the clown

The man had just created the most important project of his career.?

It was a film that he knew would be a massive hit.?

It had three relatively unknown young stars:?

- Brie Larson (who went on to star as Captain Marvel)?

- LaKeith Stanfield (who went on to star in Get Out, Atlanta)??

- Rami Malek (who went on to star in Mr. Robot, Bohemian Rhapsody)?

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (who went on to direct Shang-Chi)?

It was celebrated with countless awards at film festivals.

It had a 98% Tomatometer (!!!) and 92% Popcornometer (!!!)?

The man put millions into the marketing.?

The movie was Short Term 12.?

People LOVED it.?

But it spectacularly flopped.???

Making only $1.6 million in the theaters.?

He felt like he did everything right - story, cast and crew.?

But he still lost money.

So he stopped making movies.??

~

It’s… Art!

Almost a decade later, he learned of a very small budget (35k!!) horror movie that was developing a cult following.?

It had a new character that he believed could be as popular as Freddy Kruger.?

He bought the rights to the movie and started making a sequel.

They bumped up the budget for series creator Damien Leone to the meager sum of $250,000.??

It was released in 2022 and was a massive success.?

It did $15 million in the box office.?

A bloody slasher movie that had a villain who could make Freddy Krueger blush...?

Art the Clown. And he was a star.?

And they got to work on the third installment…?

Terrifier 3.?

~

Terrifier 3 just broke the record for highest-grossing unrated film… ever.?

Making over $65 million already (!!!)?

On only a $2 million dollar budget.?

Oh and it destroyed The Joker (which had a budget of $200 million)?

How??

The easy answer is “word of mouth”

But it’s a little more complex…

~

Nine Long Years

So what they heck did this guy do, in nine long years, after he swore he wouldn’t make another movie??

Started building an audience.??

His company, Cineverse, built out:?

• A streaming platform
• Acquired Screambox (a horror subscription service)?
• Acquired Bloody Disgusting (a super popular horror blog)?
• Built a network of 40+ podcasts (with millions of listeners each month)
• A ton of really cool creative / marketing / stunts for the launch of Terrifier 2?

So by the time they were ready to launch Terrifier 3…

The entire machine was built to maximize exposure with owned channels…

And then added a small marketing budget…

Designed to accelerate word of mouth.?

~

Chris McGurk, the CEO of Cineverse, has the biggest hit of his career.??

But the most important project happened years ago.

The project sent him on a new path.?

It forced him to re-think everything.??

And created a blueprint for anyone who is trying to launch something great.?

It starts with the great story you think your audience will love.?

But it escapes when you can activate your own channels.

To speak directly to your community.?

And tell them to bring a friend.?

~?

Now, we in B2B marketing get this half right.?

We have a community.?

We have a few owned channels.?

But we never try to make the moonshot.?

~?

Shorts, Shows, and Moonshots?

Content works best when you have a tiered approach to the way that you are creating.

Shorts keep you top of mind.

Shows build a consistent relationship with your audience.

Moonshots capitalize on exponential upside.

They all work together to maximize revenue creation.

But you have to take the moonshots.

Find a story you think your audience will love.?

With a character you think can be a star.?

And take the swing.??

~

We do video! Or podcasts! Let’s make something cool together.?

We are working on some wild and crazy content projects in 2025. If you have an idea for a wild and crazy project and need a partner to help bring it to life… let’s talk!?

-Ian