One Great Return on Investment
When I went to see The Blair Witch Project (1999), it was a couple weeks after the release. The lobby was filled with people excitedly talking about the movie. Some of them had already seen it and were talking about what they thought of it. There was a buzz of anticipation for this movie that I usually only feel before seeing a movie on opening night. I had to stand in a line that stretched outside at the same theater that I went to see The Phantom Menace on opening day with a less than capacity crowd.
What is the secret behind the success of The Blair Witch Project? The movie cost little to make (around $30,000 before the marketing blitz) and has made in excess of $140 million in domestic box office. I say the reason is threefold: style, word-of-mouth, and an interesting web page.
The Blair Witch Project is a pseudo-documentary. This is the reason I went to see the movie. I wanted to see if it had been done well enough to make me believe that what I was watching was actually recovered footage of kids making a documentary. This aspect of the movie requires a little bit of suspension of disbelief, but it is pulled off pretty well. During the most scary scenes, one would think that the filmmakers would ditch their cameras; however, this is acceptable since Heather Donahue's character is so adamant about filming everything during earlier conflicts.
Word-of-mouth is the best fuel for a movie's box office success. It is the reason Wild Wild West (1999) bombed and The Sixth Sense (1999) boomed. People who have seen The Blair Witch Project usually have something to say about it. Some people are scared to death, and they love it. Others are made nauseous by the camerawork, and they leave the theater before it is over. Either way, everyone has something to say about it. After hearing so many varied opinions of the movie, one is compelled to see it, just to find out if you will love it or hate it.
The Blair Witch Project's website enhances the false realism of the story. A history of the legend of the Blair Witch is given as a timeline, and biographies of the filmmakers are shown. Everything is presented as though the events depicted in the movie actually happened, except for a hyperlink on each page that allows you to purchase the video or DVD. Internet hype about The Blair Witch Project was extremely positive, in a large part due to the website. In this day and age, internet reviews can make or break a movie, and the ability to produce a catchy website is more and more instrumental in creating excitement before the movie's premier.
All things said and done, The Blair Witch Project is a huge success. Hollywood will surely feel the backlash of this success, with major studios trying to duplicate its marketing and style. Like it or hate it.
What do you think?
Let me know!