The Fault In Our Stars was a surprise success in the box office this summer grossing over $40 million in it's opening weekend. There are a number of reasons behind the film's huge success, a few of which will be discussed in this essay whilst at the same time looking at just how this success is measured.
One of, if not the major reason behind the film's success was the sheer size of the fan base that existed for the book. John Green's pre-existing popularity as an author is evident in the fact that the novel reached the number one spot on the New York Times Best Sellers list selling over 10 million copies and having been translated into 46 different languages. This alone shows the sheer size of the fan base. However the success of the film does not just rest on the size of the fan base, but also on it's dedication and passion. The so called 'nerdfighters' are an incredibly active and vocal fan base, not just in regards to The Fault In Our Stars but also in regards to Green's other works. Despite this Green himself does not understand why this particular novel has become so successful even saying so in a post on his tumblr blog (fishingboatproceeds). However the passion of this fan base is evident in the fact that a great number queued for over 30 hours for the Manhattan première.
As the fan base is predominantly an online presence social media played a huge role in the success of the film. Photo sharing site Instagram brought great attention to the film through the use of the hashtags: #thefaultinourstars and #thefaultinourstarsmovie. Over 1.6 million posts were made under these hashtags, with over 16 million people interacting with the posts. Instagram was not the only social media site that had a huge impact in garnering attention for the film, micro blogging site Twitter also played a role. The figures from Twitter are similar to those from Instagram showing that social media does indeed have a massive effect on the potential popularity of a film.
The using of social media to garner attention for the film was part of a clever marketing campaign for the film. By getting the ball rolling on social media the film became known quickly to a wider audience. The use of teaser trailers, posters and other forms of advertising also further pushed the film into the public eye. In addition to the normal avenues of marketing, the use of a special screening was set up with a Q&A with the cast and John Green, drawing more attention not only for those in attendance but also to those who only heard about the screening, keeping the film in the public consciousness.
The success of the film also relied on the fact that the demographic which it targeted was one that was often ignored by major studios. Whereas many summer releases are generally action or rom-com aimed at men/boys and women respectively, The Fault In Our Stars reaches out to the young adult demographic, which as a whole is generally under represented in cinema. Through giving young adults the representation, not only in the film itself but also as a viable demographic. This meant more people were going to watch the film in cinemas as they felt that their needs as film goers were being met.
Another reason for the film's success was the film itself. The story was something fresh, real and relatable giving the film an edge over films it was up against at the box office. The story from the novel is not glossed over or watered down for this film adaptation allowing it to keep that relatability. Not just the story but the characters are also relatable, the main reason for this as Ansel Elgart (Augustus Waters in the film) states is because the characters are defined by their personhood not their cancer. The film also deals with cancer and the effects of the disease in a tactful way without romanticising the loss and suffering that comes with it.
In the immediate follow up of film's release its success can only really be measured by the mount of money it makes in the box office, which in the case of The Fault In Our Stars is a lot and by the amount of attention and buzz it generates in the public and social media outlets, which again the case of The Fault In Our Stars is a lot. However this can only go so far as the success of a film can also be measured by the extent of its legacy but for The Fault In Our Stars the film the fact that it is a new film means it has not had the chance to establish a legacy for itself just yet thus for the full extent of The Fault In Our Stars' success to be realised only time can tell.
From the evidence for The Fault In Our Stars' success it can be concluded that it is a result of numerous reasons predominantly being the pre-existing fan base but social media, marketing and promotion all played a role in its success as did using the potential of it's intended audience and it's refreshing storyline. But as earlier mentioned the true success of The Fault In Our Stars will not be fully realised for some time yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment