Super Bowl Sunday can be like Christmas morning for movie fans. During commercial breaks, movie geeks actually press their faces against television screens to drink in footage from upcoming summer blockbusters. But it’s also an opportunity for studios to educate casual moviegoers on the spectacle that’s expected to flood multiplexes in the coming months. I mean, we all know that there’s a fourth Transformers movie coming to theaters, but do you think your sports-loving neighbor has any idea? Probably not.
A number of Summer 2014 movies will sell themselves. Sequels like 22 Jump Street, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and How to Train Your Dragon 2 bring built-in audiences. These potential blockbusters,however, have a little selling to do, and Super Bowl Sunday is the ideal opportunity to fire a winning bow over the heads of ticket buyers. Here are the eight summer tentpole pictures that we think should make a splash next Sunday with an eye-popping Super Bowl advertisement. The balls are in your court, marketing-department chiefs.
Godzilla
The first trailer was insanely good, but it showed very little of the title monster. We heard the trademark scream, and it sent chills. But Warner’s planned Godzilla reboot lacks a bankable star (no offense, Bryan Cranston), and so they need to alert the masses that there’s a Godzilla movie on the horizon, or else this could suffer Pacific Rim-level box office numbers… good, but not great. Take the trailer you already have, edit it into a gut-punching 30-second clip, and brace everyone for May 16.
Hercules
Right now, when a casual movie fan hears "Hercules," they think of this. That’s a problem. Kellan Lutz’s Hercules bombed, and now director Brett Ratner has to clean up the pieces before his own movie drops. Thankfully, for him and for us, he has Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in his corner. Ol’ Franchise Viagra. Hercules tells a familiar tale, but is going to take the supernatural elements out of the narrative. That leaves room for a lot of ass kicking on The Rock’s part. We haven’t seen a single, official image from this July 25 release... only a few Twitter nuggets from johnson. Super Bowl Sunday would be a great time to let audiences know what the Rock is cooking.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
I guarantee the people picking through Buffalo wings and Tostito chips at your Super Bowl party have no idea about Days of Future Past, and the elaborate plan Bryan Singer has hatched to combine his original X-Men universe with that of the First Class kids. Yes, I know, you are up to speed on all of this, but you read CinemaBlend! We have kept you informed. Audiences need a brief refresher course on the next stage of mutant mayhem, and it needs to be more than just the roll call that served as the first trailer. Put Wolverine front and center. Put Jennifer Lawrence front and center. And pray that audiences forgot The Last Stand by now.
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Here’s the thing about the Transformers movies: They make a fortune, but they’re largely surrounded by such negativity. Michael Bay is either a genius, a nervous stage talker, or The Devil. But Paramount has a movie to sell, and a Super Bowl ad can set the tone for this next step. It’s not a reboot, but there are new characters played by new actors (namely Mark Wahlberg). And there better be a ton of Autobot and Decepticon battles, or true fans might be disgusted. Can Extinction finally be the complete movie that Transformers devotees have been begging for? The absence of LaBeouf means we’re on the right track.
Back in the day, you could slap Tom Cruise’s face on a poster and his name above the title, and audiences would flock. Now, they need a little coaxing. Edge of Tomorrow has a few things going for it. Doug Liman can direct a picture, having helmed the winning action epics The Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Emily Blunt is amazing in virtually everything. And there’s a time-travel aspect to Edge that should help distance it from generic fanfare like After Earth. But a Super Bowl ad can sell the Groundhog Day hook of Cruise’s latest, and hook audiences with at least one eye-catching tech-heavy shot.
Maleficent
Disney just started the marketing campaign for this fairy tale family film, dropping a long trailer centered around Angelina Jolie. But Super Bowl Sunday is a great opportunity to tailor a spot at wives and moms who might be feeling like every single trailer airing during the "Big Game" is aimed at teenage boys (or men who still act like teenage boys). Jolie spins the Sleeping Beauty story through the eyes of a villain, which Wicked did, to great effect. And if Disney can work some of its Oz the Great and Powerful magic, then Maleficent could break box office records when it opens on May 30.
Deliver Us From Evil
Until I started writing this list, I had no idea myself what Deliver Us From Evil was, even though it has a prime July 2 release date. That slot used to be reserved for high-powered Will Smith movies, where he’d punch the hell out of an alien. Instead, Evil stars Eric Bana as a New York police officer who joins forces with an unconventional priest (Edgar Ramirez) to investigate bizarre crimes. Great premise. But Sony really needs to start getting the word out on this movie. Start next Sunday!
Guardians of the Galaxy
As we learned earlier, Stan "The Man" Lee barely knows the Guardians of the Galaxy. How could Joe Public know Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and the rest of James Gunn’s bizarre superhero team? Bottom line: They have no idea. But (and this is important), Marvel has a FANTASTIC sizzle reel that they revealed way back at Comic-Con, and it immediately sets the tone for what could be an amazing bit of summer escapism. Captain America sells itself. Guardians needs a little help, and a splashy Super Bowl ad using the Hall H footage would be a Grand Slam home run.
