Despite the fact that they were overtaken by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles last weekend, the gladiators of 300 are the Surprise Hollywood hit story of the year so far...and will probably be for the entire 2007. Even the sharpest showbiz analysts remain astonished at how this one exceeded expectations by miles.
While it employed similar marketing tactics as films like Snakes on a Plane and Superman Returns (MySpace pages, YouTube leaks, an IMAX release, ComicCon appearances and the like), the digitally-designed 300 resonated way better than those predecessors. And everyone's trying to explain why.
One interesting and rather obtuse "conspiracy" theory on 300's success was its TV commercial with the NHL, which mashed up the warriors' battle with the quest for the Stanley Cup. At the NHL marketing meetings two weeks ago, certain Hollywood types on a panel discussion suggested that this touch-point with a sports market segment that kinda digs slam-bang brutality delivered a slew of hockey fans who rarely go to the movies.
This resulted in the type of groundswell that startled the execs, including a day when over 2 million people viewed the 300 trailer on MySpace. Said Warner Bros' distribution President Dan Wellman:
"That hit me between the eyes.
You say to yourself 'Wow!'"
Well, that's what you say, Dan...around here, we say something a little different.