12 Films Ruined By Their Marketing

From the very beginning, Fox and Ridley Scott were clearly not on the same page as to what film they were making. The very first promotional material released for the film featured a close-up of the Xenomorph and simply featured the tagline, "Run". It immediately conveyed the message to fans and movie-goers that this would be a return to the horror of the original installments.

And while that wasn't wrong, it wasn't correct in the sense that they were selling it. In actuality, the film was very much a direct sequel to Prometheus. It continued the themes and stories of that prior film in a large way, while gradually building the horror and tension. This culminated in a huge third act reveal of the Xenomorph.

This moment is one that should have (and would have) been a huge moment for fans of the franchise. Instead, because the marketing had literally showcased clips of every scene with the Xenomorph in it, audiences were left disappointed that the creature didn't show up sooner.

Had the marketing sold the film for what it truly was, a sequel to Prometheus, and kept the more traditional Alien elements under wraps, they would have received the proper love they deserved. Instead, the marketing set dangerously inaccurate expectations which resulted in the film itself receiving a great deal of unearned backlash.