Apparently, there is a new and developing trend in Hollywood and it all started with the breakout hit Paranormal Activity. You see, a few weeks ago Paramount wasn’t planning on giving Paranormal Activity a wide release, but then word started spreading about the film and its popularity grew. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. The director and producers put a link at the end of the trailer where moviegoers across the nation could “demand” the film be shown in their town. The viral marketing worked and this weekend Paranormal Activity dethroned Saw VI to become the reigning Halloween champ.
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, Troy Duffy’s long awaited sequel, opens in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey this Friday, October 30th, which is great news for fans living in those New England states – however the rest of us are out of luck.
Or are we?
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Stage 6 Productions is hoping to receive the same distribution boost as Paranormal Activity by starting a “demand” page at Eventful, where you can “demand” to have the Boondock Saints II shown in your hometown.
The trailer for The Boondock Saints II really has me looking forward to seeing it but I can’t help but think Stage 6 is trying to duplicate a viral marketing technique that was only successful because movie news sites helped drive it. I don’t think using this technique will work for a movie like The Boondock Saints II (even though it has a generous cult following), because part of the draw and appeal with Paranormal Activity was its budget or lack thereof. BDS II had an actual budget of seven figures and, other than fanboys, the Saints sequel has no other real appeal to a wide general audience.
Too prove my point, as I type this article, the Eventful page shows only 13,961 people demanding Boondock Saints II. When I demanded it be shown in Jacksonville, Florida, I was only one of forty-five people asking for it; my hopes aren’t high for a release here. By comparison, Paranormal Activity has 1.2 million people demanding to see it. Saints has a loooong way to go if it is to snag a wider release. Anything can happen, though,if the movie receives a warm reception by audiences and critics come opening weekend.
On the flip side, this “demand it” trend could be a new way for audiences to bring films they normally wouldn’t be able to see to their towns. Would films like this summer’s Moon and The Hurt Locker have enjoyed a healthy distribution boost if this marketing research method had been employed? No way to be sure now but it would have been interesting to find out.
If you want to want watch Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day in a theater in your town, then go the Eventful page HERE and “demand” it; if not then just wait for the DVD to drop in a few months and then wish you had “demanded” it.
The movie stars Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, and Billy Connolly reprising their 1999 roles and are joined by Clifton Collins Jr., Julie Benz, Peter Fonda and Judd Nelson.
What do you think about independent studios using this “demand it” marketing research to get their films a wider audience? I personally wish there was a “un-demand” voting option; perhaps I could have been spared the release of Land of the Lost (Zing!).
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day opens in limited release this Friday October 30th, 2009.
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37 Comments
I would “demand” this in my area using EventFul if their privacy policy was worth anything. I really don’t like sites that pretend to be helpful while phishing for email addresses and offering them up to their partners. Of course, they won’t “sell” your address, but they will share it.
Saints II needs to come to State College, Pennsylvania. We have an army of Penn State college students dying to see this film, not to mention us “locals” who have invested weeks in watching the first one over and over again
I just saw it here in LA and it was freaking AMAZING!!! I was hesitant at first but the movie was awesome and the last few minutes just brought everything together. I really recommend it to those who like the 1st one. For those that didn’t, stay away, this is not for you and let us enjoy without the negative comments. GO SEE IT GUYS!!! DEMAND IT!
“For those that didn’t, stay away, this is not for you and let us enjoy without the negative comments.”
Yep, good advice. Hopefully you follow your own advice for movies you’re not looking forward to so there would be more tickets for the rest of us who are.
I don’t intend to watch this movie. It’s a rental at most, but most likely it will be so far down my list of movies I want to rent that I’ll never have the time to get to it…
It really pissed me off to learn that I may never get to see this movie in the theater, I have the first one on special addition dvd and saw it the one day it was in theaters in ‘06 (still have my ticket stub), I even have their “VERITAS,” which is Latin for “Truth.” and “AEQUITAS,” which is Latin for “Justice/Equality.” tats on my left and right hands, respectively.
I’ve been a fan for 10yrs and it was truly disappointing to find that I’d have to travel out of state to see it… which aint gonna happen. Get the movie down in NC.
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