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How Neon Flipped Movie Marketing on Its Head to Make ‘Longlegs’ the Indie Hit of the Year
The Hollywood ReporterStory by Scott Roxborough
scrn logline
Indie horror hit 'Longlegs' reinvents movie marketing, turning fans into sleuths to build buzz around Nicolas Cage's unrecognizable serial killer performance.
beat sheet
- Neon's 'Jaws'-inspired campaign for 'Longlegs' kept Cage's creepy, over-the-top performance a closely guarded secret, dropping breadcrumbs online to pique horror fans' curiosity and turn them into marketing partners.
- The unconventional strategy paid off, with 'Longlegs' opening to $22.4 million and grossing $74.35 million domestically - making it Neon's highest-grossing film ever and the most successful indie horror in a decade, all on a $10 million budget.
call sheet
Osgood Perkins, Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, Neon, Longlegs