When selling a movie about foul-talking dogs, it pays to have some star power to get moviegoers into seats.
And “Strays,” which opened Friday, has it — at least on screen. Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Randall Park, and Isla Fisher are among those who have contributed their voice-over talents. A team like this usually translates into countless promotional appearances on venues like “Saturday Night Live,” late-night talk shows, and on social media platforms. Not during the actors’ strike, when the actors’ efforts would be forbidden.
Alternatively, perhaps the most exciting thing to happen during the film’s press tour was during a rehearsal for a segment on NBC’s “Today” show when meteorologist Dylan Dreyer stumbled upon it while practicing a trick with an Australian Shepherd.
“Strays,” which had a budget of $46 million, is one of four films that opened widely nationwide this weekend. It made an estimated $8.3 million for fifth place, a poor opening and nowhere near the number Universal Pictures had hoped for when the film was green-lit. (The studio’s previous R-rated comedy that paired smutty material with family-friendly characters, “Good Boys” opened in 2019 with $21 million. Cocaine Bear, also from Universal, had a much stronger opening, at 23. $1 million back in February.)
Weekend winner, Warner Bros. DC’s Blue Beetle, it took in $25.4 million, the average showing for a lesser-known comic. The film, which was heavy on special effects, cost more than $100 million to make and market.
“I wish ‘Blue Beetle’ was louder,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. President of Domestic Distribution. “I think we were clearly disadvantaged not being able to bring the movie to Comic Con and not being able to get our ‘Cobra Kai’ star Xolo Mariduena, as his fans know him, out into the world. So that was tough.”
Both films are the latest examples of agonizing opening weekends because the stars of their films are unable to promote their latest work. The early summer successes of Barbie and Oppenheimer can’t hide the larger truth that red carpets are lacking in pop, cameras are buzzing, and box office receipts are depressing.
Box office analyst David A. “But we’re coming up with some titles that will be affected.”
He referred, among other things, to “Strays”; “Golda”, starring Helen Mirren as former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir; New “Equalizer,” starring Denzel Washington, opens Labor Day weekend. and the latest in the “Big Fat Greek Wedding” series.
Gross said the lack of celebrity promotion is likely to cost films anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of their box office revenue. Studio executives grumbled that some films could have made an additional $5 to $10 million in its opening weekend if their stars had been able to promote them. For original films not based on a well-known intellectual property, the blow could be more severe.
When asked Sunday morning about the poor opening of “Strays,” Universal’s president of domestic distribution, Jim Orr, admitted, “I wished for more.” But he said he remains optimistic the R-rated comedy will attract more moviegoers in the coming weeks. “We’ll see how he treats us the rest of the summer and September.”
In the absence of actors, studio marketing teams rely heavily on directors to promote films, and they spend more on advertising.
Angel Manuel Soto, the director of Blue Beetle, was an especially important part of Warner Bros.’s marketing campaign. He has traveled to England, Mexico, and around the United States, including Puerto Rico, hosting shows and giving an estimated 100 interviews to print, broadcast, and radio media. studio recently Post a video From Mr. Soto he reveals to Mr. Maredwena that he was the choice to play the lead role. It was a moment that in normal times would have been a poignant anecdote during a late-night interview, but instead it’s been bolstered with advertisements and intended to drive interest in the film among Latinos.
On the eve of the actors’ strike, Mr Mariduena posted a video to his 3.3 million Instagram followers, urging them to come to the movie. “I won’t be able to promote this movie,” he said, “but you can.” “Let’s do this for the culture, let’s do it for the community, let’s do it for the opportunity for others.”
The film industry was dealing with major issues long before the strike. According to analysts, movie searches, even taking into account the Barpenheimer phenomenon, are down 14 percent from 2019, before the pandemic. Certain genres, such as the R-rated comedy, have been hit particularly hard. The biggest original comedy of the summer was Jennifer Lawrence’s “No Hard Feelings,” which grossed $50 million at the North American box office.
Given the continuing effects of the pandemic and the continuation of strikes, the situation at the box office is likely to become more unpredictable.
“Going to the movies used to be a habit for people,” said Michael Moses, Universal’s chief marketing officer. “Our job in marketing was to get them to choose our movie over the others. Our job now is to get them to go to the cinema and then to choose our movie over the others.”