It’s been a tough year for theaters, with the North American box office down about 20 percent from last year. And that is when actors can promote their films.
In the strike by SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, on Friday, its 160,000 members were officially banned not only from acting in projects involving major Hollywood studios but also from participating in any efforts to publicity for movies and TV shows that have gone before. completed.
That means no appearances, either online or in person, including at Comic-Con International next week in San Diego, many of the fall film festivals, and any movie premieres or promotional events in television. SAG-AFTRA officials held conference calls with top Hollywood agencies and publicists this week to explain strike rules for both production and promotion of upcoming projects. And on Thursday, after announcing the strike, the union released its membership rules.
“It’s going to be expensive, because the only other way to compensate for the lack of publicity is to buy more noise,” said Terry Press, a top Hollywood marketer. “When you don’t have any form of publicity, which is free to a certain extent, you have to try to make that noise.
“In the end, that’s expensive,” he continued, “especially in the summer, where there’s very little advertising you can actually buy that will get large groups of people.”
It would be awkward too. That was evident even before the actors’ union announced Thursday that it had approved a strike. A few hours earlier, director Christopher Nolan’s starry “Oppenheimer” was premiering in London.
“Oppenheimer” is one of the most anticipated movies of the summer, one that theater owners — along with Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and the latest chapter of “Mission: Impossible” with Tom Cruise — are pointing to as one that can bring some life to a struggling business.
But at the premiere at the Odeon Theater in Leicester Square, it was clear the strike would have an impact. First the event was moved an hour, so that the cast full of boldface names – including Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh and Cillian Murphy – could walk the red carpet. Then they all left before the screening started, in solidarity with the union.
“They are off to write their picket signs,” Mr. Nolan joked to the crowd of 800 people.
Universal Pictures said it will still hold the New York premiere of “Oppenheimer” on Monday but none of the actors will attend.
The lack of buzzy premieres and the usual round of publicity for films is worrying for the cinema industry which expects business to pick up in the second half of the year.
The strike also has implications for the fall film festival circuit, which relies on actors to appear in person to promote their prestige films in the run-up to awards season. “The whole festival circuit, those movies are nothing but publicity driven,” said Ms. Press.
Typically actors seeking Oscar gold travel to Italy for the Venice International Film Festival at the end of August, then head to Colorado for the Telluride Film Festival and then Canada for the Toronto International Film Festival — the three early stops in campaign path.
“The grammar of releasing those films requires the festival circuit,” said Ms. “That’s when, I think, you start to have serious effects.”
Television is also affected. Despite the Emmy nominations being announced on Wednesday, none of the nominated actors were able to promote their work. Asked how the awards show — scheduled for September but likely to be postponed if the walkout is prolonged — would be affected by the strike, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s chief negotiator, said: “Our workers will not allow strike rule any form of promotion for television series, or streaming series produced under these contracts. My hope is that this will end any actor participation in Emmy campaigning.”