Warner Bros. has been defying the odds.
At a time when ticket sales are still running 23 percent behind prepandemic levels, when big stars rarely translate into obvious wins, when even superheros cannot be relied on to cut through the clutter, the studio has for months delivered hit after hit, regardless of genre, budget or cast.
“A Minecraft Movie.” “Sinners.” “Final Destination: Bloodlines.” “F1: The Movie.” “Superman.” “Weapons.” “The Conjuring: Last Rites.” It’s a run that has left rival studios staring in disbelief and box office analysts struggling to come up with comparisons.
What has Warner Bros. discovered in this difficult box office moment that the rest of Hollywood has not?
The studio credits its filmmakers and a diversified release slate. But the hit parade can also be attributed to savvy salesmanship. Dana Nussbaum, Christian Davin and John Stanford — young executives who took over Warner’s movie marketing department in January — have been drafting a new playbook that includes a social media “war room” operating around the clock and online influencers playing a bigger role.
“Every campaign must be bespoke, and you have to quickly shift based on what the audience is telling you,” Ms. Nussbaum said. “The audience moves really fast, and you have to be moving at the same pace.”
Their approach will be tested this weekend with “One Battle After Another,” an R-rated epic from the auteur director Paul Thomas Anderson. The movie — part drama, part absurdist comedy, part adventurous chase — cost at least $130 million to make. (Some competing studios said the price was even higher.) Add another $70 million or more in global marketing costs.
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