10 Most Ridiculous Movie Marketing Campaigns
9. Only In Cinemas...During A Pandemic - Tenet
The film industry is trying to survive in unprecedented times right now - as we all are, in honesty - and while the overwhelming majority of the year's remaining releases were either pushed into 2021 or released on VOD, Christopher Nolan's new tentpole Tenet held firm, leading the theatrical charge.
Hailed before its release as the film primed to "save" cinema, Tenet's aggressive marketing campaign saw Warner Bros. insisting on posters and trailers that the film was "only in theaters," a tactic which some criticised as tasteless in the middle of a global pandemic.
After all, encouraging people to head out and see the only event film in cinemas, especially in the U.S. which has responded particularly poorly to the pandemic, is arguably irresponsible at best, if not downright reckless.
However, Nolan and Warner Bros.' steadfast commitment rather backfired, given the film's poor commercial showing in North America, not only making Tenet a box office bomb but effectively scaring every other major blockbuster film out of 2020 entirely. Yikes.