2021 Slasher resurgence and boom with Scream return

See Guardian.

LICENSED GAMES short history of slasher games

The overall record of movie game tie-ins is ropey at best, and slasher games certainly reflect this generally poor record.

An alternative way to look at this would be the Space Invaders and Pacman games embedded in Working Title websites to promote Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz - convergence mixed with retromania (Simon Reynolds), successfully targeting young and old.

If working on a horror movie for coursework, a mock-up of a game cover would be an easy means of showing knowledge of marketing practices and how convergence comes into play.

https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3607285/based-hit-film-history-licensed-slasher-games/

BOX OFFICE How horror got year round popularity

Fear-good hit of the summer: how did horror become a year-long box office slayer? https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/15/midsommar-fear-good-hit-of-the-summer-how-did-horror-become-a-year-long-box-office-slayer?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

SLASHER DOC Mark Kermode

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INDIE horror thriving on streaming platforms

Why smart horror is putting the fear into sequel-addicted Hollywood https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/apr/12/horror-quiet-place-get-out-hollywood?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

DISTRIBUTION getting micro-budget movies released

IN THIS POST...
A lengthy post, so it always helps to give a brief summary...

• a great overview
• 3 key horror hits, budget + box office
• the all-time horror box office list  + analysis; same for slashers specifically
• top distributors in 2017
• horror's overall market share
• the Netflix/Amazon option
• self-distribution + using film fests + London screenings (2 £30k examples)
• 2 very useful tags!
• picking a specific distributor for yourself: the Warp and WT examples, plus finding horror specialists

Most movies fail to gain theatrical distribution.
Horror movies typically don't feature any star names (being, mostly, a low budget genre), so have an obvious problem in persuading distributors to gamble serious money.

Then again ... the examples of Halloween, Blair Witch Project and, more recently, Paranormal Activity, showed the possibility of making major box office without the benefit of stars, franchise or a traditionally bankable genre.

SIMPLY A GREAT OVERVIEW,WITH DETAILED FIGURES INCLUDED
Here's a lengthy quote from a lengthy feature which is well worth a read overall...

Horror distribution—either self-distribution or through a distribution company—has left many moviemakers battle-hardened. Sometimes it seems like independent moviemakers need a PhD in economics. “One film I produced certainly opened my eyes to the realities of distribution economics,” says Travis Stevens, owner of production company Snowfort Pictures, Inc., and producer of the Adam Wingard-directed A Horrible Way to Die. “We made the film for $96,000. It played the festival circuit, had a great sales agent, and secured distribution around the world. The advances from those distribution deals brought in roughly $250,000, of which the sales agent kept $50,000, leaving about $200,000 to the producers. The investors recouped their $96,000, leaving $104,000 of profit. On this deal, the investors were entitled to 50 percent of the profits, leaving about $52,000 to be split between the three filmmakers. We made about $17,000 each for a movie we worked on for free about three years. You could probably make more buying or selling shoelaces on eBay!”

Budget to global box office, 3 iconic low budget horror examples

Halloween (1978) $300k - $70m [big chunk of the budget went on just 2 days with Donald Pleasance, a relative 'star']
Blair Witch Project (1999) $60k - $25m [an even better multiple than Hwn! Sundance screening + early eg of viral marketing]
Paranormal Activity (2007) $15k - $194m [an incredible multiple, but misleading as distributor Paramount poured millions into the marketing. Established Jason Blum as the low budget (usually sub-$5m) Michael Bay!]

THE ALL-TIME BIGGEST

GREMLINS tee-shirt with re-release cinema ticket

Well, when you make a pig's ear of globally renowned IP like Superman and Batman, might as well give up on new movies and recycle past glories, right?

Smartest move Warner have done in a while is announcing a 2017 cash-in limited re-release of Joe Dante's classic Gremlins, the cinema release featuring a director feature as a straight promo for a new Blu-ray release!

I'd go see it myself, except for the seeming US only strategy - tad short sighted methinks. But then I got food, bright light and water after midnight sometime back ...

http://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3471801/gremlins-returning-theaters-nationwide-holiday-event/

FRANCHISE + AUDIENCE research

If you're presenting a rundown of the target audience for your own slasher production you need to get into details such as:

• a specific age range + gender/s for both primary + secondary target audience
• justified through specific references to media language links to existing films
• including representations (uses and gratifications theory)
• a moodboard (or 2: 1 for each gender or 1 each for primary/secondary)
• BBFC/MPAA (+/or others) age rating
• test the familiarity of your target audience with the genre, and get some sense of whether there's likelihood some would watch yours
• the historic and recent box office record of the genre
• typical box office, and some comparison with other genres to put this in clear context 
• production and distribution companies with a particular record in the genre
• directors and actors strongly linked to the genre (and therefore with a niche fanbase)
• the role + prominence of franchises in the genre
• specific consideration of remakes, reboots, reimaginings, prequels, sequels
• monetising back catalogue through editionalising DVDs and boxsets (Childs Play a good recent example)
• typical budgets, and some comparison with other genres to put this in clear context (stars, CGI, IP, sets, extras all being significant factors in higher budgets) 
• use of websites + social media by production and distribution companies for marketing
• fandom: fan-sites and social media, as well as UGC on YouTube etc

Some simple searches...

