Case Studies - The Avengers: Age of Ultron

The Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Release Date: 23rd April 2015
Budget: $250 million
Opening Weekend: $191,271,109 Second biggest opening weekend in History after the first Avengers film, missing out by just over $20 million
Worldwide Gross: $627 million Biggest grossing film of all time. It is the sequel of the Avengers Assemble which had the biggest opening weekend box office takings in film history. It is also part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including films such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. The Avengers films bring many of these characters together, which brings in a much larger audience.
Production Companies: Marvel Studios/ MCU
Director: Joss Whedon. Well known in the Marvel fandom as an Avengers director and being involved in bringing the Comic Book heroes to life. Also wrote episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and the film 'Cabin In The Woods'. He received a lot of criticism from the Avengers fandom for how he wrote many of the characters in Age Of Ultron to be, they felt that he made Natasha too weak and that the love story between Natasha and Bruce was un-needed.
Certificate: 12a
Stars: Returning stars of The Avengers Assemble, fans of the films already knew who to expect. Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass)
With the character of QuickSilver, there was much speculation over who would play him as he was portrayed by Evan Peters in 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' however the two franchises are owned by different production companies and are therefore unable to share actors. Furthermore, in each Comic Book QuickSilver has a different backstory, meaning someone very different would be needed. Aaron Taylor-Johnson has experience playing a Comic Book hero in Kick-Ass which made $48 million.
Marketing:
Trailer:

There were multiple trailers released for Age Of Ultron. 2 Teaser Trailers and multiple full Trailers, plus an 'Exclusive Clip' was shown at the MTV Movie Awards after Robert Downey Jr was honoured with the Generation award.

Poster: 

Makes sure to show the four most well known Avengers in the front of the poster whilst putting less popular characters and new characters further back.

Response: It scored 8.1 on IMDb, 0.1 less than The Avengers Assemble. It is currently at number 1 in the movie charts, not moving since its opening weekend.

Case Studies - UK Independent - Pride

UK Independent - Pride

Release date: 12th September 2014

Budget: Unknown 

Gross: $1,446,638
It was an independent film and a very Niche style production which would restrict the potential audience.

Production companies: Pathe, BBC Film, BFI, Proud Films

Director: Matthew Warchus (Simpatico) Not a well known director, so people would not know what to expect from his style.
Certificate: 15 Though this would limit potential audiences it doesn't do this as much as if it were an 18. This certificate is due to the language and sexual references made during the film.
Stars: Bill Nighy (Hot Fuzz), Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter),  Andrew Scott (BBC Sherlock). Though the film stars many young, relatively new actors, it also features some older, more recognisable faces which would encourage older audiences as the nature of the film may deter the older generations who grew up within the time that the events were taking place and therefore would not hold the same views and values as the younger people that the film is aimed at.
Genre: It is a dramatic comedy though it is based on real events and the work that L.G.S.M did during the mining strikes.
Marketing:
Trailer:

The trailer makes it clear that the film is based on the true events of the miners strike from 1984-85. Though it does show the seriousness of what happened in these years it also shows the more comedic and upbeat side of the film that comes from the flamboyancy of L.G.S.M trying to fit into a small Welsh village. Though it gives an idea of the main storyline it doesn't give any major character arcs away whilst still giving a sense of development in the village community.
Poster:

The poster places the stars who would be most likely to attract an audience at the front and uses very bright colours to attract attention. The clothing clearly shows the time that the film was set in and therefore gives an idea of the events which may have been included in the film.
When most younger people think of the word 'Pride they will probably think more along the lines of Gay Pride and the campaigns for equal rights with sexuality however the older generations with think of the literal definition of the word, being proud of yourself of where you live. Both of these elements are included in the film, therefore attracting a larger audience.
Response: The film was given a 7.8 on IMDb, which is quite high compared to what independent films will generally score.
Awards: LGBTQ film of the year at the Dorian Awards 2015, Best British Independent Film at the British Independent Film awards 2014, Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the BAFTA's 2015

