A lot of brand marketers were kicking themselves last summer for not scoring a tie-in with Shrek. But how many were likewise slapping their heads over their missed opportunity with The Fast and the Furious?
Box-office smashes come in all shapes and sizes. Many are ballyhooed loudly for months — even years — before their release, à la Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone or The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
But for every low-risk, can’t-miss project (which, incidentally, is going to cost you mucho in marketing support, and could ultimately prove to be a dud), there’s a sleeper hit that will not only surprise at the box office, but may even signal a new movie trend. (Hello, SpyKids.) These smaller, quieter films often let partners climb aboard without a boatload of promised GRPs, and in many cases may even offer a better brand fit.
And, if you miss your chance at the box office, there’s always the home-video release. (Just ask Kia about its success last November with Shrek-in-a-box.)
The bottom line is that there are many potential tie-in hits out there. Despite the year-long economic slump and the post-Sept. 11 change in the national spirit, Hollywood had its best year ever in 2001, with an $8.35 billion take at the box office, according to Exhibitor Relations, Los Angeles. The DVD has breathed new life into the home-video market as well. (Shrek earned a staggering $100 million in sales in its first few days in stores.)
Thus, PROMO again offers a list of upcoming movie releases, to give readers an opportunity to identify potential tie-in opportunities. This time around, we’ve confined the list to films ready for theatrical or video release. (We’ll catch up with TV properties in a future issue.) As usual, we’ve also included a list of studio contacts to make it easier to make that initial call.
As always, please keep in mind that release dates, casts, and even plot lines are subject to change.
Find the right tie-in now and you won’t have to kick yourself later.
2002
JUNE
Crocodile Hunter
STUDIO: MGM
STARRING: Steve Irwin
TOPLINE: A comedy/action vehicle based on the adventures of Irwin, star of Animal Planet’s Crocodile Hunter TV series.
Mr. Deeds
STUDIO: Columbia/Sony
STARRING: Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder
TOPLINE: Comedy about a pizzeria owner from a small town who inherits a multinational media company.
Hey Arnold! The Movie
STUDIO: Paramount Pictures
STARRING: Voices of Paul Sorvino, Christopher Lloyd
TOPLINE: Arnold and his pals from the successful Nickelodeon animated series tackle big-city life.
Scooby-Doo
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
STARRING: Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar
TOPLINE: Scooby and the gang make their silver screen debut.
Undercover Brother
STUDIO: Universal Pictures
STARRING: Denise Richards, Chris Kattan
TOPLINE: Based on Urban Media’s popular Web series, this action/comedy follows the exploits of a secret agent.
Windtalkers
STUDIO: MGM
STARRING: Nicolas Cage, Christian Slater
TOPLINE: A WWII drama about code-speaking Navajo soldiers and the Marines who protected them.
HOME VIDEO:
Air Bud IV: Seventh Inning Fetch
STUDIO: Miramax Films
STARRING: Richard Karn, Caitlin Wachs, Kevin Zegers
TOPLINE: The sporty golden retriever returns, direct to video.
Kate & Leopold
STUDIO: Miramax Films
STARRING: Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman
TOPLINE: A contemporary woman falls in love with a 19th-century duke.
The Shipping News
STUDIO: Miramax Films
STARRING: Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore
TOPLINE: Literary tale of a man who relocates to Newfoundland to find himself.
JULY
Austin Powers in Goldmember
STUDIO: New Line Cinema
STARRING: Mike Myers
TOPLINE: Myers reprises his role as a groovy spy in the third installment of the blockbuster series.
Barbershop
STUDIO: MGM
STARRING: Ice Cube
TOPLINE: Urban comedy set in a barbershop on Chicago’s South Side.
The Core
STUDIO: Paramount Pictures
STARRING: Hilary Swank, Aaron Eckhart
TOPLINE: A team of scientists must drill to the earth’s core to save the planet.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
STARRING: Sandra Bullock, James Garner
TOPLINE: Dramatic comedy based on the best-selling novel by Rebecca Wells.
Men in Black II
STUDIO: Columbia/Sony
STARRING: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones
TOPLINE: Sequel to the 1997 sci-fi smash.
Stuart Little 2
STUDIO: Columbia/Sony
STARRING: Voices of Michael J. Fox, Melanie Griffith
TOPLINE: The plucky mouse returns for a sequel to the 1999 family favorite.
The Untitled Detroit Project
STUDIO: Universal Pictures
STARRING: Eminem, Kim Basinger
TOPLINE: Rapper Eminem stars in a movie about a month in a young man’s life.
AUGUST
A Guy Thing
STUDIO: MGM
STARRING: Jason Lee, Julia Stiles
TOPLINE: Comedy about a bachelor party that gets very complicated.
