Red Sparrow will be one of the many films airing a TV spot during Super Bowl LII, and a new teaser offers viewers a small taste of what to expect. Based on the novel of the same name by Jason Matthews, it tells the story of ballerina Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence), who is forced to serve Russian intelligence as a part of their sparrow program – where she uses her body as a dangerous weapon. Her mission is to target a CIA agent (Joel Edgerton), but things may not be as clear-cut as they seem. Lawrence’s Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence (no relation) called the shots on the espionage thriller.
Fox has already put together a fairly visible marketing campaign for Red Sparrow with a pair of trailers that did an effective job of setting up the narrative and establishing the tone. With just about a month to go until the film hits theaters (as of this writing), the studio is taking advantage of one of the year’s biggest platforms to raise awareness to the next level. Red Sparrow is going to the Super Bowl.
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A television ad for this weekend’s game was confirmed with the release of a new teaser titled “Big Game Preview.” The video runs for only 7 seconds and consists mostly of footage released in previous materials. We hear Lawrence’s Dominika lay out the stakes for the character quite matter-of-factly when she says, “I saw something I was not supposed to. They gave me a choice: die or become a sparrow.” Watch the promo in the space above.
Red Sparrow will ideally be something of a comeback vehicle for Lawrence, who has arguably had rough sledding the past couple of years. Her sci-fi romance Passengers was widely panned by critics for some unsavory story aspects, and last year’s mother! was perhaps the most polarizing film of 2017. While some moviegoers applauded director Darren Aronofsky for his ambitious Biblical metaphor, others outright hated the picture and it tanked at the box office ($17.8 million domestically). It’s safe to say the actress could use a well-received hit to reclaim her former glory, and an adult-orientated spy flick could do the trick. Red Sparrow could satisfy the cravings audiences have for a Black Widow solo movie, as many have pointed out the similarities between Dominika and the MCU’s Natasha Romanoff.
Time will tell how Red Sparrow performs at the box office, but it appears to be well-positioned for a lucrative run. It arrives in theaters a couple weeks after Black Panther and its only direct competition during its opening weekend is the Death Wish remake starring Bruce Willis. As advertising for Red Sparrow heats up post-Super Bowl, it should be able to generate buzz, which will only help its commercial prospects.
MORE: Red Sparrow Poster
Key Release Dates
Red Sparrow
Release Date:2018-03-02
