If you’ve been to an AMC theater in the past couple of years, you’re probably no stranger to the ad starring Nicole Kidman talking about the magic of seeing a movie in theaters before the feature film plays. The 60-second spot quickly became a meme across social media, inspired countless public reaction videos and homemade merchandise, was a source of inspiration for many costumes, and was spoofed by Saturday Night Live. Many fans even called for a sequel, and one is reportedly in the works.
To get in on the craze, Lionsgate dropped its own bloody parody of the ad video earlier this week to promote its upcoming horror sequel, Saw X. “We come to this place for reawakening,” Jigsaw’s Billy the Puppet from the Saw franchise says in the opening shot in a much darker script than Kidman’s. “Blood-soaked blades on a huge silver screen . . . fear that I can feel. Somehow, self-amputation feels good in a place like this,” he says later on as the minute-long ad spotlights scenes of characters from the film being tortured.
The ad has since been deleted, but not before X/Twitter users watched and praised it. Despite AMC’s ad being mocked by many since its debut in 2021, the parody highlights just how beloved and popular the Kidman-led spot has become and continues to make an impact even years later.
Lionsgate declined to comment on why the Saw X ad was removed, and AMC did not immediately respond to Fast Company’s inquiries, but it’s probably not that surprising that the cinema chain would not want to be associated with a gruesome parody. But whatever the reason, it’s still a pretty clever marketing strategy to get audiences back into theaters, especially as the horror genre continues to have a banner year at the box office.
Lionsgate is clearly betting that the 10th installment of the film will be a success at the box office. The last film, Spiral, pushed the Saw franchise past the $1 billion mark at the global box office. According to Comscore data, horror films have generated more than $600 million in domestic ticket sales in the United States. Now that’s something to scream about.
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