The new horror movie “Longlegs” had a super successful opening last weekend, making over $20 million. That’s a record for the studio Neon! How did they create such a huge buzz around the movie?
Some key people they got onboard early were YouTube creators like James Janisse. He has millions of subscribers to his horror channel “Dead Meat.” Janisse and his wife Chelsea got to see “Longlegs” way before anyone else, when it was just the two of them in the theater.
Neon knew getting social media influencers excited would help spread the word. They sent Janisse a special birthday invite to a screening, where he could chat with one of the stars, Maika Monroe. After that, his fans wanted to see it too.
The marketing campaign started way back in January, with little teaser clues and codes. Newspapers had cryptic ads. They put a billboard up in LA with Nicolas Cage’s character talking if you called the number. People online spent months trying to crack the codes and secrets.
Here’s an interesting part – the studio hid Cage in all the ads! They wanted viewers guessing and imagining his creepy character. Focusing on Maika’s FBI role built suspense. It was a risk not showing a big star like Cage, but it worked out.
“Longlegs” had the best opening weekend ever for a horror movie this year. Most of the audience was men over 25. It also did very well with Latino fans. The top cities where it made money were LA, New York, Chicago and Denver.
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Word of mouth is spreading too, so “Longlegs” may keep earning more over time like the classic thriller “Seven.” The marketing plan of cryptic clues and influencers clearly paid off!