She's written some great analysis on Scream fan communities online (google)

A fantastic book on the narrative structure and audience (using box office analysis) of the slasher (google)

I was looking for hits from the Guardian box office columns (could try it without Gant, others write this too...), and found some prominent links to my own blog - which are rather useful! (google)

I knew he'd written relevant material, having read it ... so widened the search to horror (bear in mind that slasher is a sub-genre and also has multiple alternative names eg slice and dice, stalk and slash) ... and saw lots of useful hits... (google)

Getting into the nitty gritty, homing in on the details of a single franchise. I figured I'd likely find US, world box office for each movie and franchise averages and budgets ... and I did! (google)

SLASHER RETURNS Happy Death Day

Back from the dead: is the slasher movie set to make a killing? https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/17/slasher-films-happy-death-day-halloween-scream?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

AUDIENCE BOX OFFICE Stephen King remake 3rd biggest horror hit

This is a great case study to explore for getting to grips with how producers and distributors set out to target a wide audience (sometimes it's very niche, but not in this case).

Consider elements that might appeal to an underage audience (young characters: U+G identification); the usual core teen-20-something (15-24 with likelihood of some younger is common); mature adults - old school King fans or of the original movie; both genders... Consider how the King brand, It as a franchise, clown iconography, teasing costume design (and the moody lighting was also part of this, denoting a serious tone) through social media ... great case study!

Kingsman: The Golden Circle spies an opportunity at the UK box office – and grabs It https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/sep/26/kingsman-the-golden-circle-uk-box-office-it-stephen-king-film?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Dropping 53% in its third frame, the Stephen King adaptation It added another £2.85m at the weekend, taking the 17-day tally to £26.5m. That’s the highest ever gross for a horror film in the UK, unless you – perversely – count the supernatural Twilight franchise. It is the 11th-biggest hit of 2017 in the UK, behind Beauty and the Beast, Dunkirk, Despicable Me 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, La La Land, Fast & Furious 8, Sing, The Boss Baby and The Lego Batman Movie. It should overtake at least half of those titles by the end of its run. The film covers events in the first half of King’s book and a sequel, covering events occurring 27 years later, has been announced for September 2019.

BOX OFFICE It breaks genre record

Stephen King's It breaks highest-grossing horror record at the US box office https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/sep/11/it-breaks-horror-record-us-box-office-stephen-king-skarsgard-clown?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

1974 slasher should get genre credit not Halloween

The point in this article is well made and well illustrated in the embedded video - if you choose to watch it be aware it features 18-rated scenes of gore.

Peeping Tom and Psycho also need referencing in any slasher history, as does Last House on the Left and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

http://nofilmschool.com/2017/02/how-one-most-influential-horror-films-all-time-made-slashers-possible

Kindergarten horror Chucky and clowns dominating 2017 releases

Scary toddlers and super creeps – helicopter parenting and the rise of 'kindergarten horror' https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/03/scary-toddlers-and-super-creeps-helicopter-parenting-and-the-rise-of-kindergarten-horror?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

CONVERGENCE UGC Slasher classics as comic books

http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3447608/artist-turning-horror-movies-faux-comic-book-covers/

Blumhouse Rules of horror in 2017

Get political and have great scares: the new rules of horror movies https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/may/05/get-political-and-have-great-scares-the-new-rules-of-horror-movies?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

The scream queen directors

The female directors bringing new blood to horror films https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/19/the-female-directors-bringing-new-blood-horror-films-babadook-raw-prevenge?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Blumhouse $5m Indie picked up by Universal is 2017 hit

Logan is a box office mutant while Get Out stays in and Moonlight shines https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/05/logan-get-out-us-box-office-moonlight?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Halloween rebooted again but Friday dropped

Scare tactics: can David Gordon Green bring the slasher flick back to life? https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2017/feb/10/david-gordon-green-halloween-slasher-film-flick?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

MISE-EN-SCENE set-dressing in 4400

tbc

Prominence of student work on YouTube

I've blogged previously on the growing number of made-for-fun short horror films on YouTube (especially zombie flicks), reflecting the ongoing impact of digitisation and the accessibility of digital film-making today, but its worth noting too how the battalions of Media Studies students across the land are leaving their own legacy. As students conduct research into their chosen genre before setting out to create their own genre piece, increasingly they could be accessing other students' distilled research to do so!

When doing some tagging on archive posts I came across a mention of how prominent my students' work was on YouTube search results - so, a year or so on, I had another look, and sure enough, a 'slasher openings' on YouTube (Nov 15th 2013) produced the following top results:

IGS student work came top of the pile in this search

You can help make your work more widely seen by using YouTube categories and tagging.