The Hollywood Reporter

Is Comic-Con Still the Place For Building Blockbuster Buzz? – That Disney would not be attending to offer anything new related to its Marvel Cinematic Universe films certainly got a lot headlines, and deservedly so. The Avengers movies in particular have a history of using Comic-Con to get fans excited, introducing the full cast of the original movie in 2010 and then bringing out new additions to the heroic or villainous lineup in 2014 for Age of Ultron and 2017 for Infinity War.

‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ Marketing Brings Back Lighthearted Familiarity – Mostly Universal has sought to focus on the singing and dancing, presenting the movie as a lighthearted return to some old characters that may serve as an antidote to the constant box-office barrage of super heroes and other spectacle. It’s hoping that message is strong enough to come out on top of The Equalizer 2 but also whatever new and returning audiences are planning to see Ant-Man and The Wasp, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom or Skyscraper this weekend. (More here)

Cinematic Slant

Emmys, Oscars and Netflix – That the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the organization behind the Emmys, would even allow such a thing – for a streaming content provider to so blatantly steal the thunder from a cable or broadcast network – shows it’s focused on format more than medium. On that point alone, it shows how much more forward-thinking it is than The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group organizing The Academy Awards.

Black Lives Matter at the Box Office This Year – Within that there’s a more specific group of movies that deal head-on in some manner with the forces and circumstances that have, over the last few years, spurred the Black Lives Matter movement by focusing on stories about police brutality in black neighborhoods or, in some cases, the killing of black people by white police officers.

The Equalizer 2 – Marketing Recap – It really seems as though Sony is relying heavily on the paid campaign to generate awareness of the movie as opposed to engaging in a significant earned media push. In particular, the studio seems to believe the core audience is sports fans of some kind or another, either NBA aficionados or those more interested in e-sports. It’s almost like the decision was made to sell this as a testosterone-fueled revenge flick that offers a stark contrast to the more nerd-centric super hero movies.

Marvel Studios Has a Key Challenge in Selling Avengers 4 – Rumors has begun to emerge about what the subtitle for the fourth movie may be, joining guesses about how the 1990s setting of next year’s Captain Marvel film starring Brie Larson might hint at what’s in store. So, based on what we both do and don’t know about the fourth entry in the Avengers series, let’s engage in a little rampant speculation about what sorts of angles Marvel might take to convince audiences to come out again for [checks notes] a second final installment.

Where Are the Jukebox Movies? – Surprisingly, there have only been a few other straight adaptations of the “jukebox musical” theatrical format to movie screens. Rock of Ages used the hair metal and hard rock music of the 80s in a story of making it in the hard-knock music industry, while Jersey Boys used the music of The Four Seasons to chronicle that band’s rise to the top.

The Dark Knight Turns 10 – If you’ve read anything in the entertainment media over the last few days you’ll know that yes, The Dark Knight has hit its 10th anniversary. Released in 2008, Christopher Nolan’s Batman sequel was and still is a remarkable achievement deserving of all the tributes and remembrances its received recently. There are two narratives, though, that emerged that I took issue with to some extent. The one deals with the movie itself while the other touches on its marketing campaign.

If Experiences Go Virtual, San Diego Comic-Con Promotion Could Become Even More Iffy – Now explain to me how most all of this couldn’t be recreated in virtual reality in a way that would likely be more cost-efficient and reach more people directly than dragging sets, props and legal waivers to San Diego.

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