Shazam: Fury of the Gods has been getting some exciting announcements that have gotten fans of the first movie hyped, but it still has some tough competition, as it will be released five days after Avatar 2. It’s a bold move from Warner Bros. since Avatar: The Way of Water is a sequel to the highest-grossing movie of all time.
The studio is seemingly taking the counter-programming approach by releasing a fun, lighthearted, and much shorter movie for those who aren’t interested in the overly serious three-hour epic. Counterprogramming in the movie industry is a marketing strategy that targets the opposite demographic of a much bigger movie released at the same time, and Shazam 2 isn’t the first example of it.
Deadpool’s Release Coinciding With Valentine’s Day
The marketing was so instrumental to Deadpool’s success, and it couldn’t have been more important, as the studio had been hesitant about greenlighting the movie in the first place, and the film barely escaped development hell. The first Deadpool movie pulled off a ton of marketing stunts, whether it was viral videos, April Fools’ Day announcements, or the “leaked” footage. But the cherry on top was its counter-programming.
The superhero movie was released over the Valentine’s Day weekend in 2016. However, it isn’t just any superhero movie. It’s one of the most vulgar, violent, and offensive superhero movies ever. And the counterprogramming worked so well because it was in competition with How To Be Single, which has been all but forgotten.
Mamma Mia’s Release Coinciding With The Dark Knight
In this day and age, whenever two huge movies are scheduled for release on the same date, one studio inevitably bows out. One of the most recent examples is John Wick 4, as it was delayed by 10 months after it originally had the same release date as Top Gun: Maverick (via Deadline). That might have been the case with The Dark Knight, as few studios would have dared compete with the first billion-dollar-grossing superhero movie.
However, Mamma Mia wasn’t afraid, and though the Batman movie broke box office records, the musical made a phenomenal $600 million depside mixed reviews (via Box Office Mojo). And it was a perfect example of counter-programming. There’s nothing more opposite to a dark and gritty superhero movie than an upbeat musical based on ABBA’s music.
Bridesmaids’ Release Coinciding With Thor
Bridesmaids came out just a few days after Thor, and though general audiences still weren’t fully aware that the superhero movie was leading to a much bigger cinematic universe, studios would want to avoid a Marvel superhero movie of any nature. Just because audiences didn’t know that the MCU was a thing doesn’t mean the film won’t be a hit, and it was, as it made almost half a billion dollars (via Box Office Mojo).
However, there isn’t a huge crossover between Thor audiences and Bridesmaids audiences, and it’s one of the best examples of counter-programming. While Thor might have been a box office goliath, Bridesmaids stood a better chance against the Marvel movie than if it was released on Valentine’s Day with a sea of other romantic comedies. Because of that, the film made almost $300 million (via Box Office Mojo), but it also helped that the 2011 movie is one of the best female-led comedies.
There’s Something About Mary’s Release Coinciding With The Mask Of Zorro
This is one of the great movie examples of David beating Goliath. There’s Something About Mary wanted to win over a rom-com crowd that wasn’t interested in The Mask of Zorro, but it ended up being the opposite way around. While Cameron Diaz was an established and bankable movie star, Ben Stiller wasn’t quite there. But despite going up against a film that’s part of an IP and had a huge marketing campaign behind it, the movie not only did well, but it even outgrossed The Mask of Zorro.
Amazingly, the comedy, which had a relatively low budget of $23 million, was a phenomenal success and made even more than the $100 million budgeted blockbuster action movie. It wasn’t even close, as the Zorro movie underperformed, making just $250 million (via Box Office Mojo), whereas There’s Something About Mary made over $100 million more, with a total box office gross of $370 million (via Box Office Mojo).
The Truman Show’s Release Coinciding WIth Godzilla
The Truman Show hardly needed to cheekily compete with a movie that has nothing in common with it, as The Truman Show is easily Jim Carrey’s best movie. The studio might have thought they needed to do such a thing because it was the first example of the actor going against type and starring in a drama as opposed to the wacky comedy films that he’s known for.
