Variety has a good article talking about the promotions for this summer’s big tentpole films, including Spider-Man 3 which has 9 premieres worldwide before the May 4 release in North America. Here are several clips:
Massive global launches can add more than $100 million to tentpoles’ already hefty pricetags once prints, advertising and cost of mobilizing talent are added in. (Blake says Spidey’s launch didn’t cost that much.)
Regardless of the cost, meticulous planning is required to pull off such large-scale launches: Sony had to lock “Spider-Man 3” six weeks early so that it could get enough prints — 10,000 worldwide — dubbed in various languages.
“There’s no doubt about it — it’s a pretty big operation,” Blake said. “It’s not a matter of cost, it’s a matter of time.”
On the plus side, studios may pay bigger bucks on the making of sequels — “Spider-Man 3’s” official budget is $258 million — but they cost less to launch than untested tentpoles, since awareness is already there. Blake says the studio is spending less on promoting “Spider-Man 3” than “Spider-Man 2,” which cost less to promote than the original “Spider-Man.”
“That’s what makes real blue-chip franchises so valuable,” Blake said. “You don’t have to spend as much.”
Studios also rely on promo partners to defray marketing costs. “And ‘Spider-Man’ certainly has no shortage of that,” Blake said.
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Source: Variety
