Weekly Best in Movie Marketing: ‘The Life of Chuck’, ‘Until Dawn’ and ‘The Toxic Avenger’
Hello! Welcome to the eighth blog post in my series, ‘Weekly Best in Movie Marketing‘. In this series, I highlight my favourite film marketing initiatives from the week in my book. I also explain why they stand out to me.
In this article, I’ll discuss the offline promotions for the American film, ‘The Life of Chuck‘, the American survival horror film, ‘Until Dawn‘ and the upcoming American superhero black comedy splatter film, ‘The Toxic Avenger‘.
Incorporating a Little Nugget from the Short Story, ‘The Life of Chuck‘, into the Movie’s Marketing:
‘The Life of Chuck‘ is an American film written and directed by Mike Flanagan, based on the 2020 novella by Stephen King. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024, and will be released in select theatres in the United States on June 6, 2025, before expanding nationwide on June 13, 2025. ‘NEON’, the film production company that acquired the North American theatrical rights, has been actively promoting the movie both online and offline.
A key aspect of the marketing campaign has involved bringing to life a memorable detail from the short story. At the tale’s beginning, there is a mention of a billboard displaying the name ‘CHARLES KRANTZ‘ alongside a photograph of a moon-faced man with black-framed glasses and neatly combed black hair, seated at a desk with a pen in hand. The photograph is accompanied by the text, ‘39 GREAT YEARS! THANKS, CHUCK!‘ This message has appeared in various contexts in the short story, including once replacing Netflix‘s welcome screen and another instance where just the text was skywritten by a plane.
Recently, ‘NEON’ has enhanced the promotion further by creating downloadable flyers featuring this message. Fans are encouraged to print them out and post them in public places. The flyer includes a phone number that, when dialled, allows you to send a message to the fictional character Charles “Chuck” Krantz.
Check out the movie trailer for ‘The Life of Chuck‘ below!
Stay Up Until Dawn Screening Marathon for the Film ‘Until Dawn‘:
‘Until Dawn’ is a movie based on the 2015 video game of the same name. It marks the return of one of my favourite directors in Hollywood, David F. Sandberg, to the horror genre. The film premiered in theatres on April 25, 2025. To promote the movie, ‘Sony Pictures’, the distributor, arranged a special screening on April 22, 2025, for fans in eight cities across the United States: Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., Atlanta, and Miami. The organisers screened the film from 7 P.M. to 7 A.M. the following day, showing it in a continuous loop, i.e., continuously. During this time, the organisers prohibited fans from dozing off, taking breaks, or using tablets, phones, or smartwatches. After the screening, the organisers awarded prizes to eight winners. One of the contestants went on to win $5,000.
I appreciate this promotional approach as it aligns with the movie’s theme. The movie’s synopsis is as follows: After the mysterious disappearance of her sister, ‘Clover’ and her friends travel to a remote valley in search of answers. They are brutally murdered there, but the bewildered protagonists wake up to find themselves back at the beginning of their quest. Caught in an endless time loop, they are forced to relive various horrors repeatedly, with each encounter featuring a different, increasingly terrible killer. The only way to escape the loop is to survive until dawn.
Check out the movie trailer for ‘Until Dawn‘ below!
Street Marketing Gets More Meaningful for the Upcoming Movie, ‘The Toxic Avenger‘:
I love street marketing, especially when it connects with the movie’s core themes. ‘The Toxic Avenger’, an upcoming American superhero comedy splatter film, had one such initiative this week.
I liked the promotional activation for ‘The Toxic Avenger‘ when they dyed the Chicago River green for St. Patrick’s Day this year. In one of my previous blog posts, I discussed this promotion and shared my reasons for liking it. The same reasons apply to the recent initiative by ‘Cineverse‘ and ‘Bloody Disgusting‘ for ‘The Toxic Avenger‘ in celebration of Earth Day 2025. ‘Earth Day’, which occurs annually on April 22, is a global event that demonstrates support for environmental protection. Toxie, as a character, fights crime and works to clean up society, making him a fitting representative for this cause. Thus, the collaboration between the movie and the Earth Day event seems like a natural pairing.
‘The Toxic Avenger‘ movie 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.
Check out the movie teaser for ‘The Toxic Avenger‘ below!