The rise of the influencer screening

Leading up to its release in theaters, there's been a lot of hype surrounding the new Marvel movie Thunderbolts*. That’s by design.

The film stars Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan as side characters from other franchises (Black Widow and Captain America, respectively) who must band together to form a new, Avengers-esque crew to save the world — and the box office. It opens in theaters Friday and is projected to earn about $70 million in its opening weekend.

Superhero movies have long been a staple of moviegoing, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars every year as fans turn out to see familiar characters suit up and kick ass. But every year we move past the best-performing superhero film of all time, Avengers: Endgame, social media users say they’ve noticed an influx of positive reviews coming out of screenings leading up to big releases — particularly at events held for influencers who post glowing reviews afterward.

"As distrust in traditional media builds, we find that a recommendation from an influencer or trusted fan source is often worth more than a traditional review," said Tom Putnam, senior vice president of distribution at Monkey Wrench Films.

Leena Sowambur, a digital marketing expert, told Yahoo Entertainment that this publicity technique has been around for years.

“In film, music and entertainment, we’ve always known that superfans and tastemakers will do the promotional work for you — because for them, it’s not just content, it’s a mission. They love and live for this,” she said. “We’re not selling to everyone at once. We’re seeding influence at the top … and letting it cascade outward. That’s always been the psychology behind buzz-building — and social just makes it louder and faster.”

The goal is to hit the “early majority” before release so a film can easily go mainstream, but that’s not always easy — or cheap.

“Doing so takes huge amounts of marketing budget, so tapping into fan fervor will always buy more media space when it carries,” Sowambur said. “The mainstream is of course where the money is, but your innovators and early adopters ensure you maintain some credibility.”

Buzz used to spread through fanzines, mailing lists and word of mouth. Now, social media is king.

“If you get 100 passionate micro-influencers in a room, each with 5,000 to 10,000 followers, and give them not just access, but tools — press materials, content kits and a thoughtful experience — they’ll light up the internet,” Sowambur said.

Gigi Robinson, a creator economy strategist, told Yahoo Entertainment that “early influencer screenings are one of the smartest moves in entertainment marketing right now.”

“What makes them so impactful is that they create a full content arc. It’s not just about showing up and watching a movie,” she said. “Every creator makes it their own. … These screenings make people feel like they’re part of something exclusive. And that anticipation? That’s what gets people into theaters.”

It’s not just studios who want people to see their movies. Theater owners want to build excitement to fill their seats.

At CinemaCon in April, a yearly conference for the trade organization Cinema United, major studios presented footage of upcoming movies to theater owners and members of the press. The films that stirred by far the most excitement among audiences were, by far, new installments in superhero franchises. Studio executives and directors addressed how fans are at the core of everything they do.

“We always put our fans first,” Warner Bros. executive Richard Brenner said onstage. Shortly after, David Corenswet, who stars in the highly anticipated Superman movie coming to theaters in July, said he was excited to bring the character “to a new generation and give them that first experience that turned those of us who are fans into fans in the first place.”

Footage from Superman inspired thunderous applause. A teaser for The Fantastic Four: First Steps made audience members gasp.

But what do fans actually get from the influencers who post about these movies?

Steven Asarch, a culture writer and longtime Marvel comic fan, told Yahoo Entertainment about the joy he felt while attending a midnight screening of the first Avengers movie with a friend group “created solely to theorize about Marvel movies … giddy with potential for our favorite characters to become mainstream icons.”

“As the decades passed and the movies kept coming out, that magic started to wane,” he said. “Still after so many duds, I still find myself getting caught up in the hype scandal. I’ll see a trailer and be gobsmacked at the premise and potential, helping my TikTok feed get engulfed with theories from [influencer] Straw Hat Goofy and his ilk.”

It’s part of a cycle. As the movie nears release, stories of on-set drama, reshoots and leaks put a damper on Asarch’s excitement.

“But I’m still there opening weekend to watch and hopefully be elated, though most likely disappointed,” he added. “Marvel movies haven’t been a cultural phenomenon since Avengers: Endgame and aren’t nearly making as much money for Disney.”

Christian Becker, who has been watching Marvel movies since Iron Man came out in 2008, told Yahoo Entertainment that he’s “ride or die for these movies with or without influencers.”

“Early reactions and reviews I’m usually pretty skeptical of, because the studios always seem to handpick those they let in and give them a great ‘experience’ at these screenings so it may sway their opinions in a more positive direction,” he said. “Time and time again, we see these movies start with really high scores and buzz, only to drop points on the Rotten Tomatoes meter the more critics who see it.”

He’d rather judge the movie for himself. Besides, it’s a special occasion whenever he can get his childhood friends together to see the latest Marvel movie. The experience of going to the movies and seeing old pals — onscreen and off — does more than the studio’s marketing budget.

“[It] seems that the real influencers are the legacy characters like Wolverine or [Tobey Maguire’s] Spider-Man since it’s those multiverse characters that actually gets butts in seats,” Becker said. “Hence why Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine saw Marvel’s biggest successes since [Avengers: Endgame]. My friends hear ‘Hugh Jackman is back!’ and they’re in!”