Jaws - Creating a legendary film Pt 7

Promoting Jaws

Universal Studio had a budget of $1,8 million to promote Jaws. About 700.000 USD were spend on a television spot advertising and it was a twenty five TV spot on line during the prime - time network TV at June 1975.

The Promotional Plan of Jaws

The Promotion of Jaws started by Producers Zanuck and Brown and the Jaws novel writer Peter Blenchley started a joint promotion of the book and film by participating on television and radio talk shows. The joint promotion strategy were based on John Williams music theme and a film poster was the same as books cover “ a shark approaching a lone female swimmer”. The poster of the was designed by The Seininger Advertising Agency.

Merchandise of Jaws

The film Jaws was accompanied by a large number of merchandise products like : soundtrack album. T- shrts, plastic tumblers, original Peter Blenchley’s book, beach towels, blankets, sharl costumes, toy sharks, hobby kits, posters, games, sleepwear, water pistols and even shark’s tooth necklace.

Box Office performance of Jaws

The opening of Jaws achieved 7 million during the first weekend in theaters and broke even the production cost in two weeks. Jaws was an enormous box - office success ad in just eleven weeks overtook the Godfather and it became the highest - crossing film at North America and the first film to reach $ 100 million in rentals.

The picture started to be distributed in International markets in December 1975 and actually the international box office success was similar to US market performance. Jaws was a phenomenon as a blockbuster it broke box office records in Singapore, New Zealand, Japan, Spain and Mexico. Actually, by 1977 Jaws gained the title as the highest - grossing release with worldwide rentals of $ 193 million and about $ 400 million of gross revenue.

Two years later Star Wars surpassed Jaws for the U.S. Box Office statistics and set a new high global record in 1978. Actually, as August 2012, Jaws is the 116th - highest - grossing film of all time with $ 470,7 million worldwide and the and the 57th highest domestically with a total North America gross of 260 million.

Jaws is the seventh - highest - grossing more of all time sold 128.078.000 tickets, with a total of $ 1.017 billion at current price.  

Jaws and the New Hollywood Business - Model

Before Jaws there was the traditional progressive release in which a film used to enter new markets and used to build support over time. Jaws film established the new model of opening a film simultaneously at thousands of cinemas after a huge television advertising campaign.

Also, Jaws started a new financial model for Hollywood film business. Jaws had achieved a huge commercial success, it broke - even in only 11 weeks and actually create studios corporate appetite for big profits. Studios started to see films as marketable commodity and a cultural phenomenon.

After Jaws, the summer opening became the prime season for the release of studios possible blockbuster. Jaws established the high concept pictures with ability to easily described and promoted to audience.

The Jaws effect

The huge commercial success of Jaws motivated a large number of filmmakers and producers to create films based on man - eating animals such as Orca,  

Jaws - Creating a legendary film Pt 6 Grizzly, Alligator Day of the Animals, Eaten Alive and Piranha, Great White, Monster Shark, Devil Fish and sequels of Jaws.

Jaws Fest Festival

The local currency of Martha’s Vineyard organized the “JawsFest”. A documentary feature length documentary “The sharkes still working”.

Elias Stoikos

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