After the pandemic brought cinemas to a stand still in 2020, it now looks like 2022 has seen the return of the movie blockbuster and audiences with it. Flooding back to local cinemas and multiplexes box office numbers are close to pre-pandemic figures.
Not only are the blockbusters and audiences back, but so are the many brands who partner with movies and benefit from their on screen exposure, through product placement.
As the big studios have released their summer blockbusters, we take a look back at some of this year’s biggest and best and the brand partnerships contained within them.
The highest grossing film of this year with $1.4 billion worldwide is Tom Cruise’s aerial phenomena: Top Gun: Maverick. This critically acclaimed and highly rated sequel responsible for bringing thousands of moviegoers back to the big screen. Its also currently the 11th highest grossing film of all time (according to Boxofficemojo). Just as in the original 1986 blockbuster that helped cement Tom Cruise as a Hollywood movie star, Maverick has a number of brands appearing on screen, many of which appeared in the original. From the Top Gun recruits drinking Budweiser in the bar, to Maverick riding alongside a jet on his original Kawasaki motorcycle, to pilots sporting the requisite pair of Ray-Ban’s – the latter seeing the similar increase in sales that they did when they appeared in the first movie
Top Gun: Maverick 2022
The 2nd highest grossing film of the year is Jurassic World: Dominion, the final film in the Chris Pratt led trilogy, is also just shy of the billion dollar mark. Whilst it doesn’t feature as many brands as Top Gun, this monster of a movie that was filmed during the midst of the pandemic, still has a few noticeable companies that help bring the big screen adventure to life. Jeep, the official automotive partner of the movie, not only appeared in the movie but also implemented a global marketing campaign. In terms of two wheels Owen Grady (Pratt) can be seen tending to his Triumph as featured in the earlier films at one point drives through the streets of Malta on a Honda Montesa 4Ride.
Jurassic World: Dominion Poster (2022)
Marvel’s first film of the year Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes 3rd place, also close to the billion dollar mark with a very respectable $955 million. Whilst the superhero blockbuster is slightly lighter on recognisable products due to its multi-dimensional story there are one or two stand out placements. The most noticeable is Strange’s Jaeger-LeCoultre, the watch Doctor Strange was given by his love interest in the original movie. More than just a prop, the watch book ends the sequel showing how Strange’s life has changed over time.
Doctor Strange’s Jaeger-LeCoultre (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 2022)
Rounding off the list is the first Blockbuster of the year back in March, the Matt Reeves/Robert Pattinson/Zoë Kravitz/Paul Dano critically acclaimed gothic masterpiece The Batman with $770 million. The gothic superhero movie uses product placement to ground their movie, to connect to the audience using brands and imagery they know to make the characters and locations feel real. The Batman is set in the gloomy fictional city of Gotham, illuminated by a Times square esque set of billboards featuring real world brands everything from Puma to Little Caesars, Westin to Ardbeg whisky.
Gotham’s introduction (The Batman, 2022)
Whilst these may be the biggest films of the year so far, there are plenty more cinematic releases enticing audiences back to the big screen, many of which are full of brand partners. The most noticeable of which is the high speed Brad Pitt actioner Bullet Train which apart from the iconic mode of transport as referenced in the film’s title, and the Breitling worn by Brad Pitt’s character (who coincidentally happens to be a Breitling ambassador), gives a large portion of screen time to the Tumi briefcase that everyone is after – a marketing tagline that Tumi used when promoting their association globally in stores
However, the biggest placement goes to Fiji Water, who not only appears throughout the movie but gets a whole scene dedicated to it. According to co-star Brian Tyree Henry’s interview with hype.com; “I didn’t know that you could make a Fiji water bottle another character but we managed to do that.” The Fiji bottle was a scripted feature and something the studio Sony took directly to Fiji water, showing how a recognisable brand can steal the show when placed in the right movie.
Ladybug, Lemon and the star Fiji water bottle (Bullet train, 2022)
With big films still left to come this year including Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: Way of the Water hopefully audiences and brand partners will keep returning to cinemas and multiplexes as the film industry gears up for a packed 2023.