The Hollywood Reporter

‘Deadpool 2’ Marketing Blitz Bets on Too Much Being Just Enough: Ryan Reynolds isn’t looking for respectability this time around, but maybe he’s out to prove that the breakout hit wasn’t a fluke.

Cinematic Slant

Cinematic Slant is where I write about movies, including the campaign recaps I’ve been doing since 2004 along with other news and opinions.

The Entertainment Industry Has Milestones for Miles…and the Press Loves It: These announcements are shared by the company because they are in the financial best interest of that company. The more Fandango can position itself as *the* place to buy advance tickets (which you have to do if you want to see these hot movies opening weekend), the more that becomes a self-reinforcing cycle. The company gets press because it’s popular and widely used, then becomes more popular and widely-used because of that press.

Deadpool 2 – Marketing Recap: The marketing of 2016’s Deadpool was..well…it was unlike most anything that had come before. It certainly struck a much different tone than the campaigns for any of Fox’s other X-Men Universe movies, which were super-somber and serious, with all the mutants making Very Determined Faces as they engaged in Very Serious Situations. There wasn’t a lot of joy there.

Hard to Find the Signal With This Much Static: I’ve been thinking a lot about the recent wave of coverage afforded the realization that Mark Ruffalo – likely inadvertently or at least accidentally – revealed the ending of Avengers: Infinity War a full year before the movie was released. The comments were made during Disney’s D23 expo, where the movie had a significant promotional presence.

Let Snake Eyes Be Snake Eyes: While I try not to get too hung up on my own definition of the “real” version of a character that has had countless people telling different stories, each effective and substantial in their own way, I do feel like there’s something about that 80s comic book Snake Eyes that is much more interesting and provocative than what was seen in the live-action movies to date.

Cargo – Marketing Recap: It’s strange to me that there wasn’t more done on the publicity front given there were appearances on at least a bit of the festival circuit. Freeman is pretty hot right now given his role on “Sherlock” and his high profile thanks to a few appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so he could have helped sell it. As it is, the campaign sells what seems to be a slightly original take on the zombie movie genre, with the focus on familial responsibility.

Movie Ticket Prices Impact Moviegoing (Duh): More people (slightly) have gone to the theater, largely because of big releases very much in-line with Hollywood’s current “nothing but franchises and shared universes” strategy. At the same time, ticket prices are rising while more people call out the expense as a reason they don’t go to the movies. It’s not hard to see that such a situation is far from sustainable.

First Reformed – Marketing Recap: the main attraction is that this is a new Paul Schrader film, something buoyed by the buzz that’s come out of the festival screenings. That probably won’t be enough to propel the movie to any great heights in terms of crossover success in the mainstream audience, but for those who come across the campaign there’s some good stuff offered here.

On Chesil Beach – Marketing Recap: The focus is, of course, on Ronan as she continues a years-long hot streak as one of the most in-demand actors around, always taking on challenging and interesting roles. As stated, her back-to-back publicity schedules seem to have resulted in a less concerted push this time around, but she’s still front-and-center. To compensate somewhat for that, McEwan was brought out more, which should help attract fans of the author along with fans of period dramas.

Chris Thilk is a freelance writer and content strategist who lives in the Chicago suburbs.