Case Studies - US Blockbuster - The Hobbit: Battle of the five armies

Blockbuster - The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Release date: 17th December 2014
Budget: $250 million
Opening Weekend: $54,734,334
Gross: $255,108,370 (US)
$955million worldwide. Second highest grossing film of 2014, 26th Highest grossing film of all time.
Made approximately $3million less in the US than Desolation Of Smaug and $150million less than An Unexpected Journey. The third film of The Hobbit saga, but the 6th film of the entire 'Middle Earth' saga. Both a sequel and part of a franchise.
This made more than the first two 'Lords of the Rings' films combined. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) however, made $377,019,252. They were new when they were released so it took time to build an audience, hence why the last LOTR film was the most successful, but because of these films 'The Hobbit' already had an audience, which made success much more likely. The Lake Town, Erebor and Woodland realm sets along with much of the landscapes use Visual Effects to make them look more realistic.
Production Companies: New Line Cinema, MGM
Director: Peter Jackson. Famously directed 'The Lord Of The Rings' films. Fans of the franchise would have recognised his name and how well he did with the first films. Also directed 'King Kong' (2005)
Certificate: 12
Stars: Ian McKellen (X-Men), Martin Freeman (The Office, BBC Sherlock), Richard Armitage (Captain America: The First Avenger)
Sir Ian McKellen is returning in the role of Gandalf as he played him in LOTR along with Orlando Bloom in the role of Legolas Greenleaf.
Genre: Adventure fantasy
Marketing:
Trailer:

As it is the third film in the saga and is based on a book, many people knew what to expect from the final instalment from Middle Earth. The trailer has 19,020,478 views on YouTube and includes twitter hashtags and a link to a facebook page in order to allow people to share the trailer. It makes sure to clearly show the main stars of the film as well as giving a faint idea of  the plot of the final chapter for those who did not know what to expect. The non-diegetic sound gives a very tense atmosphere, again hinting at the tense and dramatic feature of the film.
A teaser trailer was released for the film on 28th July 2014 and was played in the trailers of Guardians of the Galaxy, Into the Storm and If I Stay.
Poster:

The poster shows only Bilbo, unlike the other posters. His head is hung which gives an insight into the dramatic and emotional nature of the film. We are told it is the 'defining chapter' illustrating it is an important part of the saga and will most likely be the most dramatic.
Response: Though there was a generally positive response to the film, it scored a 7.5 on IMDb making it the only one of the six Middle Earth films to fall below an 8.0
Extra details: The song that plays in the end credits of the film was written and performed by Billy Boyd who played Pippin in the LOTR films. The Hobbit series was originally planned to be in two parts but they changed it to having three. Initial filming of The Hobbit took 266 days, the exact same amount of time as The LOTR trilogy.
The DVD topped the Home release charts in the week of release.
Won the 'Truly Moving Picture' award at the Heartland film festival.

Case Studies - World Cinema: A Coffee In Berlin

Release Date: 1st November 2012 (Germany)
Budget: €300,000
Opening Weekend: €18,855 (USA - 29th June 2014)
Gross: €117,247 (USA)
Production Companies: Schiwago Film, Chromosom Filmproduktion, Hessischer Rundfunk, ARTE
Country: Germany
Director: Jan Ole Gerster
Certificate: 12 (Germany)
Stars: Tom Schilling (Mein Kampf 2009), Katharina Schuttler
Genre: Drama
Marketing
Trailer: 

Poster: 

Reviews: Received a 7.3/10 from IMDb, and 63/100 on Metacritic. The film received 6 awards at the 2013 German Film Awards and 5 nominations with one win at the 2013 European Film Awards.

Why was it not successful?
It was not shown on many screens around the world and was released at a much later date worldwide, leaving it to compete with much anticipated films such as Transformers: Age Of Extinction and Jersey Boys

Case Studies - US Independent: The First Time

US Independent film: The First Time

Release Date: 21st January 2012 at Sundance Film Festival
19th October 2012 in American Cinemas
Budget: Unknown
Opening Weekend/ Gross: $17,061
Production Companies: Samuel Goldwyn Films, Destination Films, Jerimaca Film
Director: Jon Kasdan
Certificate: pg-13 (USA) 15 (UK)
Stars: Dylan O'Brien (Teen Wolf), Victoria Justice (Nickelodeon)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Marketing:
Trailer:

