THE DARK KNIGHT RISES 3
budget and went on to make over one billion dollars worldwide( IMDb, 2013). Despite the tragic shooting that claimed 12 lives and injured over 50 others during the midnight release of the film in Aurora, Colorado the movie is still the eighth highest grossing film worldwide( WebProNews, 2012; Box Office Mojo, 2013).
Until Nolan ‟ s trilogy, the Batman franchise ‟ s most successful film was Tim Burton ‟ s Batman in 1989. Over the next decade, Batman reprisals received mixed success, culminating in George Clooney ‟ s portrayal of Batman in Batman and Robin in 1997, which was was dubbed by many as the“ near-death” of the franchise( Sweeney, 2008, para. 10). Thus, Christopher Nolan took on the daunting task of reinventing Batman in order to both win back fans and revive the loyalties of theatre-goers( Sweeney, 2008). Warner Bros. left nothing to chance with the first instalment of the trilogy, Batman Begins in 2005 by releasing an array of posters and a total of twelve trailers( Sweeney, 2008). This strategy is known as a“ marketing blitz”, which was intended to help fans forget about past failures and to build highly concentrated anticipation for the film over a short period of time in an effort to energize and excite fans right before the release( Shenker, 2006). Considering the fact that Batman Begins was released when Twitter and Facebook were still in their infancy, the film still opened as a critical and financial success which almost doubled the revenue of the doomed Batman and Robin( Sweeney, 2008). The ability for each film in this trilogy to best its predecessor financially shows a direct correlation between the use of multiple social media platforms and ticket sales.
The trilogy ‟ s second installment, The Dark Knight had a brilliant viral campaign which translated into outstanding monetary success. This time around, the popularity of social media sites allowed for the slow release of public relations events through several platforms, which allowed excitement to build over many months. The critical success of the first film allowed Warner Bros. to take their time to create even more suspense through their newly adopted drip-drip-drip marketing technique. Blogger Alex Billington ‟ s( 2008) article,“ Why the Dark Knight ‟ s Viral Marketing Is Absolutely Brilliant”, provides detailed features of each marketing campaign, including website names, steps in the marketing process and fan response. Warner Brothers pulled out all the stops and released the“ Why So Serious?” campaign 15 months before the film ‟ s release and then followed up with the“ I Believe in Harvey Dent” campaign, which pitted two integral characters against each other in a fictional alternative reality game( Billington, 2008). This campaign gave fans a platform with which they could rediscover and nurture their Batman loyalty by experiencing a feeling of first-hand involvement in aspects of the plot using social media, which essentially heightened anticipation for the film ‟ s release. Millions of people who were not previously Batman fans could also get involved, because aspects of this campaign did not require extensive knowledge about the franchise. This campaign was more about educating new fans and making the mystique and intrigue of Batman easily accessible to all. Batman was being re-defined, and virtually anyone with a computer could participate in this event. Websites were unveiled for The Gotham Times which posted real articles about the political trouble in Gotham City, the fictional setting of the story, and alluded to Heath Ledger ‟ s chilling performance as the Joker, not to mention the continued mystique around the“ Batman”, whose identity was still unknown to residents of Gotham City( Billington, 2008). Fans went into a crazed fury on social media and, forced to pick a side, they protested in real-life which created massive publicity for the campaign and the film. The Dark Knight grossed over one billion dollars, making it the most successful DC Comics film ever made( Box Office Mojo, 2013). This increasing success and the resurrection of the fallen Batman franchise is significant because as social media exploded, so did the phenomenon of viral marketing which is evident from the colossal, and progressively growing, financial success of each film in this trilogy.