Weekly Best in Movie Marketing: ‘Blumhouse Productions’ and ‘The Toxic Avenger’
Hello! Welcome to the third blog post in my series, ‘Weekly Best in Movie Marketing‘. In this series, I highlight my favourite movie marketing initiatives from the week in my book. I also explain why they stand out to me.
In this article, I will discuss the promotional stunts for ‘Blumhouse Productions‘, an American independent film and television production company, as well as the upcoming superhero comedy splatter film, ‘The Toxic Avenger‘. I’ve always been a fan of on-brand activations, and these two promotional stunts serve as excellent examples of that.
‘ScreamBox‘, Blumhouse‘s Noise-cancelling booth at SXSW:
It has been 15 years since Blumhouse Productions began offering us horror content. To celebrate this anniversary, the production company installed a noise-cancelling booth at SXSW (South by Southwest 2025), a five-day film festival in Austin, Texas. Attendees can enter the booth, close the doors, and scream freely without being disturbed by the outside world. Inside the booth is a decibel meter that calculates a score based on the scream volume produced. Daily winners will receive prizes, and if you have the loudest scream at the festival, you will earn a spot at an upcoming premiere hosted by the production company in Los Angeles.
Watch the video below, where American actor ‘Kevin Bacon‘ steps into the ‘ScreamBox‘ to let out…
‘The Toxic Avenger‘ movie teams up with the annual eye-catching event at the Chicago river:
‘The Toxic Avenger‘ is an American superhero comedy splatter film. It premiered as the opening film of ‘Fantastic Fest‘, an annual film festival held in Austin, Texas, on September 21, 2023. Cineverse and Bloody Disgusting, the movie’s distributors, plan to schedule a wider theatrical release in the United States for August 29, 2025.
On March 13, 2025, the public got an exclusive first look at American actor Peter Dinklage portraying the lead character, ‘Toxie‘, in ‘The Toxic Avenger‘ movie. This reveal was made by the American digital entertainment magazine, ‘Entertainment Weekly‘.
On March 15, 2025, there was an excellent on-brand activation for ‘The Toxic Avenger‘ on the Chicago River when it was dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day. Dyeing the river green is one of the most famous St. Patrick’s Day traditions in the United States. Since 1962, people have celebrated this custom. The bright, Flubber-colored hue honors Ireland’s nickname, ‘Emerald Isle‘. The dye used for this color change was originally developed to detect leaks and pollution in the river. In other words, it plays a role in cleaning up the river. Toxie fights crime and cleans up society, designed and marketed as a character for this purpose. Therefore, the collaboration between the movie and the event of turning the Chicago River green seems a natural fit.
Watch the videos below from ‘Discussing Film’ and ‘Bloody Disgusting’ respectively. They show the Toxic Avenger spotted on the Chicago River dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day!