5 Times Awful Marketing Campaigns Practically Buried Great Movies
These five illustrate the importance of proper advertising, even if the movie is great and seems destined for success.
A smart marketing campaign can do wonders for a movie, setting it apart from the rest of the competition and making even the most mediocre flick look amazing (at least until the reviews start rolling in).
But the opposite can also happen, and bad publicity can undermine a movie's expectations. So here are five movies that were practically buried by bad marketing.
Ad Astra (2019)
The trailers led many people to believe that Ad Astra was an epic space adventure starring Brad Pitt, when in fact the movie turned out to be a psychological drama about a man who escapes his problems into space. Audiences were disappointed, leading to polarizing reviews, and the film barely broke even at the box office.
Edge of Tomorrow ( 2014)
Despite being an incredible sci-fi adventure with a fresh take on the alien invasion trope, the trailers and even the title itself made it look like a generic action movie. Even positive reviews didn't help Edge of Tomorrow become a financial success.
Drive (2011)
Not everyone is familiar with Nicolas Winding Refn's unique style of filmmaking, and poor marketing only made things worse. According to The Guardian, it even led to a lawsuit from a disappointed viewer, as a slow neo-noir action drama was painted as a Fast & Furious style movie.
John Carter (2012)
This massive Disney flop is particularly impressive, as it became known for perhaps the worst marketing campaign in movie history. Despite having massive potential, the studio never figured out how to promote it properly, so when John Carter hit theaters almost no one showed up, leading to a massive box office failure, opening to $30 million against a $250 million budget.
Dredd (2012)
Despite being a much more faithful adaptation of the original comics than 1995's Judge Dredd, and a great action movie overall, this Karl Urban starrer flopped at the box office simply because it was barely advertised. In addition, the trailer and posters made it look like another unimpressive action movie.
Source: The Guardian