Approximately 206 days ago, I saw the teaser trailer for (500) Days of Summer. As a long time fan of the film’s stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, I was immediately intrigued, and after reading favorable reviews following the films Sundance premiere, I was a bit disappointed to learn that the initial limit release was still months away, July 17 to be exact.
Fairly often, I catch an early teaser trailer and decide to see the film, only to end up losing interest, eventually opting to add the film to my long list of DVDs on Netflix. So how did (500) Days of Summer, a breakup dramedy, keep my attention for over six months?
A recent article in The Hollywood Reporter asserts that “marketing matters for quirky movies,” positioning (500) Days of Summer as this year’s potential indie break-out hit, much like Little Miss Sunshine in 2006, due to targeting marketing and a “remarkably prolific screening campaign.”
From my perspective, (500) Days of Summer’s box office success can also be explained by the skillfully maintained and overwhelming positive online presence due to the ample previews, candid cast interviews, clever video parodies and numerous film clips. The combination of online content and the flood of favorable critical and user reviews from the 28 festivals and 215 word-of-mouth screenings helped to raise awareness for Fox Searchlight’s indie film.
So out of the continually updated official website, fan blog and host of other previews, what did I find the most enticing?
While I thoroughly enjoyed the film’s initial trailer, I became a true (500) Days of Summer supporter once I started following the film’s Twitter account. The modestly popular, with a little over 2,000 followers, Twitter handle directed me to user friendly and frequently updated fan blog, 500days.com.
Although releasing several previews and dozens of film clips is nothing new, Fox Searchlight went above and beyond. Mirroring the film’s refreshingly honest and utterly charming appeal, 500 Days collaborated with Mean’s Cinemash, releasing a video spoof of the film’s widely advertised Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen break-up scene, in which the film’s heroine, Summer, likens her and Tom’s tumultuous relationship to the punk rock icons’ rocky romance.
The leads, Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, even starred in a short film, combining a movie musical/ bank heist tribute to promote the film’s nationwide release. Debuting on life.usatoday.com, Deschanel’s retro rock duo She & Him provided the soundtrack, Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?, for the clip directed by the (500) Days of Summer director, Marc Webb.
Furthermore, Marc Webb also contributed a series of guest blog posts to the popular entertainment community, FirstShowing.net. Readers applauded Marc’s three posts, voiced their anticipation to see the film and even a few advanced screening attendees posted glowing reviews of the film.
Pulling together the seemingly endless supply of previews, film clips, images, late night television appearances, in addition to an equally robust amount of fan art and reviews, my favorite being the fan haiku review, 500days.com gave moviegoers plenty of features to discuss in the months leading up to the film’s release.
Turning to the second contributing factor to the widespread online discussion, Fox Searchlight, as I mentioned before, profited from a warm reception at film festival and advanced screenings across the country. (500) Days has been breaking box office expectations, earning $18,398,900 to date, including a limited opening weekend of $834,501, averaging $30,907 in the first 27 theaters.
Other notable films have been able to maintain positive critical reviews along with an active stream of fan discussion following film festival screenings to varying degrees of success. This year’s Best Picture Oscar winner, Slumdog Millionaire, stood out as a favorite at the 2008 Telluride Film Festival before making the rounds of several other prominent film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the London Film Festival, and earning an estimated $141,319,928 at the box office.
While Slumdog Millionaire benefited from Oscar buzz and wide spread appeal, smaller art house films such as Summit Entertainment’s (an NMS client) Iraq War picture, The Hurt Locker, also benefited, albeit to a lesser degree, from an extensive list of advanced screenings to win over critics and moviegoers, boasting a 98% Tomatometer rating. A LA Times feature on the film explains that while The Hurt Locker won’t break any box office records, already falling short of (500) Days box office pull, there is talk of the drama making it into the running for Best Picture at the Academy Awards next year.
As studios look to widen the audiences for seemingly niche films, which often lack blockbuster pull of a franchise name or a-list stars, like (500) Days of Summer, a savvy approach to word-of-mouth marketing, including a steady stream of online fodder and abundant advanced screenings, can help a film capitalize on early favorable reviews and lead to profits at the box office.