In promoting edgy 'Joker,' Warner Bros. steers clear of brands

"Joker" dominated U.S. theaters this weekend, bringing in $93.5 million and setting a box office record for October. Warner Bros. Pictures pulled off its record-setting weekend without using many of the marketing tools that come standard with comic book movies.  While other superhero rollouts have leaned on splashy Super Bowl ads and big brand partnerships with companies like Geico and Coca-Cola, Warner Bros. is treating its R-rated Batman prequel more like an arthouse film with a smaller $55 million budget, fall release, film festival debut and no brand partners. The movie's promotional push began last year with a pair of Instagram posts in September 2018 from director and co-writer, Scott Phillips, sparking a two-week spike in internet searches for the word "joker" according to Google Trends data. Phillips later unveiled the film's first trailer at CinemaCon in April 2019. Warner Bros. has been running traditional TV spots and posted billboards in Times Square and on the Sunset Strip, but the studio has no plans to work with brands to promote the movie. The studio also blocked print and broadcast journalists from its red carpet premieres in Hollywood and New York.  The film won the highest prize at the Venice Film Festival last month, and there's already Oscars buzz about Joaquin Phoenix's lead performance. But "Joker" remains controversial, with some critics saying the movie is too violent and promotes a sympathetic view of its homicidal protagonist.  Police have... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2019-10-07 17:33:36 UTC ]

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Films based on books take 44% more at the box office

Films based on books take 44% more at the box office in the UK and 53% more worldwide than original screenplays, research from the Publishers Association (PA) has shown. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Netflix releases a trailer for 'The Magic Order' comic book

If you still can't wrap your head around the fact that Netflix is publishing a comic book, maybe this trailer can help. The streaming giant has released an animated trailer for The Magic Order by Mark Millar's comic book empire, which Netflix snapped... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2018-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Tomb Raider' bows to 'Black Panther,' which continues to dominate in its fifth week in theaters

After five weekends in theaters, Marvel's comic book juggernaut "Black Panther" continues to crush both the box office and the record books. The Disney blockbuster added $27 million to its domestic earnings this weekend, raising its cumulative ticket sales to $605.4 million, according to figures... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Netflix's first comic book is Mark Millar's 'The Magic Order'

When Netflix acquired Mark Millar's comic book empire in August, many assumed the streaming service would just adapt his various works for the screen. That isn't quite the case: Netflix announced today that it will publish The Magic Order as a comic... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2017-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What Alexa and iCloud teach us about the power of a hub

Hubs are familiar in some contexts: the center that makes order out of chaos and that serves as the connector orchestrating multiple moving parts. A hub is where "it" all happens. We have strategically located airline hubs for major airlines in major cities, or networking hubs that connect all... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2017-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iPad Pro vs. iPad mini 4 vs. iPad: Which one should you buy?

Update 9-13-2017: This article has been updated to reflect a price increase for the 256GB and 512GB models of the iPad Pro.So you’re in the market for a new iPad. Excellent choice—I couldn’t live without mine. It’s my companion when I’m catching up on news and email in the morning over tea,... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2017-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 19th Century Moral Panic Over … Paper Technology

In the history of information technologies, Gutenberg and his printing press are (understandably) treated with the kind of reverence even the most celebrated of modern tech tycoons could only imagine. So perhaps it will come as a surprise that Europe’s literacy rates remained fairly stagnant for... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2017-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Suspects leap from the board as classic game Cluedo turned into a comic book

When Paul Allor began writing Clue, a new comic book miniseries based on the popular board game from Hasbro, he had many versions of the game to look to for inspiration. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2017-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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International Hot Book Properties, Week of June 26, 2017

A comic book by a French feminist blogger, and a novel by an Indian author about nine different peoples' relationship with one woman are among the books generating buzz this week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Read the First Six Pages of the New Issue of the Award-Winning Comic Pope Hats

I’ve raved before—to friends, to co-workers, and to Slate readers—about Ethan Rilly’s beautiful and subversive comic book Pope Hats. Issue No. 5, coming soon, is the longest and most fascinating installment yet. Returning to the friendship of neurotic law clerk Frances and actress-on-the-rise... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2017-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Beauty's' in beast mode as it bests 'Power Rangers' at the box office

In the battle of 1990s nostalgia, Lionsgate and Saban Entertainment’s mighty morphin’ “Power Rangers” was no match for Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” The live action remake starring “Harry Potter’s” Emma Watson pulled in an estimated $88 million in the U.S and Canada in its second week, meeting... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gardena Serra rallies to beat Bishop Amat, 28-12

Pow! Bam! Boom! Sorry for borrowing terms from a comic book, but that pretty much describes Gardena Serra’s third-quarter performance on Friday night in La Puente. The Cavaliers turned loose their many athletes and scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions against Bishop Amat while... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comic books come to VR through an app

You may have felt immersed in a comic book before, but never quite so literally as this. Madefire has released a free Gear VR preview app that lets you read its Motion Books in virtual reality. As you might guess, it's all about depth. Pages now fill... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2016-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder builds on Broadway success with The Hamilton Affair

Hodder & Stoughton is publishing The Hamilton Affair this October, following the success of "Hamilton", the hip hop musical, which has grossed $61.7m at the box office since its April 2015 Broadway debut. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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So critics slayed Suicide Squad. But if you love it, then defend it

OPINION: Any time I publish a harsh pan of a movie, as I did with Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, folks pop up on Twitter and Facebook and in the comments on the piece itself to insist that they'll see the movie anyway, and that audiences will make up their own minds,... Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2016-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Batman v Superman' Seen Earning Less Profit Than Superman Alone

"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," is poised to conquer the box office for the third straight weekend. But beneath the cape, tights and superhero armor lies a mere mortal."Batman v Superman," one of the most expensive films ever made, is on pace to produce a $278 million profit for Warner... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2016-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tristram Shandy: The Comic Book

Tristram Shandy has been adapted into other media a surprising number of times for a novel that would appear to be unadaptable. The composer Michael Nyman has released excerpts from an opera based on the novel, begun in 1981 and still apparently “in progress.” Michael Winterbottom’s 2005 film... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2016-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cape Watch: Harley Quinn Is Your New Favorite Superhero

This week's comic book movie news was dominated by all the supergroups: the Suicide Squad, the Justice League, and the Avengers. The post Cape Watch: Harley Quinn Is Your New Favorite Superhero appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2016-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Suicide Squad' trailer shows Harley Quinn and the Joker together

The first ever "Suicide Squad" footage was an intense mix of DC Comics' greatest supervillains mugging to deeply dramatic music. But this first, official "Suicide Squad" trailer takes the gang in a whole new direction, a fun direction. Could this Warner Bros. comic book movie be channeling ...... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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