How MGM Teamed Up With Amazon To Make ‘Creed III’ The Biggest Blockbuster Ever Streamed For $100 Million

The power of a wide theatrical release was realized this weekend by streamer Amazon returning to the big screen with MGM/United Artists Releasing’s Creed III. It was easily the best opening ever for the Seattle-based parent, as well as the stony $58.6 million domestic and $100.4 million worldwide franchise.

While Amazon picked up some tentpole films for the service — Paramounts, that is — during the pandemic Come 2 America and sky dance Tomorrow’s War – Creed III made a big commitment from them to the big screen after their purchase of MGM in May 2021 for $8.45 billion.

Talk about downstream income here: Creed III was made for $75 million before P&A and is easily poised to turn a profit. Kudos to Mike Hopkins, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, and Jen Salke, head of Amazon Studios, for maintaining MGM sales director Erik Lomis and theatrical marketing gear from Gerry Rich, MGM creative director Mike Pavlic and Stephen Bruno. They partnered with Sue Kroll, head of Amazon Marketing Studios, for a campaign that in Round 3 increased the reach of a diverse and younger audience while leveraging the synergistic power of Amazon.com.

Rich and Bruno spent two years fine-tuning the positioning of the first film in the series without Stallone. Warner Bros. veterinarian Kroll had long-standing relationships with Creed III Filmmaker/star Michael B. Jordan (back to drama from studio in Burbank, California just grace) Producer Ryan Coogler and the Warner Bros. international marketing teams, which grossed nearly $42 million in launches for the Threequel in 75 foreign markets.

The success of turning Creed III This weekend was the ultimate release date. The film was originally intended to be released in the franchise’s previous launch platform, Thanksgiving. However, UAR stayed away for the foreseeable future Wakanda forever‘s dynamic during that vacation (not to mention Coogler, who directed the film and Jordan starred in it).

The first weekend in March (when Warner Bros Batman last year) activated Creed III to access Imax screens. These auditoriums were a must see considering how Jordan shot Creed III with Imax cameras. Before that ran a special stretch of Imax trailers Avatar: the way of water in theaters.

Then there was the first trailer fall in October – which was so noticeable in traffic that competitors largely kept their tent poles away Creed III the weekend. Along with an extended Super Bowl spot, three trailers ahead Creed III Collected more than 400 million views on digital platforms worldwide. The trailer also co-starred in films in the cinema Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Avatar: The Way of Water, Wakanda Forever, M3gan, Devotion, Glass Onion, Violent Night, Cocaine Bear, House Party, Plane And titanic.

In Comscore/Screen Engine PostTrak exits, moviegoers reported that 29% saw the trailer on Instagram, 28% saw the trailer, 26% online and 26% saw the trailer. Creed III TV spot that aired SNL when Jordan was hosting. Additionally, there were spots during the Grammys, NBA All-Star Weekend and NBA games, HBCU Legacy Classic, DAZN Boxing, Top Rank Boxing, UEFA Championship League, UFC and WWE, with broad early morning primetime coverage Night, Spanish slang and local TV in the top 20 markets.

Major movie studios often talk about the cross-promotional power they have for their tentpoles among the affiliates in their entertainment conglomerate, ie H. Broadcasting, cable networks and theme parks. However, that largely pales in comparison to Amazon.com’s $2 billion reach, which was a lightning bolt in the ad campaign here Creed III.

It’s this kind of marketing power that Amazon has with its customers that really scares off rival studio bosses (an entertainment conglomerate boss once compared Amazon’s advertising power to me as if it were comparable to a powerful bank in the 1980s that provided customers with free toasters). . Natch, there was one Creed III Landing page (amazon.com/creed) where fans can learn all about the film, buy tickets, go behind the scenes and see the film Believe save to computer.

Looking for a younger demo (Creed II drew 66% under 35, a viewership maintained here in Part 3), the photo was promoted on February 24 on Amazon’s fanboy live site Twitch with a Fit to Fight live stream. Twitch streamers Agent00 (1.8 million followers) and Zoomaa (917,000 followers) took on several physical challenges for one Creed III price belt Ringside announcers included Storymodebae (85,000 followers) and ActionJaxon (235,000 followers), with KhleoThomas (1.4 million followers) acting as referee. The streaming format mirrored a boxing event and consisted of three rounds of boxing challenges, each with an interactive buff/debuff, with live commentary from two presenters.

