
Despite the deviation from the strategy, marketing budgets aren’t getting smaller – they’re just recovering. There is a strong emphasis on digital media to target viewers at home, such as TikTok trends and releasing new trailers on Fortnite. At least one of the benefits of this weird time where everyone gets stuck indoors is that addictive apps and popular video games are getting more attention than ever before.
Handler said, “You see the studios trying to do something different – the new trailer for ‘Tenet’, which aired on Fortnite.” It’s worrying that old adults will soon return to theaters. , So you have to celebrate a huge market for thousands of years. “
Major marketing resources
Because “Tenet” wasn’t ready to hit theaters until early July, Warner Bruce recently began to commit to large marketing resources. With or without the epidemic, there is another challenge to having a real IP in the film. Marketers not only have to work overdrive to introduce themselves, but also to stop the audience from the brainstorming that exists in the world of global spying.
The adaptation of Disney’s classic animated story to live-action is not a concern for Mulan. Most moviegoers are already familiar with the fearless Chinese fighters. But “Mulan” needs to be more concerned with the Northern invaders. Since its theatrical release was canceled two weeks before its targeted US launch, Disney has already shelled around eight and a half million for the premiere of Gleason Los Angeles in March. It’s not just studios that have money on the table. Theaters cannot be successfully reopened until a new product arrives on the big screen.
As history delays, so do the rising virus level, causing exhibitors to edit their plans. China AMC, the country’s largest theater, has abandoned its plans to resume business for two weeks. The exhibitor, and its rival circuits, now plan to resume business by the end of July and expect to be fully operational by August. Handler said, “We’re in a big holding right now.” The industry is at the mercy of municipalities in America’s largest markets. This is causing the municipalities to pump the brakes. Hopefully, in these markets, we will look at things from a higher level and this will give some relief to the government. It’s time-consuming.
“Who wants to go first and set fire to $200 million?”
If the movie only earns a few million, you get a massive written download. It’s a risk, “Greenfield said.” It’s a race where winning is losing. Winning is riskier than losing.
