This year, however, theres a real sense that the tide is beginning to turn.
Three films that have been announced in recent months have felt the benefit of this.Deadpool,Spider-Man,andAlien5.
Deadpool, right now, is the most obvious, acknowledged beneficiary.
20th Century Fox had been umming and aahing for several years about the Ryan Reynolds-headlined X-Men spin-off.
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The turning point, though, was footage that was apparently illegally leaked online.
This footage, in fact…
The leak, as Reynolds has admitted, changed everything.
However, the reaction to the footage was hugely positive.
It went viral, and evidence of a sizeable groundswell of support for aDeadpoolmovie was suddenly apparent.
Fox got cracking, greenlit the film last December, and production starts next month.
Dont hold us to that, of course.
It had an impact.
You could see it and feel it in the executive suites.
Was that the catalyst, then, for Marvel and Sony getting the deal done?
And then we come toAlien 5, which it wont be called.
It turns out that we were right.
Fox and Blomkamp dont want anAlien: Resurrectionsequel.
Heres some of Blomkamps artwork…
So what actually happened?
Again, crucially, it was also greeted positively.
Yet even in initial interviews afterwards, the idea of it being a feature was downplayed.
Was the leaking, in this instance, some deliberate market research for Blomkamp, then?
It is wise to add a note of caution.
It wasnt of course, and the internets ability to amplify voices was shown then.
This is not a foolproof approach.
But its an excuse to post thatDaredevilsizzle reel again…
The box office performance ofDeadpool,Spider-Man,andAlien5will, of course, be intensively monitored.
But in particular, dont be surprised to see studio heads looking for clues here.
Deadpoolis up first, landing in February 2016.
And if that hits big, expect Martin Lawrence to release his concept art forBig Mommas 4the day after.
