Visitors and cosplayers at a poster at San Diego Comic-Con.
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San Diego Comic-Con will return to normal this weekend, as Hollywood’s A-listers skip the billboards and walk the fences in Los Angeles.
Actors went on strike last Friday, effectively shutting down the film and television industry.
As part of the strike, actors are not allowed to promote any work tied to television or theater contracts with studios. That means no interviews, premieres, social media posts, and no conventions.
“The timing of these strikes significantly affects an important promotional event like Comic-Con,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “This is often the venue used as a launch pad for the marketing machines behind some of the most anticipated fan-driven content coming to theaters and across the media landscape.”
That means no Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya to hype “Dune: Part Two”, no Quinta Brunson to chat about “Abbott Elementary” and no Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell to preview Good Burger 2 already. long awaited.
But, even without top talent, SDCC will still kick off on Thursday.
“Comic-Con is not going away,” said Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University and an expert on popular culture. “The show could still go on in San Diego. Comic-Con is so big it’s bigger than even the biggest stars.”
Entering the weekend, many Hollywood studios have decided not to participate in SDCC festivals.
Both Marvel and DC have shared lists of their upcoming comic book movies and TV shows, leading to both pulling out of this year’s Hall H showcases. This will be the first time since 2011 that no franchise studio is hosting a panel in the coveted 6,500-seat space.
Now, with the actors unable to promote their projects, more than two dozen pounds have been cancelled. That includes presentations from by Amazon “Wheel of Time,” “Jury Duties” by Freevee ABC “Abbot Elementary School” and the 25th Anniversary Panel “That ’70s Show.”
Typically, cast-focused panels make up 25% to 30% of a regional comic swindler’s show. At San Diego Comic-Con, that percentage could be as high as 40%, industry experts told CNBC.
A representative for San Diego Comic-Con did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
More than Hollywood
Of course, San Diego Comic-Con isn’t just about celebrity talent selling their newest, weirdest content. There’s a huge floor filled with merchandise from top pop culture retailers like fun, Entertainment Earth, Hasbro, Gentle Giant, and Loot Crate, the artist’s alley is packed with artists selling original artwork, autograph stations, and themed on-site activations for movies and shows famous television. And then there’s cosplay.
Justin Wilder, 36, assistant director of digital communications in Rhode Island, said: “We’re huge movie fans and that’s definitely part of why we went to the cons. , to talk to the people involved in the production and hear about what’s coming.” . “It’s a bit disappointing to see reports of various things being cancelled.”
Wilder, who is attending his first San Diego Comic-Con this year, was also a panelist at the event for the X-Men Fandom Panel. He told CNBC that while his badge is conventionally counted, he paid out of pocket for hotels and plane tickets, totaling almost $3,200 for him and his wife.
He said that even if he wasn’t scheduled in a workshop, he would still make the trip.
“There’s a lot of activities that interest me outside of film and television that will still be going on,” he said, noting that the Hellfire Gala, a costume party based on the popular X-Men comics, was special. care about.
Many attendees of the upcoming conference told CNBC that they still plan to participate despite the panel cancellations and lower celebrity appearances. After all, comic creators can still attend and promote their work.
San Diego Comic-Con, launched in 1970, started with just 300 attendees and top names in comics and science fiction like Jack Kirby and Ray Bradbury. Over the decades, it has grown beyond comics to include more pop culture genres such as horror, fantasy, anime, toys, and video games, and currently has over 130,000 attendees annual.
Fewer lines, more crowds
“I used to be able to walk in Hall H in 45 minutes,” says Jason Chau, 46, director of sales audits from Forest Hills, New York. “The popularity of Marvel, ‘Twilight’, ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Walking Dead’ drove the demand for badges into a frenzy.”
Chau has attended SDCC since 2008. He usually spends most of the convention taking cosplay photos, attending comic workshops and getting an autograph or two. Chau’s costs to visit San Diego and attend the conference are similar to Wilder’s, but with an additional $285 for the four-day badge.
He said that as the conference began to gain more attention from Hollywood, he avoided presentations in Hall H, which often required attendees to wait in line overnight to get a seat. So far, only one Hall H board has been canceled following the actor’s strike, with Legendary Entertainment bowing out of position.
However, with more than two dozen consoles not in the books, SDCC will have to contend with increasing traffic. Part of the planning process for these types of conferences is the idea that a certain percentage of attendees will always be standing in line somewhere.
“I’m worried about all the big billboards being removed, how that will affect the traffic in the gallery,” Wilder said.
Wilder is no stranger to comic conventions, having attended New York Comic Con, Rhode Island Comic Con, Terrificon and Wicked Comic Con.
“As for SDCC, I’m just trying to keep a positive mindset,” he said.
Merchandise sellers on the show floor were a bit more optimistic about the possibility of more crowds.
“I think it’s going to be great for fan interaction,” said Ashley Anderson, director of community and society at collection company Super7. “I mean, you’ll be able to really emphasize the fan more than before.”
Pain for the studios
The lack of celebrity is more likely to affect the studios themselves. After all, the star’s boycott of public promotions is a direct reflection of the Hollywood producers who have criticized by the press for allegedly reckless tactics.
“Not having some of pop culture’s biggest names at Comic-Con or elsewhere to support their latest projects is a loss to convention and to fans in the short term,” said Robbins. . “In the bigger picture, it highlights the industry’s struggle for low- and middle-class salaried workers.”
Several SDCC attendees told CNBC they were disappointed that some of the panels were canceled and some celebrities would not be attending the event, but let’s understand why that happened.
“It was an unfortunate time, but what they’re asking for makes a lot of sense,” Wilder said of the strike. “AI technology has the potential to change a lot about the film and television industry and people care about their job security. I don’t want people to blame actors or writers for the different, they’re just trying to make sure they’re getting a fair deal for their work and not being taken advantage of.”
Along with the potential for a bad reputation, studios are also missing out on some big advertising opportunities at the convention. Sure, companies can still play trailers, put up billboards, and sponsor fan engagement triggers, but a lot of the viral moments on social media come from the actors themselves. Field staff conduct interviews and publicize shows and movies while interacting with fans and with each other.
“Comic-Con [is] a great big promotion for major studios and streamers,” Thompson said.
And studios need this marketing, especially after a softer-than-expected summer movie season.
“We’ve seen a number of adult blockbusters underperform this summer during a time when perhaps it’s no coincidence that some channels like talk shows don’t air. or invite guests to promote films like ‘Mission: Impossible’, ‘Indiana Jones,’ and ‘The Flash,'” Robbins said.
The potential for blockbusters like Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” and Universal “Oppenheimer” had strong marketing campaigns before the strike and likely won’t feel the pain of the actors striking, but others may not be so lucky.
“Studios and theaters are relying heavily on content to deliver strong box office results in the coming months and years,” said Robbins. “Both will suffer a period of revenue decline amid the broader post-pandemic recovery if these labor conflicts are not resolved soon, potentially triggering a domino effect of delayed development. rushed or unfinished operations and production. Those are consequences that theater owners really have no control over. However, unlike Covid, Hollywood executives have.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is a member of the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance.
