Film Industry: Black Widow

1) List the companies involved in the creation of Black Widow. You may wish to use Black Widow's IMDB entry to help with this - see the company credits page - but the answers can also be found in the notes above.

Production:

• Marvel Studios

Distributors:

• Walt Studios Disney Motion Pictures (US, Canada, UK, etc.)
• Blitz Film & Video Distribution
• Blitz
• Cinecolor Films Peru
• Feelgood Entertainment
• Forum Hungary
• etc.

Special Effects:

• PixStone Images
• The Third Floor
• etc.

Other:

• 4DX
• Dolby
• etc. 

2) What is conglomerate ownership and how does it link to Black Widow?

Conglomerate ownership is when a conglomerate (large company) owns subsidiaries (smaller companies). This links to Black Widow as Disney owns Marvel Studios, who made the film.

3) Analyse the film trailer for Black Widow. What aspects of the trailer tell you this is a big-budget blockbuster movie?

• Part of a franchise (Marvel Studios) - "Before I became an Avenger..."
• Expensive CGI/SFX
• Action set pieces - car chases, explosions, etc.
• Expensive locations/settings/set designs around the world
• Camerawork (crane shots)
• IMAX
• Expensive costumes and props
• Comedy scene at the end of the trailer

4) How was Black Widow promoted to an audience? List at least three different methods used by the film's marketing campaign and why they were effective in promoting the film.

• They used trailers and movie posters (traditional film marketing) - this helped spread awareness of the film and excitement long before it was released.
• They had stars (e.g. Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh) speak on TV chat shows and online. This was effective due to parasocial relationships some members of the audience may have with these stars, and also the way they subtly implied this movie was "different" during interviews, attracting more viewers.
• They put fans' social media posts about Black Widow on billboards, and reposted/retweeted fan posts using official accounts. This involved fans in the marketing campaign for the movie, bringing the movie "closer" to fans in a way, making it more enticing.

5) What was the production budget for Black Widow and how much did it make at the box office?

The production budget for Black Widow was approximately $200 million (possibly $300 million if the marketing budget is included). It made $379 million at the box office (not including profit from Disney+, which was about $60 million).

6) Would you consider Black Widow a successful Hollywood blockbuster? Why?

It's difficult to have a definitive answer due to the effects of the pandemic. When compared to other movies in the MCU, Black Widow seems to be far behind at the box office. While 'Avengers: Endgame' grossed $2.8 billion on a $400 million budget, Black Widow secured $379 million at a budget of around $300 million. Looking at these statistics at first glance, Black Widow seems to have made little profit. However, considering Covid-19, it may have been a success. It made $80 million on opening weekend, which was the biggest since the start of the pandemic (at that time). This, therefore, could have been considered somewhat of a success, as Marvel still made profit and was able to make more than other movies released around the same time.

7) Who regulates the film industry in the UK?

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). They give an age rating and content guidance for all films released in the UK.

8) What age rating was Black Widow given? Why?

Black Widow was given a rating of 12A, as it was seen as not too graphic, yet had "moderate violence" and "injury detail". This was important as Marvel had (and still has) a large young audience who may generate a lot of profit.

9) Read this feature on Marvel using a fan's tweet to help market the film. Why is audience interaction such an important aspect of modern film marketing?

Audience interaction is heavily important in modern film marketing because it is used a lot less compared to other marketing methods. This makes companies who do use it stand out more. Normally, a Black Widow billboard wouldn't lead to a news article, but in this case it did, as they used a tweet from a fan. Audience interaction helps companies connect with fans directly, strengthening the bond between 'super-fans' and attracting new viewers. In this case specifically, 'Mars saw bw (@yelenatfilms)' posted a follow-up tweet to the billboard, gaining traction and 

incidentally promoting the movie further.

10) What other interesting details can you pick out of the article about Black Widow marketing? For example, you may want to make a note of some statistics, ratings or how they used TikTok influencers to help promote the film.

