If you dont remember the 2012 WWE Studios movie Barricade, you cant be blamed for that. This low-budget cabin in the woods thriller didnt star any of WWEs wrestlers. Perhaps for that reason the film was barely promoted on WWE programming. If WWE Studios executives assumed that the popularity of former sitcom star Eric McCormack would sell the film by itself, they sincerely overestimated his level of fame. On the surface, Barricade could have easily made money. It had a low budget ($4.1 million), a small cast, and was directed by Andrew Currie, who won numerous awards for his 2006 horror comedy Fido. But WWE dragged its feet with promoting the film the first poster was not released until a month before its scheduled release, and the first trailer debuted less than three weeks before the DVD hit shelves. With virtually no advertising or press coverage, Barricade was left to die by WWE Studios. And die it did, losing $4 million meaning that when all was said and done the film only made $100,000. Which begs the question: if WWE had no intention of promoting Barricade, why bother making it in the first place?
Chris McKittrick is a published author of fiction and non-fiction and has spoken about film and comic books at conferences across the United States. In addition to his work at WhatCulture!, he is a regular contributor to CreativeScreenwriting.com, MovieBuzzers.com, and DailyActor.com, a website focused on acting in all media. For more information, visit his website at http://www.chrismckit.com.
