What is the Point of Shame Movie Marketing?

Is there a point in blaming people who aren't your target market if your film flops?

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What do I mean by shame movie marketing?  It is when you blame someone who isn’t your target audience (usually straight white men, but sometimes men in general for the poor opening of a film).  The latest example of this would be the film The Marvels. 

The Marvels has received a lot of hate from trolls and fanboys even while the film was being made.  I understand the frustration of creators, no matter what they are creating, with having to deal with trolls.  The best way to deal with a troll is not to feed them or, if you are Adam Diver at the  Cameraimage film festival, just telling them to fuck off. 

But to blame a lousy opening on men when they are not your target audience is stupid.  Calling men, women haters, or homophobic for not wanting to see a comic book is even dumber.  If The Marvels was made for women, then women should be the ones who should support it.  If the audience isn’t big enough, make a different or cheaper film.  It is simple marketing. 

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There is always a risk with making any movie; no matter what anyone says, no movie is a sure thing.  There is always a risk involved.  Now for the shameless plug for my film.  If you want to invest in an old-school horror movie that doesn’t have a Marvel movie budget, watch my pitch video. 

I used to be a huge Marvel fan.  Spider-Man was my favorite superhero when I was growing up.  I was excited when Marvel started making movies of all my childhood superheroes: The Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, The X-Men, etc.  I grew up dreaming that I could see all my childhood heroes on the silver screen. 

I was excited every time a new Marvel movie came out.  But now, besides a few Spider-Man movies, End Game was the last Marvel movie I was excited to see.  Now, when I see most Marvel trailers, I decide to wait for it to come to streaming, so I have the option to turn it off. 

It isn’t because I’m racist, a woman hater, or homophobic.  It is because the last few Marvel movies I have seen at the theater have been a disappointment.  Even the last few Marvel movies I watched on streaming disappointed me. 

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All good things must eventually come to an end, and maybe Marvel has gone the way of the slasher film.  During the 80s, it seemed like the slasher movie was here to stay, but it was too much, and audiences lost interest.  Could the same thing happen to Superhero movies?  Even though things go away, they make a comeback.  The slashers are coming back.  I don’t think it will ever be like the golden era of slasher movies, but it will be a different era.

I’m not as interested in Marvel films as I used to be because I don’t know who the hell any of these people are.  I know Iron Man, The Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, etc.  But who in the hell are The Marvels and Blue Beetle?  With the prices of movies and concessions nowadays, I think I would rather wait until it comes to streaming.  I could see them on bargain movie night.  That is Tuesdays at my local theater, but there are usually other movies I would rather see.  I almost saw The Marvels last week because I am a Brie Larson fan, but I decided to see The Holdovers instead.  I’m glad I did.  The Holdovers is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.  (So, you’ll know.  I know Blue Beetle is a DC movie and not a Marvel.  I feel kind of the same way about DC movies.  Even though I will probably check out Blue Beetle on Max)

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The director blamed straight people for the bad opening when the movie Bros was released.  Smile opened the same week.  Which movie do you think I would choose and see as a straight man and a horror fan?  Why was he expecting straight people to see it?  I believe there is a large enough gay population to see and support the film.  Why didn’t he blame them?  Who I assumed was the target audience. 

Did I see Bros in theaters?  Nope, I saw Smile that week instead and waited for Bros to come out on streaming.  And when I watched it on Peacock, I was right not to see it in theaters.  It wasn’t for me.  It wasn’t because I am homophobic or don’t like gay cinema.  There are plenty of gay films that I’ve enjoyed: Priest and A Torch Song Trilogy are two examples.   I didn’t like Bros because I didn’t laugh.  And I think that is the best way to judge a comedy.  It wasn’t a bad movie.  It just wasn’t a movie for me.  I would rather spend my money on something else.  I watched No Hard Feelings, and I laughed.  And as a straight guy and a fan of Jennifer Lawrence, I enjoyed seeing her in a sexy role and her little naked ass on the beach.  I also enjoyed seeing Jennifer finally in a comedy.  She is a natural for the comedy genre.  Why do I watch Impractical Jokers?  Because I laugh watching every single episode.  I’m sometimes in tears from laughing so hard.  And it is as simple as that.  People like different things.  It doesn’t mean they hate someone because they don’t like certain films.  I think the current wave of shame marketing is egotistical and stupid. 

Now, back to my original question.  What is the point of shame marketing?  If it is to shame people into seeing a film, then the data of flops shows that it isn’t working.  The only time I have seen shame marketing work is with Christian films.  I have seen Christians shamed into buying hundreds of dollars in movie tickets and see a movie that they particularly didn’t want to see because they were shamed into going.  They were led to believe they were not good Christians if they didn’t support or see the movie.  They would sometimes see it and then pretend like they liked it even though they thought the movie sucked balls in order to be a good Christian.

What is your view of shame marketing?  Do you think it works?  If so, how does it work and what’s the point?