AdAge - Viral not enough for Snakes

Advertising Age - MediaWorks - 'Snakes on a Plane' Rakes in Lackluster $15.25 Million

Excerpt:

The figure, which included $1.4 million from late-night screenings Thursday, was good enough to capture the top spot in an otherwise lackluster frame.

"There was so much inflated hype," David Tuckerman, New Line's president of distribution, said yesterday. "We thought we'd do better."

New Line had stoked the "Snakes" fever for months, throwing open the door for fans to create their own artwork, videos, music and more, using what's usually closely guarded intellectual property. Fans took the bait, starting a groundswell of interest in the movie long before it launched.

The film's website has attracted more than 3 million unique visitors, while fan-created Snakes on a Blog has attracted half a million.

The box office receipts for "Snakes" might confirm what some industry marketers already suspected: There's no real way to equate internet chatter with consumers' intent to see a movie.

"It was very risky and very audacious for New Line to let the audience become part of the filmmaking process, and I commend them for that," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co. "But just because people are very aware of the movie doesn't necessarily mean they have a desire to see it. It shows that there's no direct correlation between all that online buzz and ticket sales."

Box office revenues are up about 7% so far this year, Exhibitor Relations figures show, and attendance has increased 3.7% from 2005.