WB Waves Movie Moolah To Flog Battlefield Earth

Brandweek, April 24, 2000 by T.L. Stanley

If it worked for a campy horror remake, chances are an in-theater scratch-and-win contest could again hit box office paydirt for Warner Bros.' upcoming action flick Battlefield Earth. That's the theory behind a redo, with enhancements, of a promotion the studio successfully launched for last fall's House on Haunted Hill. The program, via Simon Marketing, L.A., will dole out 4 million game cards at theaters across the country The addition of partner Barnes & Noble, through its bn.com site, will give the John Travolta movie extra online exposure to match the young male, sci-fi fan target.

The "Take Back the Planet" game will get standees and other signage in 3,000 to 3,500 theaters for two weeks before the movie releases May 12; opening weekend, box office signs will go up and employees will wear badges that say "Ask me how you could win $100,000." In all, $150,000 in cash will be given away.

BN.com will supply 250 sci-fi book collections; Barnes & Noble plans to put the L. Ron Hubbard book that inspired the movie at the front of its stores. Warner Bros., distributing the movie for Franchise Pictures, will tag its TV, print and radio ads with the contest.

A similar contest helped propel House on Haunted Hill to the biggest Halloween opening in history, $15.9 million.

"It's truly an incentive," said Erin Corbett, the studio's dir-promotions. "We wouldn't want to do this six times a year, but there are key films we're looking at that are appropriate for this kind of promotions."

Some recent research showed that large numbers of consumers, regardless of their genre preference, pick the film they'll see within two hours of buying their ticket. An exhibitor promotion, then, can significantly tip the scales. "It might not work for the kid market, but it does for horror, and we hope it does for sci-fi," said Corbett.

Speaking of bloodthirsty young audiences [ldots] DreamWorks SKG has enlisted the help of the World Wrestling Federation to launch its upcoming Russell Crowe action movie, Gladiator (tagline:"A Hero Will Rise"). WWF superstar Kurt Angle, who, in real life (swear!) was an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, will incorporate the film into his on-air storyline over the next two weeks.

Here's the setup: the red-white-and-blue-clad Angle, whose puffed-up boastfulness routinely draws the ire of fans, will try to convince DreamWorks to redo the movie with him, a self-proclaimed modern-day gladiator, as the star. At the very least, he thinks he should be in a sequel. He'll do a screen test, which will be aired on WWF programming, as will clips of the movie. DreamWorks will buy spots throughout WWF's network, cable and syndicated shows up to the movie's May 5 opening.

An online contest via WWF.com will send a winner to the premiere, with Angle in tow.

Hollywood Video, aiming to be a one-stop shop for snacks and movies, plans to expand its line of branded products to include such couch-potato favs as nuts and cotton candy. The 1,700-unit chain also will release a movie-themed CD, via Rhino, after a holiday music compilation posted strong sales.

Lon Weingart, vp-marketing and merchandising, said the move into branded food will only touch on those categories where "there's not an identified national leader." The Hollywood Video-branded product's pricing is comparable to Act II, which the company previously stocked, and execs are working with manufacturers on ingredients and other specs." It has to be high quality or we couldn't compete," Weingart said. The chain will continue to carry candy and other snacks from outside vendors, which will make up the majority of the 80 or so items stocked.

Packaging for the Hollywood Video-branded micro-wavable popcorn, which comes in bags and buckets, features retro artwork that parodies sci-fi, mystery and animation genres. The nuts will hit shelves in late May under such names as O'Pistachio and Sign of the Cashew.

Industry leader Blockbuster still sells snacks, but greatly streamlined its non-movie offerings during a spring cleaning of its stores a few years ago. Hollywood Video says it won't stray from core grocery-type products.

"Everything has to tie in thematically to what's going on in our stores, and it has to link directly with movies," Weingart said.