Poster:

Interview:

 Reviews: Earned 7/10 on IMDb and only 47% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Why was it successful?: The First Time is a coming of age film, a style that will always be popular. Though it did not make as much profit as a high budget Hollywood film would have, it is a much loved film with teenage girls. The cast of the film were a good choice to put this film on the road to success as the film was clearly aimed at teenage girls, many of whom would have grown up over the last few years watching channels such as Nickelodeon, a channel where Victoria Justice has been on multiple television shows. However, now that they are old enough to watch films such as The First Time, they will have moved on to older shows, such as Teen Wolf (Dylan O'Brien) who's demographic is largely female. Therefore, the stars of this film are very important to why it was successful.

Case Studies - UK Low Budget: Only Lovers Left Alive

Release Date: 21st February 2014 (UK)
Budget: $7,000,000
Opening Weekend: $87, 989
Gross: (12th September 2014) $1, 879,534
Production Companies: Recorded Picture Company, Pandora Filmproduktion, Snow Wolf Produktion
Countries: United Kingdom, Germany, Greece
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Certificate: 15
Stars: Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers), Tilda Swinton (The Chronicles of Narnia), Mia Wasikowska (Alice In Wonderland)
Genre: Romance, Horror, Drama
Marketing:
Trailer:

Poster:

Interviews: 

Reviews: 
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/only-lovers-left-alive-2014
It was given positive reviews, winning multiple awards at film festivals. 85% from Rotten Tomatoes and 7.3/10 from IMDb

Why was it not successful?:
Ever since Twilight, Vampires have been a sure fire way of a film gaining success, however this film did not do well at the box office at all with a loss of over $5million. Though the film gained very positive reviews which, for low budget and independent films can be the thing that makes or breaks them, the main reason for the failure of the film was a lack of advertisement. It was shown on very few cinema screens and was only heard about for many people through word of mouth. Social media was a very prominent part of spreading the word about this film, and many people heard about it purely because of the stars, such as Tom Hiddleston fan blogs on blogging platform Tumblr.

Case Studies - US Blockbuster: The Maze Runner

US Blockbuster: The Maze Runner

Release Date: 19th September 2014
Budget: $34,000,000
Opening Weekend: $32,512,804 (USA)
Gross: (7th November 2014): $98,946,102 (USA)
Number 1 film in the world on opening weekend
Production Company: 20th Century Fox
Director: Wes Ball
Certificate: 12
Based on a best selling novel by James Dashner
Stars: Dylan O'Brien (Teen Wolf), Kaya Scodelario (SKINS), Will Poulter (We're The Millers), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Game Of Thrones)
Genre: Action, Mystery, Sci-fi
Marketing:
Trailer:

This trailer has 7,294,904 views on YouTube. It has been seen all over Social Media, which helped gain major popularity before the film was even released. It shows the main characters clearly and focuses on the popular actors that feature in the film

Poster:

Interviews:

Reviews: The response to 'The Maze Runner' was generally very positive with praise for the new way that the popular teen based dystopian future was shown. However, many people saw it as yet another 'Hunger Games' wannabe with 63% from Rotten Tomatoes and 7.3/10 from IMDb

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/11148854/The-Maze-Runner-review-grips-from-the-get-go.html

Why was it so successful?:
It is based on 2009 best selling novel 'The Maze Runner' by James Dashner which already had a large fan base.
Features many rising teen stars from popular television shows such as Dylan O'Brien from Teen Wolf and Thomas Brodie-Sangster from Game Of Thrones. Dylan O'Brien was the most reblogged actor on Tumblr  in 2013.
The Young-Adult dystopian style films such as The Maze Runner, Divergent and The Hunger Games have been incredibly popular over the past few years.
It was released on the same weekend as quite small films, with its only real competition from 'This Is Where I Leave You', which had a higher certificate, therefore restricting its audience. The film was released just after the end of the Summer holidays, which can sometimes be a bad idea for a film, however it made sure that there weren't as many big films for it to compete with, as well as making it the perfect film for a final treat for teens to go to see it before the school year kicks in.