Here is why our BDM didn't take off like we had hoped!

POSTED BY: GutsC1
UPDATED: Thursday, February 2, 2006 21:40
VIEWED: 8715
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GUTSC1

Wednesday, February 1, 2006 2:59 AM

Hey Guys isn’t amazing how hindsight can be 20/20. Here are my thoughts as to why our BDM didn’t do as well as we all had hoped at the box office and also why it’s not flying off the shelf at the video rental.

Consider this, although Mary Parent championed the BDM at Universal (Mary I love you!!), I believe their marketing division looked at “Serenity” and like FOX didn’t quite “get it”. Notice that the movie was marketed as an Action Heroine flick. Look at all of the publicity, teaser trailers, the movie poster, and DVD cover, etc…; Action Heroin genre.

Lets look at the box office performance for last year and a half of Action Heroine flicks:

Catwoman: By WB; staring super hottie, big name star, and academy award winner Halle Berry; Budget $100 million; Domestic released on 07/23/04 for 13 weeks; Gross only a meager $40.2 million. Hell, not even a marketing budget estimated at $32 million could help it.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=catwoman.htm

Electra: By FOX; staring another action hottie, Jennifer Garner: Budget $43 million, Domestic released on 01/14/05 for 11 weeks; Gross $24.4 million.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=elektra.htm

Serenity: By Universal; staring all of our BDHs, Budget $39 million; Domestic released on 09/30/05 for only 7 weeks (WTF). This my friends is what happens when you release a movie too late in the year and want to get it to stores by Christmas!!; Gross $25.5 Million.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=serenity.htm

Aeon Flux: By Paramount; staring yet another big name star and academy award winner, Charlize Theron; Budget $62 Million; Domestic released on 12/02/05 for about 8.5 weeks so far; Gross $25.8 million.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=aeonflux.htm

Say, is anyone seeing a trend here??? I’m sorry to say I didn’t get to see the BDM in the theaters. Why, because I wasn’t familiar with the verse at that time, and all the promotion I saw made me feel like it was just another one of those action heroine movies that quite frankly had limited appeal. Hence, the Box Office numbers.

My entire point is this, no matter how incredible a show is, a marketing misstep along the way can spell disaster to the success of an otherwise awesome project. Why did the BDM get great reviews and pretty good buzz across the board and still not perform as hoped? Because the ineffective marketing campaign created a preconceived notion of what the movie was about, and even good press couldn’t overcome it. Don’t get me wrong Summer kicking major butt was very cool, it’s just the movie like the show was not “one dimensional”; it was so much more!!

Ok, those are my thoughts, sound off and let me know what you think…

Mal: Jayne, just how many weapons you plan on taking? You only got the two arms.
Jayne: I just get excitable as to choice. Like to keep my options open.
Mal: I don’t plan on any shooting taking place during this job.
Jayne: Yeah, well what you plan and what takes place ain’t ever exactly been similar.
Mal: No grenades.

AUNTYCHRIS

Wednesday, February 1, 2006 3:24 AM

Sad as that is, I'd have to agree with you. Both on the limited appeal of Action Heroines and the importance of marketing. I really hate trailers that smash me in the face with action. I want to know how the story is, what are the characters like. I spend more time reading reviews for movies that I do watching them because I don't want to waste my time on one-dimensional crap, when you watch trailers these days that is all you see. Firefly was such a fantastic movie, but if I hadn't watch the TV show I probably wouldn't have watched the movie, based on the trailers.

CARTOON

Wednesday, February 1, 2006 3:30 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by auntychris:
I spend more time reading reviews for movies that I do watching them because I don't want to waste my time on one-dimensional crap, when you watch trailers these days that is all you see.

Wholly agree.

I don't go see any movie these days without first reading reviews by reviewers I can trust. There's too much subject matter and things that people put into movies which I don't want to waste my time or money on, so I largely depend on the reviews before I'll even consider spending a cent. The trailer interested me in this film, but it was the reviews that clinched it.

What really surprised me was that the sites I go to for reviews generally pan films like this, and both of them liked it. Now, granted, I already wanted to see it, but that guaranteed it.

It's a shame that more of these positive reviews weren't utilized in the marketing of this film. I think they would've helped it a lot.

""All I got was a dumbass stick that sounds like it's raining. How come you got a wife?!?!"

MISBEHAVIN

Wednesday, February 1, 2006 4:36 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by cartoon:
...The trailer interested me in this film, but it was the reviews that clinched it...

Same for me. I loved the humor in the trailer, and when I read great reviews and heard about the fan base, I put it on my must-see list.

Quote:
...It's a shame that more of these positive reviews weren't utilized in the marketing of this film. I think they would've helped it a lot....

I agree.

KANESKI

Wednesday, February 1, 2006 6:09 AM

To be fair, the nature of Firefly/Serenity would be pretty difficult to describe in a trailer and/or a short description (poster/dvd cover/etc). It's the old question - "what's the show about?". Hell, I still don't know how to explain it.

MRBEN

Wednesday, February 1, 2006 6:37 AM

I hadn't seen the series at all (although I had heard about iton /.) and went to see the film based almost entirely on the trailers because I thought it looked cool.

