2023 is about to usher in the release of Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom, a highly anticipated film that, surprisingly, has very little marketing campaign. For a superhero movie with a budget of $200 million, the intensity of such publicity is incomprehensible. After seeing Warner Bros. Discovery suffer a series of box office weakness over the past few years, people began to wonder if they had become noncommittal about the sequel. Aside from a couple of appearances by star Jason Momoa and a game collaboration, there was hardly any promotional activity. For the final entry of a DC Extended Universe, such an attitude is indeed puzzling.
Hollywood was left blank all summer with a writers' and actors' strike, and Warner Bros. Discovery didn't seem to be able to get out of it. But after the strike ended, the actors were free to actively promote themselves, but there was still little movement. The strike may affect the publicity of Aquaman 2, but that doesn't justify a blanket rejection of publicity. Even after the strike is over, the actors may not be able to actively promote the film because of other work or rest reasons. This attitude of Warner Bros. Discovery is puzzling, especially given the success of Aquaman. "Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom" will be released in theaters on December 20, 2023, but the general audience does not seem to know this information.
On the other hand, the SAG-Aftra strike rules prevented some actors from carrying out promotional activities, such as Captain Marvel 2, which could also be one of the reasons for the inactive marketing of Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom. The strike rules made it impossible for some actors to be interviewed or engage in other forms of publicity, which undoubtedly brought certain difficulties to the marketing of the film. Even after the strike ends, the actors may not be able to actively promote the film because of other work or rest reasons. In this case, the audience's attention to "Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom" is obviously insufficient. In addition to the impact of these strike rules, there are also questions about Warner Bros. Discovery's marketing strategy.
Several movies that have been released in DC recently, including "Blue Beetle", "The Flash", "Shazam!".Fury of the Gods" and "Black Adam", despite a full range of marketing offensives, did not perform as well as they could have been. Traditional omnidirectional marketing doesn't seem to have brought enough box office returns for these films. Warner Bros. Discovery may be concerned that another bankruptcy will further damage the DC brand, so it has been cautious in its marketing of Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom. However, this attitude may bring more negative effects to the DC brand. While these films can easily stand on their own for shared coherence, for the average viewer, they may not be aware of the changes in DC Studios, or even if they do, they may not necessarily care.
This attitude could affect the box office performance of the film, especially for those fans who love DC. In addition to these factors, Warner Bros. Discovery has not performed well over the past few years. In 2022, the company lost 22$800 million, which may also be one of the reasons for the inactive marketing of Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom. However, despite the company's under-performing performance, Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom's marketing campaign seems to have been limited to a few negligible hypes. For a film with a budget of more than $200 million, such an attitude is really puzzling. Warner Bros. Discovery may already be noncommittal about the film, and this attitude of theirs could further damage the DC brand.
Overall, Warner Bros. Discovery has been cautious about the marketing of Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom, which may be a response to a series of previous box office weakness. However, such an attitude may bring more negative effects to the DC brand. In such a market environment, the performance of "Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom" will attract much attention.