The article states that popular TikTok influencers collaborated with Disney to promote the movie, cosplaying as certain Disney characters. Due to the pandemic, they also promoted the film on Disney+, allowing audiences to watch it after paying $29.99. The film itself received an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 92% viewer rating.

Grade 8/9 extension tasks:

If you want a top grade in Media, you should also complete the grade 8/9 extension tasks once you've completed the basic eight questions above. Try the following:

1) Read this Guardian report on Scarlett Johansson suing Disney over the release strategy for Black Widow. Do you agree she is right to be angry with the multiplatform release strategy?

Scarlett Johansson sued Disney as they released Black Widow at cinemas as well as on Disney+. She claimed that her salary was based on the box office performance of the film, which started strong with an $80 million opening weekend, but had a sharp decline. According to exhibitors, the decline was a direct result of the hybrid release, and an exclusive theatrical release would've lead to more profit.

Scarlett Johansson sued over her argument that the performance of the film (caused by the multiplatform release) prevented her from "realising the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel". In my opinion, she is not right to be angry. Her lawsuit is based off her wanting more money, which should be completely unnecessary considering that (most likely) she made millions off of the film. Furthermore, Disney is right when they state that she disregarded the effects of the pandemic. Being able to rent on Disney+ was important for those who couldn't risk going out, yet didn't want to miss out. Her anger seems selfish, and I believe she failed to think about the reasoning behind the multiplatform release before suing.

2) Read this feature on how Black Widow shot 22 minutes of IMAX footage to give viewers an incredible widescreen experience in IMAX cinemas. Why is IMAX an important part of marketing a blockbuster movie?

IMAX is an important part of marketing a blockbuster movie as it expands the aspect ratio, allowing for a widescreen viewing that will attract more people. Most Hollywood blockbusters use IMAX, which makes movies that use it appear more synonymous / similar to them and therefore more popular. It also, somewhat, attracts more viewers through voyeuristic pleasures, in that they're seeing parts of the movie (through the widescreen view) other people who didn't watch in IMAX wouldn't get to see, making it feel more 'special'.

3) Look at this Guardian website page allowing Marvel fans to discuss Black Widow. What interesting opinions do you notice in the comments?

 

• "waitingforgodot10" was unable to watch it in cinemas due to the lockdown, but luckily was able to watch it on Disney+ (proof that the multiplatform release was in fact beneficial). They also compared it to the Bond films, and applauded the feminist theme.
• "MarkLondon11" said, "it's almost as if sex appeal can be used to market films."  He implies he's glad to see the return of the hypersexualisation of female characters (in reference to Scarlett Johansson), and criticises the 'current' (2021) ideology that characters should be played by more realistic, 'conventionally unattractive' actors.
  
• "Theocapa" felt that the film itself was too shallow, in that it refused to delve into deeper themes of trauma or the devastating effects of human trafficking, instead deflecting / ignoring the topic with comedy. "ehaines" replied - "It's Disney. Just edgy enough but not too edgy."
  

 
Finally, you might want to read this feature on whether there are too many Marvel sequels and spin-offs. Do you agree that there are too many Marvel films?

Yes. I completely agree in that Marvel is releasing too many 'origin stories'. It's become quite tedious and lackluster to have to sit through movies that only fill in a few tiny holes in the plotlines of characters we've already seen thousands of times before. Marvel likes to follow the same pattern again and again, in that they'll release a 'final' movie, then go back chronologically to what happened to characters before they died, again and again. As a result, the movies feel like a waste in that we aren't progressing forward at all in the Marvel timeline, and we aren't seeing all of the characters (or any new characcters). In my opinion, Marvel should be releasing movies focused on moving the overarching story forward, that are not focused on a singular character; these character stories can be easily condensed into series on Disney+ (as seen in Wandavision, or Loki). In summary, Marvel should be focusing on releasing new stories with new characters, instead of sequels and prequels.