The Oscar Files Part 3

Next on our rousing tour of marketing campaigns for the 2008 Oscar nominees, Michael Clayton. As of January 22nd, Clayton had only grossed $40 million in the domestic box office. Looking at Michael Clayton, I can't help but wonder how a critically acclaimed film, with a stellar cast and George Clooney at the helm fails to do well at the box office.

Looking around the web, it seems that Clayton's poor box office showing has more to do with the mishandling of the film by Warner Brother's marketing staff then anything else. Anne Thompson, columinist for Variety wrote in her blog that the biggest issue was WB's decisions regarding the release of the film. According to Thompson, WB should have taken the same route most small budget Oscar contenders do, start the film in limited release, build up the buzz, and then break it wide closer to Oscar season. Makes sense to me. Get people wanting what they can't have, and just when enough people want it, give it to 'em. Instead, WB decided to put the film into wide release in its second weekend, way before the film had managed to build up any sort of buzz. As a result, Clayton finished a paltry 4th in the box office that weekend. In the minds of many movie goers, from that point on Clayton was "damaged goods".

If we look at the rest of the film's marketing efforts, a pattern of neglect emerges. Look at the official trailer for the film...



Not very good. For a film that's classified as a legal thriller, there sure is very little thrill here. Add to that the almost non-existent television advertising, (did anyone else recall seeing a TV spot for this film? I sure don't), and the 4th place finish, you can see why the film hasn't done too well.

In reviewing Clayton's marketing, and hypothesizing why the film failed, I tend to agree with Thompson's take. Warner Brothers dropped the ball. If they didn't want to spend the money to market the film, that's fine. The film was reviewed well and had a great cast, so it was sure to find a market at some point. The problem is that WB didn't give it the chance. If it wasn't for the film's eventual nomination and subsequent re-release, it could have easily fallen to the wayside like so many other quality films.

I'm hoping the folks over at WB have learned a lesson from this.

My inner cynic thinks otherwise.