film distribution Film distribution (also known as Film exhibition or Film distribution and exhibition) is the process of making a movie available for viewing by an audience. This is normally the task of a professional film distributor, who would determine the mark ...

, counterprogramming is a studio's marketing strategy to distribute a film that appeals to audience demographics not targeted by another film or a non-film event. The United States film business is highly competitive and counterprogramming is a studio's way to maximize revenue. In 2003, a number of successes by specialty films during the summer season traditionally dominated by more commercial films inspired studios to release more specialty films in the summer as counterprogramming, rather than releasing them in the following autumn season. The strategy did not succeed because too many specialty films were scheduled for the summer of 2004 and competed with each other rather than the commercial films. Studios also engage in counterprogramming in response to major non-film events.

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian- American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquarter ...

distributed the film ''

Warm Bodies ''Warm Bodies'' is a novel by author Isaac Marion. The book was described as a "zombie romance" by the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' and makes allusions to William Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet''. The author, based in Seattle, originally w ...

'' in the United States on the weekend of , 2013, the same weekend as

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

, to cater to the female teen demographic. The film grossed on its opening weekend and ranked first at the box office. The counterprogramming approach to the Super Bowl had been employed prior to ''Warm Bodies''; the most successful film opening on Super Bowl weekend was '' Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert'' in 2008 with . In 2012, ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

''s Jim Pagels reported that the year's film schedule in the United States lacked counterprogramming compared to previous years. Pagels said studios found counterprogramming riskier because films' second-weekend box office performances had steeper drops from their opening-weekend performances than in the past. He said, "Studios can't afford to suffer a slow start and make it up in later weeks." The decrease in counterprogramming was also attributed to commercial films catering to more demographics, particularly the female demographic. The year's ''

The Dark Knight Rises ''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the ...

'' from

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

had no competition on its opening weekend since no rival studio wanted to compete with the film.

References

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External links

Why Is 'Straight Outta Compton' Considered Counterprogramming?
at ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'', August 14, 2015
Watch: Tina Fey And Amy Poehler's 'Sisters' Embraces Its Destiny As 'Star Wars' Counterprogramming
at ''

'', December 3, 2015
'Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' walks a precarious counterprogramming path taking on 'Batman v Superman'
at ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', March 24, 2016
'The Big Sick' and the health of the summer counter-programmer
at ''

'', July 13, 2017
How Marvel Annihilated Counterprogramming
at ''The Ringer'', May 14, 2018 Film distribution Marketing strategy