Could a new Star Wars movie really be coming out with no Anakin Skywalker billboards, Queen Amidala fast-food toys or Obi-Wan Kenobi soda cans in sight?
Even with a formidable rival named Spider-Man at the multiplex, 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm Ltd are sticking to a decidedly low-key approach to the promotion of Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones.
The producer and distributor are spending less than US$25 million on media marketing -- modest by industry standards for such a major film -- for the newest Star Wars movie and have considerably fewer promotional partners than they did for 1999's Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace.
Box office experts say the Star Wars franchise has such high recognition factor and a built-in core audience that it could actually be counterproductive to saturate the public with images from Clones.
"When we are doing audience polls, we find that 99 percent of all age groups know that Star Wars is coming out this weekend," said Robert Bucksbaum, president of Reel Source, a box office research market firm.
Clones is the fifth installment in a franchise that debuted 25 years ago and has become a cultural phenomenon. The first four Star Wars installments all rank among the highest-grossing films of all time.
Over-the-top marketing "would be like preaching to the converted," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. "There's no need to."
Creator George Lucas and distributor 20th Century Fox have downplayed any rivalry with Sony Pictures Entertainment's Spider-Man, which brought in an unheard of US$232.7 million in grosses during its first 12 days in theaters. Those behind Clones have taken to likening the box-office derby to a marathon with their film having the legs to go the distance.
But the increasingly competitive box-office environment has only intensified since the latest Star Wars installment was released and many blockbusters are opening on more screens than ever, enjoying huge opening weekends with their numbers falling precipitously in the second and third weekends.
"This happens to be the most competitive summer we've ever seen," said Dergarabedian. "But things are different for Clones because it is a rare exception. In terms of marketing strategy, they've got to follow their traditional low-key strategy, which I think will work for them."
Clones is opening in 3,161 theaters domestically and on approximately 6,000 screens. It opened with midnight showings Wednesday in some selected theaters. In contrast, Spider-Man bowed on more than 7,000 screens two weeks ago and shattered virtually all the opening-weekend box-office records.
Both films have caused tremendous buzz, unprecedented advance ticket sales and have each landed on the cover of Time magazine in the past three weeks.
Bucksbaum projects that Attack of the Clones will likely make more than US$90 million during its first four days which, while falling short of the Spider-Man numbers, would still give it the second- or third-largest opening in movie history.
"Any fan of Star Wars has probably seen each movie five to six times and any real fan sees it 15 to 20 times," he said. "It's not just a movie to them, it's a cult. You just feel like you miss so much if you just see it once. Star Wars is all visual effects. No one cares about the dialogue. It's eye candy. Those are the types you want to see over and over again."
In addition to the modest media campaign, the Star Wars retail presence is much less prominent than in the past.
Three years ago, a much-ballyhooed partnership with Tricon Global Restaurants Inc, operators of the Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut chains, was so unsuccessful that the new film is not tied to any fast-food chain this time around.
But there are some supermarket product tie-ins on store shelves, including cereal and fruit snakes produced by General Mills Inc and with PepsiCo's Frito Lay. Additionally, Hasbro Inc has introduced a new line of Star Wars toys.
In all, there are 50 licenses for Clones for such products as video games and school supplies. This is down significantly from the 85 licenses granted for The Phantom Menace when products ran the gamut from plastic model kits to inflatable furniture.
Such a wide array of tie-ins led to some public backlash and many unsold products, but it didn't hurt the performance of The Phantom Menace, which grossed US$431 million domestically.
"They could spend 10 cents on marketing this movie and still it's going to make close to US$300 million," said Bucksbaum. "Why spend those crazy amounts trying to get the word out?"
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