How Important is Marketing to a films success or failure at the box office

How important is marketing to a films success

Or failure at the box office 

by Michael O'Neill

Marketing is highly important for the success of a film as it could be the factor that makes or breaks a film, for this essay I will be using the 2012 box office flop John Carter (most people would have initially believed that John Carter would’ve been successful just for being a Disney film, however this was certainly not the case).

The first marketing disaster I will be discussing is the promotional posters that Disney decided to release. The posters were bad because Disney chose to release four completely different posters (completely difference in the sense that each poster contained the codes and conventions of four different genres – horror, action, family friendly science fiction/animation and adventure/fantasy). The posters alone began to create confusion amongst audiences, as they weren’t able to create a set expectation for what the film will be about. A personal example for me would be the 2013 film “Now You see Me”, the poster led me to believe that the film was about illusion/shape shifting (this was due to the poster showing several characters all dressed in the same attire and the trailer showed several individuals constantly disappearing worldwide through the usage of CCTV). However my expectation couldn’t have been more wrong as the story focuses on four magicians who are given the blueprints for a show, which brings them fame but also gets them in trouble with the law as they conduct a trick that makes a member of the audience believe he has robbed a bank in Paris.

The title “John Carter” also generated confusion amongst audiences as they were given the name of a character (however the film was based on the book “John Carter OF MARS”, if Disney had used the full title they would’ve attracted more of an audience as the public would actually have some perception as to what to expect of the film. Another example of a misleading title from my personal history with the film industry would be the 2011 sci-fi thriller “Super 8”. My original perception of the film from hearing the title alone would be that the film would focus on eight individuals who are “super” or possess some sort of superhero abilities, however upon watching the film I discovered that the film got its title from the type of camera the characters use to create a science fiction movie.

For a film to truly success, it has to be a hit with the audience and generate a variety of positive “word of mouth” and critic reviews. John Carter was often slayed by the public and considered “Disney’s lame attempt to create a franchise”, however due to the lack of support from fans and being John Carter