Scaring up profits
SCARY MOVIES GUIDE: Studios use Web sites, conventions to market horror to hardcore fans
By Ed Hulse -- Video Business, 7/28/2008
JULY 28 | SCARY MOVIES GUIDE: Most companies releasing horror movies are eager to tap into the genre’s committed fan base, so marketing and promotional strategies now routinely include maintaining presences on fan-maintained Web sites and at conventions such as Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors and Chiller Theatre Expo, where the genre’s most popular stars and filmmakers appear to greet thousands of devotees and promote upcoming projects.
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment executive VP of marketing Mary Daly describes such venues as “hugely important.” She adds: “With fans this knowledgeable, you really have to know your stuff and always be on your game.”
Fox hopes to appeal to knowledgeable collectors with some high-profile Blu-ray Disc releases on Sept. 9: the Russian-made chillers Nightwatch and Daywatch (directed by Wanted’s Timur Bekmambetov), a newly retooled collector’s edition of 1976’s The Omen, and a four-disc Omen Collection including the three original films and the 2006 remake.
Ryko Distribution VP of DVD Jay Douglas claims he can see almost instantaneous sales bumps in certain titles after they’ve been discussed on influential horror movie blogs and message boards.
“There’s a ripple you can see in the numbers,” he says. “Anybody who markets horror films knows these people aren’t just fans, they’re advocates. You want to get them involved and excited about your product.”
He expects a warm reception for Ryko-distributed Troma Entertainment’s upcoming horror-comedy Poultrygeist and for remastered, extras-loaded editions of two Euro horror classics: The Beyond (1981) and Pieces (1982), from Ryko-distributed Grindhouse Releasing. Poultrygeist is generating advance buzz with clips on YouTube, “an increasingly important marketing tool,” Douglas says.
Anchor Bay Entertainment brand manager Ryan Hicks reports that the fan community has embraced the supplier’s Masters of Horror series, a new 13-episode collection of which streets on July 29. With installments directed by such old genre hands as Dario Argento, John Carpenter, Joe Dante, Stuart Gordon and Tobe Hooper, the series certainly lives up to its name. And Hicks has high hopes for the October release Jack Brooks, Monster Slayer.
Although some suppliers find the horror category less susceptible than others to price pressure, fourth-quarter repricing promotions are seen as effective in stimulating sell-through business. To this end, Image Entertainment is lowering prices on many catalog items, including the horror-heavy Something Weird line. Beginning in September, those titles will sell for $9.99 to $14.99.
