Marvel Studios Was Unhappy With How Universal Marketed The Incredible Hulk

Marvel Studios Was Unhappy With How Universal Marketed The Incredible Hulk

Marvel Studios was reportedly unhappy with how Universal Pictures marketed The Incredible Hulk, thinking the film was hamstrung by the prior deal.

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Marvel Studios Was Unhappy With How Universal Marketed The Incredible Hulk

Marvel Studios was reportedly unhappy with Universal Pictures’ marketing for The Incredible Hulk. Before Disney purchased Marvel in 2009 and the distribution rights for The Avengers and the films following it, Marvel Studios had a distribution deal at Paramount Pictures for Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America. Yet due to Universal Pictures releasing the prior Hulk film, they held the distribution rights to The Incredible Hulk.

The Incredible Hulk was the second film in the MCU, released just one month after Iron Man. The film was Universal Pictures’ second attempt at a Hulk film after the critical and commercial disappointment of Ang Lee’s 2003 film. Universal hoped that the popularity of the character would give them a box office smash on par with the X-Men or Spider-Man films. However, despite the studio’s best attempts, including reruns of the original Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno-led series on the SyFy network and a big father’s day weekend promotion, The Incredible Hulk ended up barely making more than the 2003 Ang Lee Hulk film.

In the recently published book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry, Marvel Studio was reportedly unhappy with how Universal was marketing The Incredible Hulk, and the general feeling was that the deal with Universal ended up harming the film. Since the studio had no investment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they felt the studio phoned in the marketing. Stephen Broussard, who was an associate producer on The Incredible Hulk and is now the VP of Production of Development at Marvel Studios, said they felt pressure as it became apparent the film would become less successful than Iron Man. The full passage can be read below:

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“With no long-term benefits for their efforts, it became a concern that Universal was, for lack of a better phrase, phoning in the marketing of the movie. Pragmatically, they had no incentive to invest in Marvel Studios. [Marvel Studios producer Stephen Broussard] knew The Incredible Hulk was going to place second [to Iron Man], so there was personal pressure about landing the movie that might lose money for the studio’s risky two-picture launch.”

The marketing campaign for The Incredible Hulk started late for not just a Marvel superhero film but a summer blockbuster. The first teaser trailer for the movie was not released until March 2008, just three months before its theatrical release, with the final trailer released in May to go alongside Iron Man. The film’s TV spots even spoiled the reveal of Tony Stark at the end of the movie, as a possible way to get more audiences in the theater after Iron Man became a surprise summer hit. This is likely a reveal that Marvel Studios would have wanted to save for audiences who saw the film.

The Incredible Hulk would go on to gross $134 million domestically and a worldwide total of $264 million; it currently sits as the lowest-grossing film in the MCU. Universals highest-grossing film of 2008 would actually turn out to be Mamma Mia, which actually beat Iron Man at the worldwide box-office to become the fifth highest-grossing film of 2008 worldwide. While The Incredible Hulk never generated a sequel, the character managed to endure as a lasting part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with roles in The Avengers, Thor Ragnarok, and will next be seen on the Disney+ series She-Hulk.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/incredible-hulk-movie-poor-marketing-marvel-studios-universal/

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