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On Friday, The Hunger Games hits theaters. The movie takes place in a dystopian future where children are forced to battle each other to the death. You'd think that kind of movie would not easily lend itself to product tie-ins... But leave it to marketers to find a way.
Among the movie's product tie-ins is h20 water — you know, the preferred drink for when you're being chased to death by your peers for sport. The movie also offers Capitol Colours nail polish, modeled after the eccentric fashions of the Capitol citizens, you know, the same people who disfigure their bodies for fashion and cheer on child tributes as they slaughter each other for Capitol entertainment.
Hunger Games certainly isn't the first movie to come out with some questionable product tie-ins. Evidence the worst movie product tie-in merchandise we could find. Sadly, we own some of this horrible stuff.
Worst Movie Product Tie-Ins >>
Posted 03.21.12 by Chris -
While doing press for Shrek Forever After, Antonio Banderas revealed that the upcoming Shrek spin-off, Puss in Boots, would go "in a different direction" from the Shrek franchise and "takes more from Sergio Leone and Western movies." The Leone influence can certainly be seen in movie's latest poster and theatrical trailer.
Essentially a prequel, Puss in Boots shows the adventures of the swashbuckling cat before he meets up with everyone's favorite ogre in 2004's Shrek 2. When Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris) discover a secret power that could destroy the world, only Puss in Boots, along with Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), can save the day.
watch the trailer >> Posted 06.21.11 by Ryan -
Today's Challenge: The two highest grossing movies last May were Iron Man 2 and Shrek Forever After. Can you find a link between these 2010 blockbusters?
Our first Facebook movie game, ClusterFlick, plays off that old "six degrees of separation" theory — you know, the one that has a certain Kevin at the center of the Hollywood universe. It's easy to play, but not so easy to win. The goal is to use the major cast of movies to get from Point A to Point B in the smallest number of moves.
Play ClusterFlick >>
Posted 05.22.11 by reelz -
Every long-running horror franchise has done it: a "final" chapter. Friday the 13th had its Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter and Nightmare on Elm Street had Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. The Saw franchise is the latest movie to have a "final chapter," only Saw 3D (a.k.a. Saw 3D The Traps Come Alive, a.k.a. Saw VII) won't reflect the end in the title. Instead producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules told USAToday that "it's time to stop."
the most gruesome of all? >> Posted 07.22.10 by Ryan -
Posted 06.06.10 by reelz -
| Title | Weekend | Total | Analysis |
| Shrek Forever After | $43.3M | $133.1M | Ogre impressively triumphs over two big-budget releases. |
| Sex and the City 2 | $32.1M | $32.1M | Sequel's opening weekend take about 1/2 of the 2008 original. |
| Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | $30.2M | $30.2M | Weak 3rd place finish for $200M-budget Pirates of the Caribbean wannabe. |
| Iron Man 2 | $16.0M | $274.6M | Sputtering in its 4th week in theaters. Matching Alice in Wonderland still a few weeks off ($333M). |
| Robin Hood | $10.3M | $83.0M | Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe epic no Wolfman, but could be one of the biggest BO disappointments of 2010. |
Posted 05.31.10 by reelz -
| Title | Weekend | Total | Analysis |
| Shrek Forever After | $71.3M | $71.3M | Shrek 4 opens far smaller than 3 (and 2, too) but still dominates. |
| Iron Man 2 | $26.2M | $251.3M | Sequel shoots past $200M mark and into 2nd place for 2010 (behind Alice in Wonderland). |
| Robin Hood | $18.7M | $66.1M | This movie will struggle mightily to recoup the $200M budget. |
| Letters to Juliet | $9.1M | $27.4M | Rom-com has small Week 2 dropoff. |
| Just Wright | $4.2M | $14.6M | Queen Latifah vehicle fades but still beats MacGruber. |
Bomb of the Week: One word: MacGruber. With about a $4M take, it earned less in its first weekend than the latest SNL movie, 2000's Ladies Man. Our team of interns is investigating, but a mere $1,607/screen average for a wide release's opening weekend has to be the worst of 2010.
Posted 05.23.10 by reelz -
Shrek Forever After, otherwise known as Shrek: The Final Chapter, may be the last in the franchise but it's the first to be shown in 3-D. Director Mike Mitchell was a novice when it comes to shooting movies in 3-D, but, during the press junket last week, admitted that the format was easy to embrace since Dreamworks, the studio behind the Shrek franchise, is run "like a hippie commune."
Is a "hippie commune" a good or bad place to make a movie? >> Posted 05.21.10 by Ryan -
In Shrek Forever After, otherwise known as Shrek: The Final Chapter, Shrek (Mike Myers) learns what life is like if he had never been born, turning his world completely upside down. While Fiona (Cameron Diaz) is now a warrior princess leading an ogre revolution and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) remaining his unchanged, annoying self, it's Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) that sees the biggest change, turning from a suave adventurer to one big, pampered kitty. Director Mike Mitchell explained why they made the choice at the press junket last weekend.
see what he said and the featurette >> Posted 05.21.10 by Ryan -
Shrek Forever After — now ominously known as Shrek: The Final Chapter — brings to a close the movie franchise that started in 1998. Or does it? The answer to that question is among top items we have to report from the press event with cast and producers. We've rounded up our favorites moments, which also include finding out how Jon Hamm almost almost ruined the movie and what inside joke made it to the big screen.
See Top 10 Highlights of the Shrek Forever After Press Junket >> Posted 05.20.10 by reelz