The This Is it Movie Bonanza
This is It, the musical documentary chronicling Michael Jackson’s last tour will be in theatres in about a month, and popular opinion backed with substantial facts, seems to point to the fact that the Kenny Ortega-directed movie is going to be doing gangbusters.
Fan anticipation is at mild-fever pitch, sparked by the MTV VMA’s teaser trailer, and this video below which shows a segment from the movie, of Jackson, introducing a new dance, The Penguin.
Media outlets reported that tickets for the movie (which will be on a limited run, but which may possibly be extended) went beyond expectations, and has, as anticipated by many observers, broken sales records:
Among the cities with the strongest sales are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston and New York. Records were also set in Japan, where more than $1 million in tickets were sold on the first day they were available. In London, fans bought more than 30,000 tickets on the first day, eclipsing the advance interest in the “Harry Potter” and “The Lord of the Rings” films, which were wildly popular in Britain. Record sales were also reported in Holland, Sweden, Belgium and New Zealand.
The poster is certainly eye-catching, with visual vignettes of Jackson at different stages of his career, encircled in one giant Michael.
The Los Angeles Time’s Pop and Hiss entertainment column reported that Sony, Jackson’s record label will be releasing a 2-disc CD of the same title in stores, starting Oct 26th on the international front, and in the United States and the rest of the Americas the following day.
MTV has confirmed that the single “This Is It” is going to be released on October 12.
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Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure Gets Pre-Teen Appeal Help
Disney’s upcoming Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure movie is building some buzz already thanks to teen star Demi Lovato’s music video “Gift of a Friend”.
The “Sonny Without a Chance” star has the song featured on her Here We Go Again album, released this past August.
But Lovato wasn’t the only teen recruited for the affair. Fellow Disney starlet Selena Gomez of “The Wizards of Waverly Place” was also brought on board, as was other teen favorites as Jesse McCartney and American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, among others.
The movie is set to be releaed on October 27th, while the soundtrack is going to hit stores about a month prior to.
Image Crayola Mom/Flicker
Michael Jackson’s This is It Trailer Sets the Stage for October Film Premiere
Segments from the trailer had been available on YouTube for almost a week before the full trailer premiered on MTV during the 2009 VMA Awards.
Made up of carefully-selected segments from rehearsal footage by Jackson’s choreographer and High School Musical director Kenny Ortega, the musical documentary is set to be released in theaters in October through Sony Films/Columbia Pictures
No other promotion could have topped showing the trailer in the middle of the MTV Awards, especially in part because the show itself featured a tribute to the singer, and nostalgic feelings for the musical extravaganzas (that Jackson is the essence of) of the past and fans’ appreciation for Jackson is at its height.
When the Nielsen ratings are released this week, I wouldn’t be surprised if this edition of the show were among their highest-rated. More good news for Columbia and Sony.
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Will Universal’s Bruno Kill it at the Box Office Its Opening Weekend or Will it Be Killed?
Yes, I know…it just might be a little too early to ask the question.
After all, it’ll be another month before the comedy hits theatres.
Why Universal didn’t program it for the 4th of July weekend is beyond me.
But oh well. On with the discussion.
Actually asking if the movie will rock the box office or not is indeed a pertinent question, especially considering that the movie’s marketers are trying to create some early interest in the comedy as seen by the Sacha Baron/Bruno and Eminem incident during this past weekend’s MTV Movie Awards outed for the stunt that it was by MTV head writer Scott Aukerman.
And especially knowing from The Dark Knight advance….advance publicity campaign that it’s never too early to start cajoling moviegoers into the movie theatre.
Slate’s The Big Money’s Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans are definitely among those who are doubt that Bruno will live up to its comedy-of-the-summer expectations, writing:
“So far, the appeal of Bruno is not quite as promising as that of Borat. After the first week, the YouTube viewing figures for Bruno are underwhelming, and the comments reveal a more skeptical tone.”
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, reporter Lauren A. E. Schuker thinks she knows why Universal chose that approach:
“How does a major Hollywood studio promote a movie so raunchy and offensive that it initially got an NC-17 rating? By staying under the radar.”
