Movie Releases Take The Field (And Center Stage) During the Super Bowl

Consumers might spend a lot of time after the Super Bowl talking about the funny beer commercial, the celebrity appearances in certain ads or, gasp, even the game itself. According to a study by consumer research company MarketCast, though, movie promos in the Big Game could actually make audiences get off their sofas, hit the theaters and help drive box office success.

MarketCast looked at movie promos appearing in the Super Bowl over the last five years and found that strong Ad Breakthrough (the % of audience that remembers the ad and brand) combined with high Ad Likeability (the % of audience that likes the ad creative) correlate to ticket sales at the box office. And promos for different genres of films have the potential to drive even better results for Hollywood studios, who often sink hundreds of million dollars into production and marketing movies globally.

• Since 2020, an average movie promo in the Super Bowl has garnered 46% for Ad Breakthrough and 56% for Likeability.
• Family films, such as Minions, Wicked and Kung Fu Panda, tend to have box office overperformance relative to their Ad Breakthrough and Likeability measurement, according to MarketCast.
• Long-standing franchises that have built fan equity over time – such as Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park – have performed well because of their history. While Indiana Jones (2023) ranked second for Ad Breakthrough (54%), it scored (pun intended) at the top for Likeability (70%). 
• Last year, Wicked was a truly unique exception. As a theatrical franchise with unfamiliar characters and theatrical IP that was introducing itself to movie audiences for the first time, it not only reached the vast Super Bowl audience but resonated with consumers enough to drive box office sales and create a now rabid fanbase.