Adventures of Pluto Nash
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
STARRING: Eddie Murphy, Rosario Dawson
TOPLINE: The owner of a nightclub on the moon in 2087 must save his business.
Ali G Indahouse
STUDIO: Universal Pictures
STARRING: Sacha Baron Cohen, Tony Way
TOPLINE: U.K. comic Cohen hits the U.S. in a comedy about a political scandal.
The Darkness
STUDIO: Miramax Films
STARRING: Anna Paquin, Lena Olin
TOPLINE: Psychological thriller about a family in a house with a horrifying past.
Down and Under
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
STARRING: Jerry O’Connell, Christopher Walken
TOPLINE: Comedy about two pals whose plans to deliver mob money in the Australian Outback go awry.
Duplex
STUDIO: Miramax Films
STARRING: Ben Stiller, Drew Barrymore
TOPLINE: A New York City couple hatch a murderous (and hysterical) scheme to make their duplex a one-family home.
Eight Legged Freaks
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
STARRING: David Arquette, Doug E. Doug
TOPLINE: Sci-fi thriller about a chemical spill that causes a monster problem.
SpyKids 2: Island of Lost Dreams
STUDIO: Dimension Films
STARRING: Antonio Banderas, Alexa Vega
TOPLINE: A sequel to the 2001 sleeper hit delivers the spy family to a mysterious island.
XXX
STUDIO: Columbia Pictures/Sony
STARRING: Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson
TOPLINE: Action film about an extreme sports competitor recruited by the government to infiltrate a crime ring.
SUMMER
The Country Bears
STUDIO: Walt Disney Pictures
TOPLINE: Animated film about a 10-year-old bear raised by humans.
Gangs of New York
STUDIO: Miramax Films
STARRING: Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio
TOPLINE: A Martin Scorsese mob drama set in the Big Apple of the 1840s.
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie
STUDIO: Big Idea Productions
STARRING: Voices of Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki
TOPLINE: The animated, Christian-flavored home-video series premieres on the big screen with a whale of a tale.
Lilo & Stitch
STUDIO: Walt Disney Pictures
STARRING: Voices of Jason Scott Lee, Tia Carrere
TOPLINE: Animated family adventure about a Hawaiian girl who mistakes an alien for a dog.
The Tux
STUDIO: DreamWorks
STARRING: Jackie Chan, Jennifer Love Hewitt
TOPLINE: A comedy that follows Chan and his high-tech tuxedo, which is designed for clandestine government operations.
SEPTEMBER
Daredevil
STUDIO: Twentieth Century Fox
STARRING: Ben Affleck
TOPLINE: Live-action adaptation of the Marvel Comics classic.
Drumline
STUDIO: Twentieth Century Fox
STARRING: Orlando Jones, Nick Cannon
TOPLINE: Comedy/drama about a Harlem street drummer trying to lead his college’s drum line.
Like Mike
STUDIO: Twentieth Century Fox
STARRING: Lil’ Bow Wow
TOPLINE: The teen hip-hop artist stars in a comedy about a boy’s hoop dreams.
Serving Sara
STUDIO: Paramount Pictures
STARRING: Elizabeth Hurley, Matthew Perry
TOPLINE: Comedy about a wealthy woman who convinces a man to drive cross-country with her.
OCTOBER
Analyze That
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
STARRING: Robert DeNiro, Billy Crystal
TOPLINE: The Mob kingpin and his shrink from Analyze This are back for another round of comedic therapy.
Frida
STUDIO: Miramax Films
STARRING: Ashley Judd, Edward Norton
TOPLINE: Drama about the lives of Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and husband Diego Rivera.
Ghostship
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
STARRING: Juliana Margulies, Isaiah Washington
TOPLINE: A crew in the Bering Sea discovers a boat thought lost for more than 40 years.
The Guru
STUDIO: Universal Pictures
STARRING: Heather Graham, Marisa Tomei
TOPLINE: A young Indian dance teacher finds stardom when she’s mistaken for a sex expert.
The Truth About Charlie
STUDIO: Universal Pictures
STARRING: Mark Wahlberg, Thandie Newton
TOPLINE: A remake of a 1963 movie about a woman investigating the murder of her husband.
NOVEMBER
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
STUDIO: Miramax Films
STARRING: George Clooney, Julia Roberts
TOPLINE: A dark comedy taken from game show raconteur Chuck Barris’ apocryphal autobiography.
Ecks vs. Sever
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
STARRING: Antonio Banderas, Lucy Liu
TOPLINE: An action film about an FBI agent blackmailed back into service.
Eight Crazy Nights
STUDIO: Columbia Pictures/Sony
STARRING: Voices of Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider
TOPLINE: Musical comedy about a party animal forced into community service.
