table_nineteen_ver2Last week a new poster for Table 19 was released. The movie stars Anna Kendrick and others as a group that’s put at the least desirable table at a wedding, and that’s conveyed clearly on the poster.

What’s notable about the one-sheet is that it’s formatted like an Instagram photo. The obviously-filtered picture of the main cast appears at the top, just below the title, which is formatted like an account profile. The cast’s names have been tagged and there’s copy that appears like the caption that can be appended to those photos, with various characters chiming in with comments below that. The account “legal_derp” even shares thoughts in the form of comments.

It’s the second poster in recent memory to adopt this format. The first was for Amityville: The Awakening, which has been shuffled around the release schedule a few times. This time it’s the house that is shown in the photo and the profile at the top isn’t the movie itself, it’s “Rebelleous99,” presumably the account from the character played by Bella Thorne. She leaves the caption below photo and there are a few comments before showing a more formal version of the title and credits block.

amityville_the_awakeningSo why is this a mini-trend that’s emerging? As of last December it claimed 600 million users, including 100 million in the last six months of 2016. It continues to actively engage in a war of features with Snapchat in particular, adding functionality to Stories and more in an effort to maintain and gain marketshare in a world that’s constantly asking for people’s attention.

What’s more questionable is why now? While Instagram keeps growing it’s not the app that’s on the tip of the tongue for marketers and the bleeding-edge influencers. That’s Snapchat. So it’s the timing that seems more off than anything else.

Still, this is obviously a move to appear hip and add some relevancy and edge to the marketing of these movies. But if you look at them you’ll see that Table 19 commits more to the premise of posting an Instagram photo than Amityville. It more fully dives in to the comments idea and more, especially in the usage of a filter. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Snapchat filters and doodles make their way onto theatrical one-sheets at some point in the not-too-distant future.