The movie arrived a week after Godzilla, and it was hardly much competition, as the monster film bombed at the box office (via Box Office Mojo). Ironically, it’s almost as if the studio planned the counterprogramming from as early as the screenwriting process, as the movie opens with a voice-over that explains, “We’re tired of pyrotechnics and special effects.” Given Godzilla’s reception, it’s no wonder The Truman Show has an almost prophet-like legacy.
Straight Outta Compton’s Release Coinciding With Summer Blockbusters
By 2015, summer movie releases were all blockbuster action movies, and because they all make billions of dollars, it’d be hard to believe that a period drama would be so successful. But few studios thought about counterprogramming in the summer, except for one. While most studios wait to release prestigious dramas around awards season, which is generally the end of the year, Universal Pictures shockingly released Straight Outta Compton at the peak of summer in mid-August.
The movie had a ton of competition, as it was coming off the heels of so many blockbusters, including The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Fantastic Four, and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. While some of those were holdovers, meaning that they were a few weeks into their theatrical run, Straight Outta Compton still managed to outgross many of them in its opening weekend. And more impressively, it made a whole $100 million more than The Man from U.N.C.L.E (via Box Office Mojo).
Ocean’s 8’s Release Coinciding With The World Cup
Even though the United States isn’t a big soccer country, even Americans get involved when it comes to the World Cup, and that’s why studios are a little hesitant to release expensive movies during June and July every four years. But Warner Bros. released the all-female cast movie Ocean’s 8 over the period, and the film was more successful than it would have been otherwise, even though it was tied to a well-known franchise.
But Ocean’s 8 wasn’t the first to do it, and there has been a long history of studios putting out movies that appeal to women during huge soccer events. Sex and the City was released during the 2008 Euro Championship, which is what helped it gross over $400 million (via Box Office Mojo). And The Fault in Our Stars was released during the 2014 World Cup, which is why the low-budget movie earned a shocking $300 million (via Box Office Mojo).
Pitch Perfect 2’s Release Coinciding With Mad Max: Fury Road
The first Pitch Perfect was a huge success, making about $115 million worldwide with a low budget (via Box Office Mojo). And while Pitch Perfect 2 could have been just as successful without counterprogramming, having it’s release coincide with Mad Max: Fury Road was a stroke of genius.
Fury Road was both a legacy sequel and did something new with the franchise, not to mention that it’s one of the most spectacular action movies of the past decade and doesn’t rely on digital effects. But Universal knew that there were millions of people who had no interest in violent action sequences in a dystopian future. As a result, the studio released Pitch Perfect 2 just one week after the action movie, and it made almost $300 million (via Box Office Mojo).
Notting Hill’s Release Coinciding With The Phantom Menace
In 1999, the biggest movie event was undoubtedly Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, as it was the return to the franchise after 16 years, and there had never been as much hype surrounding a movie before. A lot of studios withdrew their movies from the release schedule to let the Star Wars movie dominate without crushing other movies’ successes. And they were right to, as The Phantom Menace made $1.8 billion adjusted for inflation.
However, one studio didn’t back down, as Universal still released Notting Hill just one week after release, which no doubt catered to romance fans who were sick of hearing about Darth Maul and pod racing. The film made $363 million (via Box Office Mojo), which was almost unheard of for a rom-com at the time, especially when it’s competing with a billion-dollar blockbuster movie.
My Best Friend’s Wedding’s Release Coinciding With Batman & Robin
Though Batman & Robin was universally scathed, there was no knowing how bad the film was before its release, and most studios would have assumed that it would have been a hit. But Sony still released My Best Friend’s Wedding on the exact same day. It was a clever use of counter-programming, but the romcom also benefitted from the superhero flick being universally hated, and the Julia Roberts-starring movie surprisingly ended up making $60 million more than Batman & Robin (via Box Office Mojo).
However, as both My Best Friend’s Wedding and Notting Hill star Roberts, and both performed extremely well at the box office despite being up against blockbuster movies, giving all the credit to counter-programming might be a disservice to the actor. Roberts was a bankable star at the time, and it just so happens that she chose to star in low-to-mid-budget romcoms. Any movie starring Roberts in the 1990s was a hit. So, even though the Batman movie was destined to bomb, it would have been interesting to see how Batman & Robin performed if Roberts played Poison Ivy instead of Uma Thurman.
