Chatter on the internet is typically a litmus test for just how well a movie or TV show will end up doing when it’s released in theaters or on streaming. It’s pretty consistent that, if a movie or TV show is talked about by a great number of people online, it will soar when it becomes available. This is especially true in the streaming age, partly because streaming content is often immediately available provided the viewer already has a membership and partly because forum discussions have only become more prevalent and popular. But back when the focus was more on theatrical products, and internet-based marketing campaigns were relatively fresh, it was something of a rarity that tiny teasers would come along and capture the net by storm, e.g. The Dark Knight‘s viral campaign.
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But these next movies were no The Dark Knight. They received a lot of chatter online prior to release, which made people think they were going to be big hits but, when they did hit theaters, it was as if very few actually cared to buy a ticket. It was more just that a few were very vocal.
3) The Suicide Squad
David Ayer’s Suicide Squad had a fantastic marketing campaign, and it got a ton of people talking. Part of that had to do with rising megastar Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn while another part had to do with Jared Leto’s mysterious, only-hinted-at turn as Joker.
And, when it came out, the audience responded in full force. But it also ended up being one of the DCEU’s more controversial and critically panned films, and rightly so. Then, when James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad was on the horizon there was once again a lot of anticipatory talk, much of it surrounding the director’s presence, but as soon as it hit theaters the response was muted. Sure, part of that was because it was simultaneously released on HBO Max, but even still something was off. The simple truth is that the universe of which it was a part was on its way out. Add that to the fact people felt burned by the first one and it came and went, even though it is by far the DCEU’s best film.
Stream The Suicide Squad on HBO Max.
2) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was talked about by those who were fans of the niche source material. But they talked about it a whole lot. Furthermore, fans of Edgar Wright were enthusiastic about it.
However, as mentioned the source material was niche, so it wasn’t a ton of people talking about it a little as much as it was a few people talking about it a ton. The same goes for Wright’s fans. He hasn’t really made macro-scale appeal movies outside Baby Driver. The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy were more cult hits that gradually had their fanbase expanded because the quality was so high as opposed to The Hangover-style comedies that opened huge and kept making money. When Scott Pilgrim came out, it lost money, but on the upside, time has allowed it to increase its initially very niche IP into a relatively popular one.
1) Snakes on a Plane
A plane with snakes on it and Samuel L. Jackson is aboard? Sign us up! There was a lot of this online prior to the release of Snakes on a Plane yet, when the movie came out, just about no one showed up.
It ended up just being a catchy movie title that was too got not to talk about online. The same goes for its iconic “Enough is enough!” line. Yet even with its biggest competition being the third weekend of Talladega Nights, it didn’t make a dent at the box office.
What movie do you remember receiving a ton of positive internet hype only to then fall well short at the box office? Let us know in the comments.
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