Am now doubly looking forward to the (eventual) release on DVD here (UK) now that I have seen the series (and the light!) as I now have the appropriate mental connection with the characters.

So - I suppose the trailer worked for some people. I would like to see the figures on films that were marketted purely as sci-fi?

mrben

"Carpe Aptenodytes"
http://www.jedimoose.org

SMOOF

Wednesday, February 1, 2006 9:23 AM

Greetings... been lurking here for a while and figured I'd finally post something.

I think a great way to market it would have been something like:
*In that deep movie guy voice*
White text on black background:
"See these guys?"
Quick shot of a Reaver or two:
"You've never heard of Reavers?"
"Well, campfire stories--men gone savage on the edge of space killing an-"
"They're not stories."
"What happens if they board us?"
"If they take the ship, they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skins into their clothing, and if we're very, very lucky, they'll do it in that order."
back to black screen and white text:
"If you don't see this movie, THEY are coming to get you in your sleep tonight."

It's the feel good movie of the year!

TAISHAN

Wednesday, February 1, 2006 1:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by GutsC1:
Look at all of the publicity, teaser trailers, the movie poster, and DVD cover, etc…; Action Heroin genre.

Lets look at the box office performance for last year and a half of Action Heroine flicks:

Catwoman: By WB; staring super hottie, big name star, and academy award winner Halle Berry; Budget $100 million; Domestic released on 07/23/04 for 13 weeks; Gross only a meager $40.2 million. Hell, not even a marketing budget estimated at $32 million could help it.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=catwoman.htm

Electra: By FOX; staring another action hottie, Jennifer Garner: Budget $43 million, Domestic released on 01/14/05 for 11 weeks; Gross $24.4 million.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=elektra.htm

Aeon Flux: By Paramount; staring yet another big name star and academy award winner, Charlize Theron; Budget $62 Million; Domestic released on 12/02/05 for about 8.5 weeks so far; Gross $25.8 million.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=aeonflux.htm

Say, is anyone seeing a trend here??? I’m sorry to say I didn’t get to see the BDM in the theaters. Why, because I wasn’t familiar with the verse at that time, and all the promotion I saw made me feel like it was just another one of those action heroine movies that quite frankly had limited appeal. Hence, the Box Office numbers.

My entire point is this, no matter how incredible a show is, a marketing misstep along the way can spell disaster to the success of an otherwise awesome project. Why did the BDM get great reviews and pretty good buzz across the board and still not perform as hoped? Because the ineffective marketing campaign created a preconceived notion of what the movie was about, and even good press couldn’t overcome it. Don’t get me wrong Summer kicking major butt was very cool, it’s just the movie like the show was not “one dimensional”; it was so much more!!

Ok, those are my thoughts, sound off and let me know what you think…

Here's the problem with your theory....all those movies were crappy! Bad writing, bad fighting, bad effects and acting...You can't blame the marketing, because no matter how bad marketing may be for a movie if its good, word of mouth will spread and get the numbers up. Kind of like those independent films that no one ever hears of until it gets popular and everyone runs off to see it. Like Spiderman or X-Man, both Action Heroe flicks, and both were considered box office hits.

As for the BDM, well compared to many other shows, Firefly still has a pretty small fan base. And it doesn't help that, to outsiders, fans are more to the side of being nearly like stereotypical Trekkies which tends to happen with fan bases of sci-fi shows. And so things people should see get passed over....notice the Oscar nomination snub.

CARTOON

Wednesday, February 1, 2006 2:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Smoof:
I think a great way to market it would have been something like:

I laughed my posterior off!! Now, I have nothing on which to sit!! Curse you for your hysterical trailer suggestion!!!

You should've written the trailer. Or at least one of the trailers -- You know, some movies actually do several trailers, and tailor them to different audiences. Would've been nice if they did that, huh? Duh.

I think most of us would be better marketers for this film (or any film we enjoy) rather than the gnat-brained idiots who did it for "Serenity". (And if any of those gnat-brained idiots who marketed this film actually partake in this forum, I'm sorry, but the shoe fits. This film was horribly marketed.)

"I got stabbed. Right here."

GUTSC1

Wednesday, February 1, 2006 3:02 PM

Oh, no question about it. Trying to market the series or the BDM to someone who's not familiar with the verse is a nightmare. Myself, I feel that going the Action Adventure route for the BDM would've been the way to go, instead of Action Heroine.

The marketing focus should've been on the adventure, the dark secret in the case of the BDM to be unraveled, the scary truth, not the butt kicking heroine. You know "Why is our crew fugitives on the run, Why is Big Brother trying to hunt them down. Almost eveyone wants to root for the underdog, find out the dirt on the government. All I'm saying is that I feel that was the angle to exploit.

And only 7 weeks in domestic release doesn't give a movie the chance to generate a second life due to good buzz!

I was just trying to look at this objectivly and from a purely business perspective at this point to determine why it wasn't the commercial success we hoped it would be. Because that my friends is going to determine whether it really has a real chance to be resurected in some form.

Mal: Jayne, just how many weapons you plan on taking? You only got the two arms.
Jayne: I just get excitable as to choice. Like to keep my options open.
Mal: I don’t plan on any shooting taking place during this job.
Jayne: Yeah, well what you plan and what takes place ain’t ever exactly been similar.
Mal: No grenades.

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