MovieChat Forums > U2 3D (2008) Discussion > the billiant marketing folks behind this...

the billiant marketing folks behind this movie

posted 16 years ago by sue-456
5 replies | jump to latest

So it seems like pretty much across the country (and in other countries) the folks who are supposed to be marketing and promoting this brilliant movie have totally dropped the ball. In fact it would seem that they would not even recognize the ball in question.

I e-mailed my local theater a few times for various reasons including the delayed opening of the film in my city (zero messages on their site about when it would open, why it was delayed 2 weeks, when tickets would go on sale, etc), how great it was and how cool it was to see so many families in attendance, and asked why it wasn't promoted better. The response to the last question was that the folks who did this movie (National Geographic) are new to the movie business and don't quite know how to do it. Wow.

I think it's sad that you take a band like U2 who has a track record of sell out shows across the world, music on the radio, rabid fans, plus Bono in world political news, and then do nothing. And if the folks doing the movie didn't know how to market it, shouldn't they have either done some homework or hired an agency to do it for them? I am also surprised that U2 management didn't step in and lead the charge on it. To me this movie was an event, and sadly it looks like it is going to come and go without any sort of excitement, other than those folks who are U2 fans and did the research to seek it out. So many people who might have been interested in it had they known it was playing and what it was all about are missing out.

I don't think this will really reflect poorly on U2, but I hope it doesn't send a signal to the folks who will pay to produce fantastic stuff like this that there isn't a market for it.

Sorry, I just needed to vent, am very frustrated with it has been completely ignored by other than fans.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] brendastern 16 years ago

It's too bad this film didn't get more attention and wider distribution, especially since winter is such a dull time for good movies.

But they ran into a number of problems: first, the limited number of IMAX theaters, which automatically reduced the number of places the movie could be viewed. Second, the Hannah Montana phenomenon, which in hindsight, could have been avoided. Yes, her movie was only supposed to be in theaters for one week, but in that one week, it made $50 million, and her distributors would be idiots not to keep it in the theaters. Likewise, theater chains were naturally to side with Hannah: that's the heart of the movie going audience, those kids (and their parents) buy an enormous amount of snacks let alone movie tickets.

Third, there was no promotion of the movie on TV, it seemed to be primarily Web based. That's dangerous, because the audience is so fragmented. Fourth, and finally, U2 itself did almost no promotion for the film beyond film festivals and a handful of interviews. Maybe the band knew that this was the finale to their previous album and they didn't see much point in promoting an old tour when the new tour would be coming up in the following year. (How much U2 can people stand?)

[–] greybean 16 years ago

It especially sucks because I'll never get to see it again, as there's no demand for a long run and it won't be put on DVD.

Okay, why, oh why, in the world, would you think that this won't be put out on DVD? Of course it'll be put out on DVD. Movies make their money on DVD—especially niche movies like this one.

[–] pwpearce 16 years ago

It may be released on DVD-but not in 3-D. The technology doesn't exist to see this in 3-D on a TV or computer screen. The 3-D experience in the theater makes this film special-and requires special projection equipment (restricting the number of screens that can show it.