Flixster's "Movies" aims to connect film fans

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-29 11:17

SHIFT TO WEB

Mark Ghuneim, founder of online tracking firm Trendrr, said Hollywood studios are reacting to the "live" ability of social networking websites to affect box office results, and are spending more to advertise on the Internet.

"I think everyone sees an opportunity," said Gordon Paddison, a former online marketing executive with New Line Cinema and now a consultant for major studios.

As one example, Paddison recently was involved in a marketing campaign for alien adventure "District 9," which opened No. 1 at U.S. box offices in August. One of the promotion strategies was to generate fan interest by encouraging people to report "non-human" activity.

With the shift to the Web, the number of newspaper pages with movie ads has shrunk. In the first quarter of this year, motion picture advertising in U.S. newspapers fell 24 percent to $141 million, the Newspaper Association of America said. The drop continued into the second quarter, hitting $107 million.

Major U.S. theater chains Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Inc have curtailed their own showtime listings in newspapers, relying on the Web to provide that information.

In fact, Flixster's "Movie" application is completely supported by advertising, and it allows users to network on the website and through their iPhones without paying anything.

"There are people on the site who write three-page reviews on Flixster with screenshots and links to the trailer, and there are some that write, 'This movie rocks' and they spell 'rocks' wrong," Greenstein said. "And the truth is both are legitimate word-of-mouth around the movie."

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