youSummer box office turned into Steven Spielberg’s “saga” nearly five decades ago jaws It broke all records and became the first film to surpass $100 million after Universal spent $700,000 on television commercials. Some 47 years later, the summer of 2022 is more important than ever as Hollywood looks to get back on track and release one delayed blockbuster after another for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
For Hollywood marketers, blood cannot be avoided in the water as the madness begins as they launch their sprawling operations and try to sell their summer 2022 stalls, amid a busy schedule and a changed world. There is no need to return clients to the multiplex. TV advertising is more complex and expensive than ever as studios compete digitally on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube and other platforms. “Are you going to stand out again? This is a minefield,” said the studio’s head of marketing. “Just look at the summer, when there’s a big movie every Sunday in June.”
Adds Paul Dergarebedian, analyst at Comscore: “Movie marketing has never been more important, especially after two years when movies were virtually invisible on the big screen and therefore meaningless to so many potential users.”
So far so good. Disney, where marketing is handled by Asad Ayazi, saw Marvel Dr. Strange in many worlds of madness (May 7) will open at least $185 million domestically and $450 million globally over the weekend of May 6-8 for one of the biggest openings ever.
The tent will get more and more crowded over the next few weeks, starting with Paramount/Skydance Top Gun: Maverick (may, 27). This will be followed by Universal jurassic world domination (June 10); Pixar/Disney’s first toys Story Leave, light-year (June 17th); Wagon Minions: The Rise of Gru (July 1st); and Marvel/Disney Tori: love and thunder (8th of July). Don’t be surprised if studios allocate $150 million or more to spend on global marketing for the biggest title. While technically uncool, summer movies like Warner Bros.’ Elvis (June 24), Universal Do not do. (July 22) and Sony Bullet train (July 29) is expected to have a significant global marketing budget of $75 million or more.
Do not do.From Jordan Peel, it might be cheaper on the market because it’s been a horror title for a while. ElvisThe cost includes the world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival (over US$1 million). Never underestimate the power of strategic preparation – just look at the headlines that come out. Top Gun: Maverick World premiere in San Diego on May 4, where Tom Cruise landed on a plane to walk the red carpet. The sequel will also screen at Cannes, ahead of the Royal Film screening in London.
A string of recent blockbusters topped $1.89 billion in global revenue Spider-Man: No Way Home, was a boost for marketers as it means people are still seeing trailers on the big screen. “The best place to see the next movie trailer is the theater,” said Ray Subers, director of the National Research Group Theater. “You have to look away from the trailers. “A friend sits down with a friend, they start talking about it and they get emotional, and then they talk to other friends and those friends make plans, so we’re going to ramp up the footage.”
Hollywood movie sellers are also excited about the dramatic increase in people’s convenience to go to the movies, a measure NRG has monitored weekly since the start of the pandemic. On May 4, comfort levels peaked at 87% in 2022, 22 points above the January low of 65%. And among viewers over 35, the most reluctant return, comfort is 83%, up 28 points from January’s 55%.
But there is work to be done. Participation in the first quarter of 2022 decreased by more than 40% compared to the same quarter of 2019. “One of the things that we know very well is that behavior has changed to the point where watching casual movies is what you do now at home; An event is what you do at the theater. The event can take many different forms and it’s not just a superhero,” another source said at the box office.
Leaders also agree that it is becoming more difficult to reach a wider audience through television advertising. “It’s all about sports now,” said the marketing executive. “Before, you had your big shows in prime time and watched them. still have something similar masked singer s University studentBut that audience is nowhere near what it used to be. Many of these shows are also available via streaming. However, the decline in linear viewers does not mean that media prices have fallen. TV commercials grew by 10%. “Even prime-time media is more expensive. But you need both: the bigger the better. [on TV] And then you have to reach a very specific audience that you serve digitally”, says the executive.
Digital media ads are now more expensive than they were before the pandemic. “This is no longer for unified digital campaigns. There are different platforms for different demographics. The audience is completely different from each other. Previously, you could take a TV commercial and tweak it to different things. Now we have to think about all services and all platforms”, says another prominent marketing director.
Another change in the pandemic era: campaigns started six months later. Now the passion starts four or three months later. there is an exception Avatar: Path of Water. Disney and 20th Century decided to release the long-awaited James Cameron sequel early. Doctor Strange 2seven months ago Water water Premieres on December 16th.
During the pandemic, Streaming became the hero of Tinseltown. But that narrative changed a bit on April 19, when Netflix announced it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter, causing its stock to plummet. Media bosses like newly formed Discovery CEO David Zaslav of Warner Bros. or from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon CEO Brian Robbins are praising the theater. “I think the data shows that when you open a movie in theaters, it has a whole stream of monetization,” Zaslav said. “But the most important thing is to do marketing and create a brand. So when it comes to the streaming service, there is an opinion that it has superior quality which benefits the streaming service. ”
Netflix, Apple TV+, and Amazon typically don’t have to incur huge theatrical marketing costs for their movies, as they usually get only token releases in theaters (a streaming title on its own will be much more difficult to manage). ). Apple spends $6.4 million on advertising, according to iSpot.TV, which tracks media spending CODA When it was released again in theaters after winning the Oscar for Best Picture, but it’s hard to know how it went because there was no box office.
Some are even asking whether Netflix should consider creating a new revenue stream and giving some of its titles a traditional theatrical release, even if it means spending more on marketing. There’s no doubt that Netflix has a lot of content that has been helping its subscribers for years. Now users are looking for better content. “If Netflix could improve the content of its movies, that could help the theater window and also reduce the hassle,” said Eric Handler, a Wall Street analyst at MKM Partners.
“The undivided attention you get from the theater audience,” says the studio’s CEO, “is where franchising comes in.”
A version of this story first appeared in the May 10 issue of The Gossipify. Click here to subscribe.
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.