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OK, Warner Bros, what's the masterplan here ?

posted 10 years ago by petermiller1988
8 replies | jump to latest

(sorry for my English) So here is a big studio film headlined by a big star that - after a succesful festival run (Toronto) - not only received good reviews but also seems to be a certified crowdpleaser (the extremely rare A+ Cinemascore) but instead of going the standard route (studioesque (=massive) marketing push / Holiday release date / 2000+ theaters on opening weekend), it was dumped into less than 500 theaters on the first weekend of October with virtually non-existent marketing.

I guess they want to minimize their PR-costs by building their entire strategy on the very shaky concept of WOM (that even if it IS there - rarely the case - still doesn't guarantee a thing) still, that's usually only a strategy for major INDIE distributors (TWC, SPC) and not MAJOR studios. Frankly, I'm surprised that the same studio that turned The Blind Side into a smash hit (I bet they are still high-fiving each other in the hallways about that one), didn't just take a page out of their OWN playbook and try to replicate that success : in November The Good Lie could have been great counter-programming with Interstellar or Mockingjay (just like The Blind Side was with New Moon) and then it would have had long weeks of the lucrative holiday season to ride that A+ worthy Word Of Mouth.

So I will ask again : what's the masterplan here ? Because right now all the press this film will get in the next couple of days, will be about its remarkably underwhelming first weekend and from then on it will be hard(er) to convince people to watch a film when the one thing most of them heard about it, was that it is a flop.

P.S. Congrats to Witherspoon for what feels like a career-best year (she not only stars in three acclaimed films (Wild, The Good Lie, Inherent Vice), she also produced the one that is my favorite film of the year so far (Gone Girl)). Anyone familiar with her early work (Election, Pleasantville etc) and frustrated with her later (she was too good to be lost in romcoms for eternity), knows that this creative comeback of hers has been long overdue.

[–] Confection_Pictures 10 years ago

P.S. Congrats to Witherspoon for what feels like a career-best year (she not only stars in three acclaimed films (Wild, The Good Lie, Inherent Vice), she also produced the one that is my favorite film of the year so far (Gone Girl)). Anyone familiar with her early work (Election, Pleasantville etc) and frustrated with her later (she was too good to be lost in romcoms for eternity), knows that this creative comeback of hers has been long overdue.

Wild won't get her an Oscar, this film just flopped, and she has a small role in Inherent Vice. Plus, her next film is a potentially horrible comedy with Sofia Vergara. She's no McConaughey.

[aura] Can you picture that? [aura]

[–] petermiller1988 10 years ago

1. She doesn't need to win an Oscar, she already has one, a follow-up nomination would be just great.
2. The Good Lie is far from over, the studio must have a plan, so let's not call it a flop just yet when we only know how it did on its first day in limited release.
3. Inherent Vice is bound to be a cult-classic so whether her part is big or small, the emphasis should be on her being a part of something special.
4. At this point that next comedy of hers could be just as 'potentially good' as it could turn out to be 'potentially horrible'...for the record the studio must have faith in it (=great test screenings ?) otherwise they wouldn't have given it a prime May release date.
5. WOW, I don't know what triggered it, but that had to be the most malignant and pessimistic take you could had probably have about this. The McConaughey comparison won't fly, either, he had to prove that he CAN be great, as an Oscar winner Witherspoon only had to prove that she can be great...AGAIN.

Bottom line : Headlining two critically acclaimed films (Wild, The Good Lie), starring in a cult-bound piece (Inherent Vice) and producing a potentially strong Oscar contender (Gone Girl), DOES make this a careeer-best year for her CREATIVELY...whether these films will be Box Office hits. too ? Well, let's not try to answer a question we won't have a proper answer for for months.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] cinesimonj 9 years ago

You really think you're in some kind of mind-meld with her, don't you?

[–] ednorton-fan 10 years ago

She doesn't need to win an Oscar, she already has one, a follow-up nomination would be just great.

She's struggled to get great across the board notices for a long time, so a follow-up nomination is good for her career. Getting two Best Actress wins is rare, last accomplished by Hilary Swank 10 years ago. And before that Jodie Foster in 1991 and Sally Field in 1984. I don't think Reese, if nominated, can get over the line with Julianne Moore (Still Alice) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) in the race.

Headlining two critically acclaimed films (Wild, The Good Lie), starring in a cult-bound piece (Inherent Vice) and producing a potentially strong Oscar contender (Gone Girl), DOES make this a careeer-best year for her CREATIVELY

This is definitely her best year with critics (even with the badly reviewed Devil's Knot). She's never had a year like this where she's starred in 3 well reviewed films and produced a potential Best Picture contender.

[–] Confection_Pictures 10 years ago

In two of those films, she has a very small role and Wild isn't getting groundbreaking reviews. Plus, her next "comedy".

[aura] Can you picture that? [aura]

[–] negativeions101 9 years ago

Probably because the studio execs are, unsurprisingly, racist and/or don't really want to back a movie that makes "'merica" look bad. Same old psychopaths. You gotta spend a bit on some PR to save face. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Is that surprising at all?

[–] stabiljka 8 years ago

I like to think we've beaten racism to the pulp at this age. Your second point is much more likely one of the factors. But even more worryingly, a film with such a good vibes, such honest and pure human feelings, and a crowd pleaser at the same time, is left to be a flop.
As to being a little paranoid, yes, I believe you are not alone there. In any case, the OP asked an intriguing question.