"How is post-production going?"
In the studio, Carla Faith approached Murphy after he called for a break, and asked proactively, "Will it be finished on time?"
Murphy rubbed his forehead and replied, "The color grading will be done in no more than three days. By the latest, all post-production work will be completed by April."
"Carla, over here." He pointed to the rest area outside the glass window and went over with Carla Faith. After grabbing a cup of coffee and a glass of water, he sat across from her. "What about your side? How's it going?"
Taking a sip of water, Carla Faith, understanding that Murphy was asking about the marketing and promotion plans, thought for a moment and said, "The company board just decided yesterday afternoon to add an extra $50 million to the original marketing budget for *City of Chaos*!"
"Oh..." Murphy perked up instantly. "An additional $50 million!"
The film originally had a marketing budget of $75 million, half of its production cost. Adding this $50 million brings the total marketing budget to $125 million, making it the second-highest marketing budget among Murphy's films, just behind *Man of Steel*.
"This film carries relatively high risks, and the company is well aware of that."
Facing Murphy, Carla Faith was straightforward. "But 20th Century Fox has a lot of confidence in you. They believe that even if this film doesn't recoup its substantial investment, as long as it establishes a solid foundation, the subsequent two films will surely yield significant profits."
She put down the water cup and smiled, "So, word of mouth is very important."
Murphy shrugged, "If the reviews are terrible, will 20th Century Fox cut the next two films?"
"Yes." Carla Faith nodded without hesitation. "A film company is a business, not a charity."
"Then you should try harder." Murphy said half-jokingly, "Increase the marketing budget to $150 million, or even more."
Carla Faith thought for a moment and said, "It's worth considering."
Murphy wasn't entirely joking. "I'll leave that to you."
A marketing budget of $125 million might seem substantial, but in the realm of top-tier Hollywood blockbusters, it's only at the upper-middle level.
As the most globally commercialized film industry, Hollywood is known for its lavish marketing expenditures. As early as the early 1990s, the marketing budget for mainstream blockbusters could account for 30% to 50% of the production cost. Over time, this budget has continued to increase. By the early 2000s, some films' marketing expenditures had approached or even surpassed $100 million.
Now, marketing expenditures exceeding $100 million for mainstream Hollywood films are not uncommon. For instance, 20th Century Fox spent over $250 million on marketing for *Avatar*. Films like *Iron Man 3* and *The Avengers* had marketing budgets exceeding $150 million, aimed at the global market.
In fact, *Frozen* had nearly $300 million allocated for global marketing, twice its production cost. However, the investment was well worth it, as Elsa's dress alone brought in a substantial profit for Disney.
In Hollywood, even the dullest person understands that significant marketing efforts are necessary for a film to succeed. Behind those low-budget, high-grossing films are substantial marketing investments.
Nowadays, in Hollywood, the average marketing expenditure for all theatrically released films generally accounts for about 50% of the production cost. For a global Hollywood blockbuster, overall marketing expenses rarely fall below $100 million, with some even reaching twice that amount. Although such astronomical costs are staggering, the size of the overseas market and the returns from global box office and related industries provide Hollywood studios with the confidence and motivation to invest heavily in marketing.
Of course, the high marketing costs of Hollywood films didn't happen overnight; it has been a gradual process.
In 1980, the average marketing cost for a major Hollywood studio film was around $5 million. By 2007, it had soared to about $40 million. In a few years, this number would rise to $50 million.
Hollywood's emphasis on practicality and efficiency means it doesn't spend money recklessly. They invest heavily in marketing because it's profitable.
In Hollywood, there's a saying: the quality of a film determines how far it can go, while marketing determines how high it can fly.
Murphy strongly agreed with this saying.
"What about the specific marketing plan?" Although Murphy wouldn't be directly involved, he always took an interest in understanding the plan to better coordinate the crew with 20th Century Fox's marketing efforts. "Is it ready?"
For an average director, the distributor wouldn't care, but Murphy was different. Not to mention, Carla Faith's relationship could also play a role.
Carla Faith took another sip of water. "It's ready. I'll send you a copy via email when I get back."
She glanced at her watch, stood up, and said, "I need to get back to work. Call me if you need anything."
Murphy nodded, "You and Gal should stay in close communication."
As Carla Faith turned to leave, she remembered something important and quickly stopped, saying, "I almost forgot the most important thing. The company plans to advertise during the Super Bowl this year. You need to make a promotional video as soon as possible."
"No problem."
Murphy waved her off and watched her leave.
Returning to work, Murphy began considering the Super Bowl ad. Even in today's internet age, Super Bowl halftime ads still have unparalleled impact. However, since post-production on the film had just begun and none of the special effects were complete, making a sufficiently impressive ad would be challenging.
What if he abandoned all special effects scenes and created a rather unconventional ad instead? Murphy pondered for a while and found it feasible.
The entire post-production process proceeded according to plan. After completing the color grading, Murphy and Jody Griffiths began the editing work together. Carla Faith also sent the marketing plan devised by 20th Century Fox to his inbox. Murphy took a look during his busy schedule.
Due to the film's theme and its limited appeal to teenagers, the marketing plan devised by 20th Century Fox was not particularly novel but was highly targeted.
Hollywood's greatest success lies in its ability to produce what the audience wants to see and influence their tastes, creating a large group of dedicated customers.
20th Century Fox was well aware that the initial audience for this film wouldn't be teenagers but people with some life experience. The marketing plan was tailored for them.
Based on this, suitable promotional efforts would be made in the time leading up to the release to increase the film's visibility and reputation, which was the core of the marketing plan.
20th Century Fox's marketing system, consisting of different platforms and various promotional materials, forms a static framework that functions and achieves results according to the progress of the film's production and release.
This mainly involved multi-platform trailers, extensive poster placements, comprehensive use of media, and leveraging various events to expand the film's influence.
With North America's summer blockbusters clustering and the generally short screening periods, marketing's importance became even more evident. It not only affects the size of the initial audience and opening weekend box office but also indirectly determines how long the film stays on screens and, to some extent, influences its success.
From a commercial perspective, as an entertainment product, the principles behind film marketing are no different from those of promoting other consumer goods. The fundamental goal remains to attract consumption and maximize investment returns.
Film marketing mainly focuses on potential consumers among the general public and cooperation with distributors. Expenditures typically include promotional material production costs, cinema promotional material development costs, media promotion costs, and film distribution costs.
Among these, media promotion is the most crucial. As the core aspect of marketing, media promotion involves multiple channels, with promotional expenses often reaching millions, paving the way for films to hit the big screens and drawing audiences to theaters.
Unlike previous promotional campaigns, the plan from 20th Century Fox allocated nearly half of the investment to traditional media.
Television advertising was the most important. Not only 20th Century Fox but all of Hollywood has always invested heavily in TV ads. More than 70% of their overall ad spending goes to TV commercials. Despite years of claims that traditional media is in decline and the rise of new media, predictions that TV ad spending will decrease abound, but such predictions have yet to come true.
TV advertising remains Hollywood's most important promotional medium.
Although there are many successful cases of using new online media for film promotion, Hollywood still tends to be conservative. As Carla Faith mentioned, distribution companies are unlikely to experiment with valuable marketing budgets. Studios are often constrained by the 3-week to 1-month release window and lack the willingness to take risks.
Murphy had no objections to 20th Century Fox's conservative marketing plan. Different films require different strategies, and marketing plans should be based on real circumstances.
His immediate priority was completing the Super Bowl halftime ad.
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