D'Works seeking cluck bucks via Web
Studio offering opening sequence online
DreamWorks is hoping its latest Web stunt will attract flocks of Netizens to theaters to see "Chicken Run."
Starting today, the studio will screen the opening sequence of its claymation hit online for free at movie fan site Countingdown.com.
Site will also include links to "Chicken" merchandise for sale on Amazon.com and eBay. Sequence will be available until Friday.
Move is an interesting one considering that yet-to-launch Netcaster Pop.com, founded by DreamWorks and Imagine Entertainment, acquired Countingdown.com last month in an undisclosed stock deal.
Funneling movie content to Countingdown shortly after its acquisition signals that DreamWorks may have more digital faith in the fan site than its own subsid. Pop.com has been caught up in development hell ever since its much-hyped announcement last year. A September bow is likely.
In fact, industryites say Countingdown could even potentially be transformed into Pop.com, giving the Netcaster's developers a ready-made and popular platform from which to broadcast its original programming.
Site counts down to the most high-profile pics with news, reviews and gossip.
Despite the struggles with Pop.com, DreamWorks is hoping the "Chicken" Webcast helps prove how 'Net-savvy the studio has become.
Egging Netizens on
"We think showing Web audiences even the first few minutes of 'Chicken Run' will show people the magic that has captured the hearts and imaginations of moviegoers across the country," said DreamWorks distribution head Jim Tharp.
Nevertheless, the Web event may not necessarily boost "Chicken's" B.O. take. Targeting Internet users may seem a smart move, but Netizens are already among the most dedicated moviegoers and were likely the first to view "Chicken" in the first few weeks of its release.
The studio isn't the first to attempt such a stunt. Warner Bros. broadcast 10 minutes of "Giant" twice to push the critically-acclaimed pic (Daily Variety, Aug. 5) and attracted over 10,000 downloads.. Warners' Webcast didn't help "Giant" rise out of its B.O. slump.
"Chicken Run" has generated more than $60 million domestically in its first three weeks of release.
