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Visitors and cosplayers pose in a poster at San Diego Comic-Con.
Olstein’s photo | Olstein’s photo | Getty Images
San Diego Comic-Con is going back to its roots this weekend, as Hollywood A-listers skip the promotional panels and walk the picket lines in Los Angeles.
The actors went on strike last Friday, effectively shutting down the film and television industry.
As part of their strike, the actors are not allowed to promote any work associated with television or theatrical contracts with studios. This means no interviews, premieres, social media posts or agreements.
“The timing of these strikes greatly impacts an important promotional event like Comic-Con,” said Sean Robbins, senior analyst at BoxOffice.com. “This is often the place that is used as a launching pad for the marketing machines behind some of the most anticipated content that fans are expected to appear in theaters and across the entire media landscape.”
That means no Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya promoting “Dune: Part Two,” no Quinta Brunson to chat about all things “Abbott Elementary,” and no Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell to preview “Good Burger 2.” long overdue.
But, even without outstanding talent, the CDC would still kick off Thursdays.
“Comic-Con is not going away,” said Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University and a popular culture expert. “The show can still go on in San Diego. Comic-Con is so big that it’s even bigger than the biggest stars.”
Heading into the weekend, many Hollywood studios have already decided to sit outside the SDCC Center festivities.
Marvel and DC have shared their upcoming slate of comic book movies and TV shows, pulling out of Hall H presentations this year. This will be the first time since 2011 that none of the franchise studios will host a panel in the coveted 6,500-seat space.
Now, with the actors unable to promote their projects, more than two dozen paintings have been cancelled. Includes presentations from Amazon “Wheel of Time,” Freevee’s “Jury Duty,” ABC letters Abbott Elementary and the 25th Anniversary Committee of That ’70s Show.
Actor-focused panels typically make up 25% to 30% of regional comedy programming. At San Diego Comic-Con that percentage could be as high as 40%, industry experts told CNBC.
San Diego Comic-Con representatives did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
More than Hollywood
Of course, San Diego Comic-Con isn’t just about celebrity talent promoting their latest, weirdest content. There’s a sprawling floor full of merchandise from major pop culture retailers like Funko, Entertainment Earth, Hasbro, Gentle Giant and Loot Crate An artist’s alley full of artists selling original artwork, autograph stations, and on-site themed activations of popular movies and TV shows. And then there’s the cosplay.
“We’re big fans of movies and that’s definitely part of the reason we go to the negatives and talk to the people involved in the production and hear what’s going to happen,” said Justin Wilder, 36, an assistant director of digital communications in Rhode Island. . “It was disappointing to see reports of various things being cancelled.”
Wilder, who is attending his first San Diego Comic-Con this year, is also a panelist at the X-Men Fandom Panel event. He told CNBC that while his badge was fixed under the agreement, he paid out of pocket for the hotel and airfare, which amounted to nearly $3,200 for him and his wife.
He said that even if he wasn’t scheduled for a plate, he would still make the trip.
“There are a lot of activities that I’m interested in other than film and television that will continue to happen,” he said, noting that the Hellfire Gala, a costume party based on the popular X-Men comic, was of particular interest.
Several attendees of the upcoming convention told CNBC they still plan to go regardless of the canceled panels and a smaller set of celebrity appearances. After all, comic creators can still attend and promote their work.
Launched in 1970, San Diego Comic-Con had just 300 attendees and major comic book and science fiction names like Jack Kirby and Ray Bradbury. Over the decades, it has grown far beyond comic books to include a broader range of pop culture genres such as horror, fantasy, anime, toys, and video games, and now exceeds 130,000 annual visitors.
Fewer lines, more congestion
“I used to be able to walk into Hall H in 45 minutes,” said Jason Chow, 46, a sales audit director from Forest Hills, New York. “The popularity of Marvel, ‘Twilight’, ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Walking Dead’ has made the demand for badges crazy.”
Zhao has attended SDCC since 2008. He usually spends a lot of the conventions shooting cosplay, attending photo panels, and catching an autograph or two. Chow’s costs for visiting San Diego and attending the convention are similar to Wilder’s, but with an additional $285 for a four-day badge.
When the convention began to get more attention from Hollywood, he said, he eschewed Hall H presentations, which often required attendees to wait in line all night in order to get a seat. So far, only one Hall H panel has been canceled in the wake of the actor’s strike, with Legendary Entertainment exiting the slot.
However, with more than two dozen boards off the books, SDCC will need to handle increased foot traffic. Part of the planning process for these types of conventions, however, is the idea that a certain percentage of attendees will always be standing in line somewhere.
“I’m worried about all those big paintings being cancelled, and how that will affect the traffic flow in the exhibition hall,” Wilder said.
Wilder is no stranger to comic conventions, having attended New York Comic Con, Rhode Island Comic Con, Trivicon, and Wicked Comic Con.
“For SDCC, I just try to keep a positive mindset,” he said.
Those selling merchandise on the parade ground are a little more sanguine about the potential for larger crowds.
“I think it’s going to be great for fan interaction,” said Ashley Anderson, community and social director for the Super7 collectible. “I mean, you’ll be able to really stress the fan out more than before.”
A pain for the studios
Few celebrities are more likely to hit the studios themselves. After all, the publicity of the stars’ boycott of promotional activities directly affected Hollywood producers, who had previously The press criticized his underhand tactics.
“Not having some of the biggest names in pop culture at Comic-Con or elsewhere to support their latest projects is a loss for the convention and for the fandom in the short term,” Robbins said. “In the bigger picture, it highlights the industry’s struggle for low- and middle-class wage earners.”
Several SDCC attendees told CNBC they were disappointed that some panels were canceled and that some celebrities would not be attending the event, but they understand why it happened.
“It’s unfortunate timing, but what they’re asking is very reasonable,” Wilder said of the strike. “Artificial intelligence technology has the potential to dramatically change the film and TV industry, and people are concerned about their job security. I don’t want people to blame actors or writers for deception being different, they are just trying to make sure they get a fair deal for their work and don’t get taken advantage of.”
Besides the potential bad publicity, studios are also missing out on some key promotional opportunities at the convention. Sure, companies can still run trailers, hang billboards, and sponsor interactive fan activations, but a lot of their viral social media moments come from having actors on the scene giving interviews and publicly promoting shows and movies while interacting with fans and each other.
“Comic-Con[is]a big promotion for the big studios and the big screens,” Thompson said. “
And the studios need that marketing, especially after a much softer-than-expected summer season.
“We’ve already seen several films aimed at underperforming adults this summer during a period, perhaps not coincidentally, that some outlets like talk shows weren’t airing or hosting guests to promote films like Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones, Robbins said. and “The Flash”.
Potential upcoming movies like Warner Bros. “Barbie” and universal Oppenheimer had aggressive marketing campaigns in place before the strike, and he likely won’t feel the pain of the actors’ strike, but others may not be so lucky.
“Studios and theaters rely on a great deal of content to deliver strong box office results in the months ahead and into the year ahead,” Robbins said. Both will endure a period of declining revenues amid the broader post-pandemic recovery if these labor disputes are not resolved soon, which would likely cause a domino effect of release delays and accelerated or incomplete productions. These are consequences over which theater owners really have no control. But Unlike Covid, Hollywood execs are doing this.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is a member of the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance.
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