Creed III A page has also been splashed about Amazon Lockers. In January, fans could visit Amazon Hub Lockers across the country to scan a QR code for a chance to win Creed III Price that includes two tickets to Los Angeles for the premiere of Creed III.

Further dynamism of the Amazon partnership, Creed III had a promotional partnership with Ring Video Doorbell, a subsidiary of the store site. Ring has released its first quick celebrity responses to getting Adonis Creed in the door. Available in the Ring app, consumers can turn on for a limited time Believe– Theme responses are played when someone rings a ringing video doorbell. Jordan shot a promotional video for the Creed themed Quick Replies.

Another big deal and an Amazon first, Jordan embarked on a Tom Cruise-style global promotional tour featuring fan events, stunts, premieres, and black and diverse community outreach. It all culminated in Creed III Attracts more black moviegoers (38% vs. 24%) and Latino and Hispanic moviegoers (28% to 22%). Creed II.

Among the tour stops, Jordan and Jonathan Majors appeared to discuss the film at ComplexCon in November 2022, a panel that was then broadcast on Amazon Music Twitch and Amazon Music Live on Prime Video.

Jordan also received a celebratory letter from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and a proclamation from the Atlanta City Council for his services to the city. Jordan, Majors and Mila Davis-Kent had a return visit from the congregation at the Salvation Army’s Bellwood Boys and Girls Club near Chicago.

Also in the Windy City, the duo attended Urban Prep High School, a nonprofit charter academy innovatively designed to educate black youth in urban communities, and donated school supplies. There were also stops in London, Paris and Mexico City, and the duo also traveled to Salt Lake City, UT to showcase NBA dunk content at All-Star Weekend.

Jordan surprised more than 1,000 AUC students with custom food trucks and an invitation to the exclusive trailer preview of several HBCUs, including Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University and Morris Brown College at the Atlanta Market. Five lucky students won $3,000 in scholarships for their education.

There was also a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Creed III Show, which includes Los Angeles Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove; President of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Nicole Austin Hillery; Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Vince Evans; Vice President of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Chaka Burgess; as well as congressional staffers, social justice advocates, and students from the Howard Entertainment Program at Howard University.

A Q&A with Kamlager-Dove followed the screening in a conversation about incarceration, relapse, trauma, toxic masculinity, black mental health and wellness, and diversity in film. In Creed IIIThe antagonist of the picture, Damian Anderson of Majors, is an ex-convict and old childhood friend of Creed who is giving his life back and looking for a second chance.

Also works with younger audiences Creed III submitted a Fortnite skin with FaZe Clan, followed by an interview with Jordan, live gameplay of the skin and demo Creed III at a fan event in the theater. On March 1, Snapshat saw a nationwide Lens takeover with an augmented reality game where users tested their boxing skills against Adonis Creed.

Partnerships with Instagram and TikTok creators focused on art, fitness and lifestyle, including a habit Creed III Skull by artist Butch Locsin (whose work also appeared in the film) and a video by Jason Hoang, a deaf fitness enthusiast, who shares his thoughts on authentically representing the deaf community in Creed III. Choose your fighter ads appeared on TikTok and Hulu, where you could choose to stand in the corner of Adonis Creed or Damian Anderson. There was one too Believe Camp influencer activation where ten influencers participated in one Believe-inspired intense boxing workout hosted by celebrity trainer Mark ‘Rhino’ Smith. Each participating influencer rolled out custom creative pieces to document their intense workouts.

The week the photo opened, there was also a takeover of BossLogic’s social channels with a new piece Creed III art every day. RelishMix told Deadline that the broader social media universe for Creed III including TikTok, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook with almost 354 million (+69% more than Creed IIsocial media universe of ).

advertising partner for Creed III including Hennessy brand cognac Believethemed storefronts and cocktail messengers and radio, social, snap filter and outdoor advertising, and a themed pop-up in Los Angeles.

Crunch fitness recommended Creed IIIthematic cardio box workout courses and social actions.

There were also exclusives Believe Streetwear and performancewear collections launched at ShoePalace and BoxRaw.

Ralph Lauren created Made to Measure events at flagship locations in Los Angeles and New York featuring live Q&A with Jordan and the pic’s costume designer, Lizz Wolf. There was one too Creed III Ralph Lauren print campaign in major newspapers.

Also has the 360-degree marketing campaign for Creed III was Propel fitness water BelieveTheme bottles and sports streaming service DAZN that created Creed III Moments begin during “Round 3” of live dogfights.