The Friday After Next
STUDIO: New Line Cinema
STARRING: Ice Cube
TOPLINE: The third film in the day-in-the-life comedy franchise.
I Spy
STUDIO: Columbia Pictures/Sony
STARRING: Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson
TOPLINE: A loose adaptation of the 1960s’ comedic TV series.
Treasure Planet
STUDIO: Walt Disney Pictures
STARRING: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Murray
TOPLINE: Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island tale of pirates and buried treasure gets an outer-space makeover.
The Wild Thornberrys
STUDIO: Paramount Pictures
STARRING: Rupert Everett, Lynn Redgrave
TOPLINE: Nickelodeon’s travel-minded family traverses across the world to capture a solar eclipse on film.
DECEMBER
Chicago
STUDIO: Miramax Films
STARRING: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere
TOPLINE: A film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical.
Constantine
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
STARRING: Nicolas Cage
TOPLINE: Sci-fi drama based on a DC Comics property about a renegade fighting evil forces.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
STUDIO: New Line Cinema
STARRING: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan
TOPLINE: The second film in the epic trilogy. Can it get any bigger than the first?
Pinocchio
STUDIO: Miramax Films
STARRING: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi
TOPLINE: A live-action version of the classic tale.
Star Trek Nemesis
STUDIO: Paramount Pictures
STARRING: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner
TOPLINE: The franchise’s 10th installment finds the Enterprise crew hunted by a clone bent on galactic domination.
Untitled
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
STARRING: Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant
TOPLINE: A romantic comedy about a neurotic attorney and her wealthy boss.
2003
Artemis Fowl
STUDIO: Miramax Films
RELEASE DATE: Spring
STARRING: TBD
TOPLINE: Fantasy/adventure adapted from a novel about a 12-year-old immersed in a world of fairies, leprechauns, and gnomes.
Tomb Raider 2
STUDIO: Paramount Pictures
RELEASE DATE: May
STARRING: Angelina Jolie
TOPLINE: Jolie reprises her role as the videogame-inspired, globe-trotting archaeologist.
Charlie’s Angels 2
STUDIO: Columbia Pictures/Sony
RELEASE DATE: Summer
STARRING: Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu
TOPLINE: The lovely ladies return to tackle another case.
Finding Nemo
STUDIO: Walt Disney Pictures
RELEASE DATE: Summer
STARRING: Voice of Emma Thompson
TOPLINE: A Disney/Pixar adventure about a fish stolen from his coral-reef home.
Pink Panther
STUDIO: MGM
RELEASE DATE: Summer
STARRING: TBD
TOPLINE: A new bumbling Inspector Clouseau revives the franchise.
The Matrix II & III
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
RELEASE DATE: TBD
STARRING: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne
TOPLINE: A pair of sequels to the 1999 sci-fi smash.
Sinbad
STUDIO: DreamWorks
RELEASE DATE: TBD
STARRING: TBD
TOPLINE: Animated adventure follows the legendary Sinbad as he fights to win back the stolen Book of Peace.
Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
RELEASE DATE: TBD
STARRING: Arnold Schwarzenegger
TOPLINE: Hey, he said he’d be back.
Shrek Sequel
STUDIO: DreamWorks
RELEASE DATE: TBD
STARRING: Voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz
TOPLINE: The green ogre makes a return engagement. Now, everyone should be a believer.
Timeline
STUDIO: Paramount Pictures
RELEASE DATE: TBD
STARRING: Gerard Butler, Paul Walker
TOPLINE: An adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel about a group of archeologists zapped back to the Middle Ages.
STUDIO CONTACTS
Big Idea Productions: Kris Fuhr, director of theatrical, 630-652-6000
Columbia Pictures/Sony: Sachiko Kambe, vp-strategic marketing, 310-244-8935
Dimension Films: Dana Laufer, vp-worldwide promotions, 323-822-4319
DreamWorks SKG: Wendy Ryding, director-national promotions, 818-695-9731
MGM: Mary Goss Robino, senior vp-worldwide promotions, 310-449-3345.
Miramax Films: Dana Laufer, vp-worldwide promotions, 323-822-4319
New Line Cinema: Lisa Balshan, senior vp-national promotions, 212-649-4869
Paramount Pictures: Lisa DiMarzio, senior vp-worldwide marketing partnerships, 323-956-5377
Twentieth Century Fox: Rita Prosyak, director-feature film promotions, 310-369-3125
Universal Pictures: Beth Goss, senior vp-national promotions, 818-777-1697
Walt Disney Pictures: Cherise McVicar, vp-national promotions, 818-560-7477
Warner Bros.: Louise Soper, director of national promotions, 818-954-6167
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