CHALLENGE: What is a ‘tent pole’ film?

The first person to research and find out the correct answer wins!

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Sometimes film institutions know that a film is going to be a major success, there might be a big buzz created about the film before it’s even released. Especially if it has been a successful book, comic, computer game or TV series beforehand.

Why do you think that film institutions think that these will make a successful film?

Tent Poles

Film institutions often invest a larger portion of money in to a tent pole film – a film they know will be successful such as a big summer action block buster or adaptation of a popular book. This often guarantees them a large profit which they can then use to invest into other, more risky film projects.

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Warner Bros and Tent polesJ.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkein, and Arthur Conan Doyle are, oddly, holding together the hopes and dreams of executives at Warner Bros. Variety put together a list of the tentpole projects Warner Bros. has in development.

Tentpole movies are films that studios believe will make several hundred million dollars worldwide, assuming they don’t suck. Spider-Man, Lord of the Rings, and Transformers are examples of tentpole film franchises. These types of movies are crucial, since they fund a variety of lower scale projects for studios. A large portion of movies don’t turn a profit at the box office, which is why Warner Bros. executives deem it necessary to have a stable slate of big money makers.

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - release 7/25/09• Sherlock Holmes - 12/25/09• Clash of the Titans - 3/26/10• Sex and the City 2 - 4/28/10• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 - 11/19/10• The Green Lantern - 6/17/11• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 - 7/15/11• Happy Feet 2 - 11/18/11• The Hobbit, Part 1 - 12/**/11• The Hobbit, Part 2 - 12/**/12

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Quadrant marketing

Males younger than 25 Females younger than 25

Males older than 25 Females older than 25

Movie studio executives and marketers consistently look at the audience makeup of their films in four quadrants:

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To be a success at the box office, films must appeal to as many of the quadrants as possible.

An indie film might only appeal to one of the quadrants.

The more quadrants it appeals to, the bigger the audience and the more likely it is to make a profit in sales

Marketing indie films

The indie folk need to be more nimble than the major studios because they typically do not have the same access to mobile, radio and TV. The Conspirator, a movie about Lincoln’s assassination directed by Robert Redford, opened to mixed (i.e poor) reviews at early first film festivals. Lacking good word-of-mouth, the team needed to go direct to their “old male” quadrant of fans, focusing on the Midwest, Civil War groups and history buffs. Robert Redford promoted his film by appearing on the Charlie Rose show (affordable TV) and by doing interviews with AARP (affordable print). Because of his efforts, the film managed to earn a satisfactory $3.5 million on opening weekend.

Audiences types• When it comes to segmenting audiences, marketers use the following definitions:• General public – A blockbuster must appeal to all four quadrants: young, old, male and

female, which drives the marketing costs up to and over $100 million.• Multi-core – A movie like Soul Surfer appeals to several different audiences, including

Christian, mother/daughter and extreme sports fans.• Single-core – A Christian movie like Fireproof (marketed by the same company as Soul Surfer)

sells well in a tight but large enough community.

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Things to consider for your case study:

Who is the film marketed at? (Consider the quadrants. Consider methods of marketing used.)

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Can you write a definition of quadrant marketing in your book?

Can you list the four quadrant groups?

Can you think of a film that appeals to each quadrant?

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The quadrant call out!

Each of you represents a different quadrant.

Each quadrant has a ‘buzzer’ sound.

You will now see a series of film posters. If you think it appeals to your quadrant, call out your buzzer sound!

A film might have one buzzer sound or even all four!

Males younger than 25‘Brat Brat’

KenyaBrandonTanisha

Females younger than 25‘Defo’ChloeLisa

Mujo

Males older than 25‘What what?’

AbiSulieman

RyanEnid

Females older than 25‘Oh my!’Fatima

TroyIndiya

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