Almost every month, a new movie is released whether it’s in theaters or through streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu. However, many people aren’t aware of these projects. This may be due to a lack of advertisement, or maybe the cast doesn’t have as many “A-list” actors. This month alone, eleven different movies have premiered, 7 in theaters and 4 online. But when asked about these new movies many people could only recognize a handful of them.
We surveyed a small group of students and responders claimed to have only seen 5 out of the eleven movies advertised. 70.6% said they saw “Moana 2”, 14.7% noticed “Gladiator 2”, both “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” and “Our Little Secret” received one vote, and the final 8.8% observed ads about “Red One”.
All of these movies have one thing in common, their popularity. “Our Little Secret” introduces highly anticipated returning actress, Lindsey Lohan. “Moana” is one of Disney’s biggest franchises created in the past ten years. It includes music by Lin Manuel Miranda and the voice acting of Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson.
“Moana 2, [because] I love Moana 1 and Lin Manuel Miranda, even though he’s not writing the songs for the second one,” one responder said.
“Red One” also stars Johnson, and “Gladiator 2” has fan favorites such as Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and many more.
Even though it wasn’t mentioned in the survey for most seen advertisements, a surprising 24% of responders claimed they were most excited to see Wicked. The movie version of one of the most popular Broadway musicals casts longtime A-listers Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivio as the main characters.
“Wicked: I think that the teasers were really well made and the entire quality of the movie seems good, it seems like a worthwhile watch,” a student explained.
Although there may not have been as many TV advertisements seen for the movie as other releases, partnerships with brands like Target, Build a Bear Workshop, and Grande’s own makeup brand R.E.M Beauty have increased traction.
So out of eleven movies, 6 are at the forefront of viewers’ minds. Why is that? One responder stated they “didn’t even know most of these movies were coming out” which just goes to show how important advertising is. Granted, the people cast in these movies also have an effect but an impact can still be made with the correct marketing of these “underdog” movies.
