Doctor Dolittle Rides Negative Buzz to Social Media Highs

The first trailers for Dolittle and Jungle Cruise were the biggest bits of news in what was a relatively slow week on social media. Tony Stark’s (aka Robert Downey Jr.’s) latest film Dolittle had a mixed start as many detractors railed on the decision to remake a beloved family classic yet again when its last incarnation—starring Eddie Murphy—was so well received. Regardless, all news is good news. The $175 million production needs all the help it can get to turn a profit. Jungle Cruise did make waves online, especially on Instagram, but given its reportedly massive price tag and the fact that it is a Disney production its social turnout is somewhat underwhelming. Obviously there is time to fine tune the marketing message and generate more enticing trailers. But as far as summer blockbuster trailers go, Jungle Cruise’s debut was more of a whimper than a roar.

Twitter

Film New Page Likes Posts Post Likes Post Retweets
 Dolittle         13,824  102,323         29,184 
 Charlie’s Angels           1,518  13           43,493           9,512 
 Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker           3,080  13           40,520           5,287 
 Jungle Cruise           1,141           13,545           4,015 
 No Time To Die              846           10,915           1,951 

Top 3 Posts:

Movie Date Power*
Charlie’s Angels 11-Oct 8.6
Dolittle 12-Oct 8.3
Dolittle 13-Oct 7.5



* Calculated by Likes + Shares + Comments

Dolittle was the clear winner with 102,323 likes and 29,184 retweets over the week, far and away the biggest numbers in both categories. Charlie’s Angels managed to secure the largest single post on the week, a retweet from none other than Miley Cyrus detailing the soundtrack for the upcoming film. The music for the film has made a lot of waves on Twitter and allowed it to trend numerous times over the last few weeks.

Facebook

Film   New Page Likes   Posts   Post Likes   Post Shares 
 Countdown          3,605         59,724         73,016 
Frozen II       (9,868)        36,988           6,381 
 Onward          2,000         35,213         17,781 
 Dolittle          3,310         27,683         26,213 
 Harriet          3,533         23,867         10,129 

Top 3 Posts:

Movie Date Power*
Countdown 8-Oct 8.7
Dolittle 13-Oct 7.8
Jungle Cruise 11-Oct 7.5



* Calculated by Likes + Shares + Comments

Countdown came seemingly out of nowhere and managed to secure the top spot on Facebook with 59,724 likes and 73,016 shares. Its hook was to splice audience reactions with the trailer, which provide effective in generating extra interest. This isn’t a new marketing tactic by any means; it’s been used to great effect in recent years with films such as Paranormal Activity. One interesting point of note was with Pixar’s Onward, which released a new trailer this past week to much less fanfare, managing a 3rd and 4th on Facebook and Instagram. Though Onward has a long way to go until release, its online chatter has been uncharacteristically slight for a Pixar film. This is potentially indicative of it not having as wide of a demographic appeal as prior hits from the studio.

Instagram

Film  New Followers   Posts   Post Likes   Post Comments 
 Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker        31,713         495,462         2,459 
 Charlie’s Angels           7,543  12         302,153         2,345 
 Jungle Cruise           3,474         298,010         4,006 
 Onward           5,397         247,149         2,033 
 No Time To Die           7,932         162,502            672 

Top 3 Posts:

Movie Date Power*
Jungle Cruise 11-Oct 9.1
Onward 10-Oct 8.9
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker 12-Oct 8.7



* Calculated by Likes + Shares + Comments

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker led on Instagram as usual, but its 495,462 post likes was its lowest weekly total to date, and Jungle Cruise did manage to surpass it to take the weekly lead in post comments with 4,006. The latter also secured the single largest post on the week for its trailer with a 9.1 power rating.