Robert Marich, the author of Marketing to Moviegoers, interviewed for Schuker’s article infers that subtlety is practically Universal’s best ally in the marketing and publicity strategy for Bruno, contending that,
“One of the things about ‘Borat’ was that it surprised everyone. It had a much bigger opening than tracking surveys indicated because it had such a viral buzz. The challenge here for Universal is to sustain that with ‘Bruno,’ which isn’t always easy with high-concept movies because they’re not so fresh the second time around.”
The folks at Gawker blasted the movie (or rather what is implied by Baron Cohen’s subtle promotion), and in particular Sacha Baron Cohen’s antics and the idiosynchrasies of the character, and actually recommends the 29,934 readers who hopped on its site to read the article to go see Outrage—another movie—instead.
The Bruno team is nonetheless tireless when it comes to promotion—most of all Sacha Baron Cohen the zany actor who plays the title character.
Baron Cohen as “Bruno” guest-wrote an article for women’s magazine Marie Claire, appearing on the magazine’s July 2009 cover, a rather significant coup since only women have graced the Conde Nast magazine’s covers—to my knowledge.
And in a publicity bit that’s definitely wasn’t staged, Baron Cohen is being sued by a woman for injuries she allegedly suffered on the Bruno set.
Reuters noted the movie’s publicist strategy of selling Sacha Baron’s personality more than the movie itself, pointing out that:
“Universal Pictures is taking the softly, softly marketing approach for the cinematic release of Bruno, which arrives on the big screen July 10. So far, Universal has spent more time (and cash) plugging the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy on social networks and YouTube. Could Universal be playing it too cool?”
But playing it cool sometimes works.
Photo Credit: Gavin Bond
Confessions of a Shopaholic: Bringing the Chick Flick Back?
Chick flicks are overdone, and feminist movement stallers some say. But will Confessions of a Shopaholic, the movie based on the Sophie Kinsella novel of the same name about the fashion-savvy, credit-challenged Rebecca Bloomwood ressurect the genre?
The marketing and publicity, and endless promotion has commenced!
Contests and Sweepstakes
Part of the movie’s marketing strategy is to draw awareness about the film in female surbanites. One ABC affiliate is giving away two $500 shopping spree at Outlets of Anthem store.
Star Interviews
The movie’s star Isla Fisher is on the cover of Allure magazine (949,669 circulation according to Media Distribution Services audits), and excerpts from/mentions of the article are distributed through girly blogs such as LimeLife. Fisher, an Aussie, hasn’t neglected print media, giving a charming interview to the London Sunday Mail. Fisher’s interviews are peppered with references to fashion, her wardrobe, and motherhood, sure-fire subjects to draw the interest of upwardly mobile, college-educated young women with disposable income, the very audience the Touchtone Pictures movie is seeking to appeal to.
The “Just Like Us” Factor
As the country is slumping through a devastating economic depression, the movie studio is seeking to capitalize on the ability of the character in the Sophie Kinsella novel character’s ability to be relatable to fashionistas who like Rebecca, have had to have a economics-fueled reality check, and are reluctantly adapting their materialism to the drooping economy. This of course isn’t lost on Jerry Bruckheimer who as early as late Fall 2008 had made this observation to a USA Today reporter:
“The consumerism in the movie kind of puts it out there,” says producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who’s taking a break from such manly fare as the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films for more pink-hued pursuits. “Credit companies gladly will send you a number of cards, you get into debt, and then they come after you.”
Bruckheimer no doubt is hoping that Confessions is a hit with female moviegoers, who, no chick flick can do without.
Disney Brings Oprah on Board for The Princess and the Frog
Disney announced that—none other than talkshow host and one-woman empire Oprah Winfrey—will be one of the star voices for its first African-American animated production The Princess and the Frog. The Princess and the Frog has of course been under a great deal of scrutiny from the African-American community.
Could it be that this voice-over casting is a way for Disney to appease the criticism and skepticism it has received concerning the stereotypical plotline of the upcoming animated feature, scheduled to be released in the latter part of 2009? After all, popular wisdom seems to be that anything with Oprah involved is pretty much al-right. In any case, it’s a great move on the part of Disney to beef up The Princess and The Frog’s stellar cast that includes Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls), Keith David (Barbershop 1).