Blockbuster Movie Trends: A Native Perspective

The summer of 2019 saw record temperatures and equally hot box office receipts. Avengers: Endgame smashed records to become the highest grossing movie of all time, but in a sea of sequels, remakes, and spin offs, many films got the chance to shine.

As summer draws to a close, we decided to reflect on the blockbuster movies of this year and see how buzz on Outbrain’s native discovery feeds matched up to ticket sales. Will interest on the open web correlate to big money? And what kind of advertising muscle will we see as movie marketers shift away from the long, drawn out movie campaigns of yesteryear and leverage existing properties?

We found that movie interest through page views followed similar patterns as opening weekend box office success, with greater views reflecting a desire to take action and buy a ticket.

While theaters were flooded with sequels and remakes in 2019, smart marketing focused advertising on new characters and rebranding reimagined films from 20+ years ago. This included Captain Marvel, despite being a part of the larger Marvel cinematic landscape, and classic Disney films such as Lion King and Aladdin, that had to transcend adult nostalgia to appeal to a new audience of children.

Whether you’re going to the movies or reading about them online, there’s no shortage of entertainment content out there. We’ll be on the edge of our seats to find out what generates the biggest buzz come Fall.

Outbrain collects and analyzes data to provide insights on industry topics and trends through BrainPower, an internal insights reporting service, and external insights, collected through paid partnerships with third-party specialists.