Terrifying The Box Office

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Let’s beat the midweek slump, FutureParty people. The best way to do that is by trying something you know is a long shot. That’s the vibe behind a new TikTok trend called “rejection therapy,” where people record themselves trying to do something or asking for something that they’re pretty sure they’ll be turned down from. The trend is really about capturing the awkward interaction that will occur after you get rejected. But, who knows, maybe it’ll actually work out. Go out on a limb today… just maybe not literally.

DAILY TOP TRENDS

Terrifier 3 Kills It At The Box Office

Cineverse’s low-budget slasher film, Terrifier 3, has surprised all of Hollywood to become a bonafide theatrical hit with over $40 million in just a couple of weeks, beating out some of October’s tentpoles.

The Big Picture: A super gory, unrated, independent film becoming one of the biggest movies in America (and with good reviews) further proves that the horror genre is one of the most reliable at the box office, mainly driven by a loyal fanbase who finds community in the scares.

Behind The Scenes: Cineverse, which is only worth $35 million and controls a variety of assets from true-crime podcasts to faith-and-family app Dove Channel, saw its stock jump 20% on the Nasdaq on the success of Terrifier 3… a lifesaver considering it was almost de-listed recently.

• Damien Leone’s film cost in the low single-digit millions, which the indie company Cineverse funded by taking out a loan on the profits of Terrifier 2 (which made roughly $16 million in 2022).

• Cineverse only spent $500,000 on marketing, which included several IRL and digital stunts, such as a call line with villain Art the Clown, a viral TikTok of Art shaking his head at a Joker: Folie à Deux billboard.

• It also leveraged some of its other platforms to get the word out to the horror community, including streaming service Screambox (where Terrifier 2 drove a 3x increase in subscribers) and tastemaker site Bloody Disgusting.

Final Kill: It’s rare for a movie to multiply in ticket sales with each new installment, especially when the first Terrifier didn’t even crack half a million at the box office in 2016. Fascinatingly, it seems culture has caught up with it, minting Art the Clown as this generation’s Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees. That means Cineverse will likely be making Terrifier moves for years to come… but also signals to the industry that the company knows how to help indie movies break out in a tough marketplace that rarely rewards niche films. Mastering marketing may be the most important skill for a Hollywood studio in 2024.

Go Deeper: Cineverse CEO Chris McGurk goes into even more detail about Terrifier 3’s success on The Town.

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Product Packaging Is Getting Weird

A crop of startups are trying out-of-the-box packaging to stand out in a sea of products on store shelves.

Why It Hits: Becoming a conversation starter is the goal of marketing. But when you don’t have the marketing budget, making the product itself the marketing may be a key to reaching consumers.

Between The Shelves: Brands are embracing what marketing and venture capital consultant Michael Miraflor dubs “chaos packaging.”

• Engine Gin put its spirits inside motor oil containers, Graza put olive oil in condiment squeeze-bottles, Flo put its tampons in ice-cream tubs, Vacation put its sunscreen in whipped-cream bottles, and Liquid Death put its water in beer-can tallboys.

• The packaging is a fun play on the product names (Engine Gin), allows people to try products in new ways (Vacation), and connects to what people associate the product with (Flo).

The Future: The packaging leads to great earned media — Vacation co-founder Lach Hall says its Classic Whip sunscreen generates five million views on TikTok weekly during the summer. But it can also confuse consumers and store employees — Flo co-founder Susan Allen Augustin says that people have accidentally put its tampons in the freezer. But, hey, that’s the risk of breaking the mold. Expect product designers to become one of the hottest jobs in marketing over the next year.

Go Deeper: “Chaos packaging’s” cousin is absurd humor in marketing campaigns.

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DEEP DIVES

• Read: NYT Style Magazine highlights four artists who have reshaped the culture of their respective disciplines — Florence Welch, Lorna Simpson, Jonathan Anderson, and Theaster Gates.

• Listen: Decoder chats with Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi, which dovetails into a testy exchange about tax reform in the US… leading Intuit to ask to be removed from the podcast.

• Watch: Filmmaker Jon M. Chu sits down with WSJ to discuss his upbringing and his upcoming movie, Wicked.

66% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Do you think the lithium boom will remake Arkansas?

“If the revenue is spent wisely.”

“Arkansas is ready for this kind of change. So many hidden gem towns like Hot Springs and Fayetteville. I think the growth could be explosive.”

“No, I think they’ll just come in and overuse the resources without investing in the area.”

“Mining destroys landscapes. How could it benefit the area if it trashes the local environment? Something tells me people are misunderstanding the impact of large mining ops. Corporate progress is taking advantage.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

QUICK HITS

→ Entertainment / Media

🎮 Netflix is calling game over on its AAA game studio, opting to re-focus on more mobile-esque titles.

💀 A Blumhouse study found that — shocker — 44% of respondents watch horror movies all year long, not just during spooky season.

📺 Gathr, a film and event tech company, is launching a “partner TVOD” platform to help release controversial movies.

→ Technology

📰 OpenAI and Microsoft are offering $10 million grants to publishers who use their AI tools in the newsroom.

👩‍💻 The Defense Department is recruiting top Silicon Valley technologists to be part-time military officers.

🤖 Blade Runner 2049 producer Alcon Entertainment is suing Elon Musk, Tesla, and Warner Bros. Discovery for copyright infringement over AI-generated images during the We, Robot event.

→ Fashion / E-commerce

⛹️ Nike has signed a 12-year deal with the NBA, WNBA, and NBA G-League to be their on-court uniform and apparel provider.

👕 Amazon is taking on Temu with its own fast-fashion, low-cost product platform.

🎵 Designer KidSuper is launching a record label with a new single from Giggs and Quavo.