The results are out. THE MEG is winning the box office mania. After a long time, a big budgeted shark movie has arrived and seems to be winning hearts all over. Despite the unexciting vibes and the cold response given to the movie prior its release, it was suggested the film would not be making much of an Impact, but it has shattered all beliefs and opinions and how. The love and adulteration it is getting day per day despite mixed reviews from critics proves that shark genre is here to both 'stay' and 'slay'. There can be a lot of reasons for this mega budget giant Shark movie to make its way for victory but from our analysis, we bring down five major points on the film's unexpected winning streak.
1. Movie Based on a Top Selling Novel : As you may know, THE MEG is based on author Steven Alten's top selling novel 'MEG-A Novel of Deep Terror'. It has also spawned a number of sequels. Naturally the excitement and anticipation for a movie shall be huge. Given the fact the film had stayed in the development hell for so many years. Fans have been waiting for this film since long. And now when the film has finally arrived, they would make sure they flock into theaters regardless of its critical reception.
2. Shark Genre in Movies is still in demand : Over the years, we have seen some crazy rip offs and spin offs of shark movies. Some of them were low budgeted flicks like Megalodon, Shark Attack 3, Shark Hunter to name a few. These movies were all based on Giant sharks but there hasn't been a major blockbuster film that arrived in theaters since a long time. Neither the studios want to take the risks and get involved. However, given the successes of the recent modest budgeted films like 'The Shallows' and '47 Meters Down', it does seem pretty evident that shark genre is still much loved. Given the right story, screenplay and direction you can have a great shark movie on the table and the people will like it. This happened with THE MEG when people welcomed the films with both their hands.
3. The Cast : Jason Statham well everyone knows is such a popular face. The makers roped in him for the title character and promoted the movie with a full blown campy cheesy fun style. "Jason Vs Giant Shark" "Jason Statham gonna fight and punch a huge giant pre-historic shark". These were the catchphrases which were associated with the film after it was announced. As cheesy as it gets, it is enough to have people experience a feeling of thrill and wait anxiously for the movie. It's an action adventure film after all and they couldn't have found a better actor than Statham and we can safely say, he nailed the part.
4. The Concept of 'THE MEG' : The film deals with the concept of a MEGALODON - a Giant prehistoric 70 foot shark that was supposed to be extinct. The concept is itself fascinating. You don't get to watch such a huge shark on a big theater screen in regular movies. The idea and the concept is enough to have anyone thrilled. Anyone would jump out of excitement to watch a crazy big sized monster devouring beach - goers. Again cheesy, but fun. This was a great point that the trade analysts did not take into consideration before underestimating the movie heavily before the release.
5. Crazy Marketing : These days, every movie is all about how well do you sell it. And to sell it, it is Important how you reach out to the people and promote it in the right manner. The PR and marketing team of THE MEG deserve brownie points in this area. The film used an extensive promotional campaign that did not hit any false notes. They were always clear in their intentions. This is no JAWS, this is a fun cheesy shark movie that is not meant to be taken seriously. Taglines like 'Pleased to eat you' and 'Chomp on this' worked big time with the promos. The social media pages went buzzing with unique posts regularly to have people engaged throughout. It went in the right direction and the results were for everyone to take notice.
what do you think about the success of 'THE MEG' and the reasons that made it work. Share your opinions below with us.
3 Comments
Spiros Kagadis
8/17/2018 23:09:48
Great analysis! I would just like to add that I think that the fact that Steve Alten responds to fan mail personally helped give The Meg movie a face....for which fans fought to support the movie on the internet and through word of mouth especially during the hard initial times!
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Matt
8/18/2018 00:05:27
I couldn't agree more.
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Matt Wetzel
8/18/2018 00:04:11
The Marketing Strategy behind this movie was brilliant..whether intentional or unintentional. The movie was released on Aug. 9, but in July we saw quite a few movie trailers on the Discovery Channel and Nat Geo Wild during Shark Week and SharkFest, on their respective channels/networks. Seeing movie trailers during this time was smart, as it got even more people interested in wanting to see the movie..whether they knew of Steve Alten or his MEG book series.
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