The Summer of Boycotts

When you hear the word boycott, your mind probably goes to big moments in history like the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 or President Carter boycotting the Olympics back in 1980; what you probably don't think about are summer blockbusters. Over at The New York Times, Michael Cieply looks at a rare summer season that saw almost all of the big studio releases experience a fan boycott. So even though there are the obvious targets like Angels and Demons; it didn't stop there. Practically all of the big summer releases have earned a spot on a list that included: Terminator (thanks to a very unpopular PG-13 rating), Star Trek (in hopes of a little fund-raising for space exploration), and even Wolverine (and no, not because of the amnesia bullets; instead it was due to the political leanings of one of the film's consultants, Richard Donner).

You almost have to wonder why anyone would go to so much trouble? Even though I totally get how a film can inspire protests because of content that a group may find offensive or inappropriate; to me it seems a little extreme to organize online petitions and custom-design logos just because you might have to wait a little longer for the next installment of Harry Potter. But the voice of experience in this debate is New Line's President, Rolf Mittweg, who told the Times, "If you have a group that might speak out against the movie, and they're large enough to affect the box office, you have to do something about it," Mr. Mittweg knows better than anyone the effect a boycott can have on a film's bottom line, having dealt with the backlash for The Golden Compass; saying, the film could have "done 50 percent better in the United States had there been no organized opposition."

After the jump; why movie studios still aren't losing sleep over fan boycotts.


Instead, what most studios are still counting on is that no matter how their angry fans get, they won't be able to keep themselves away come release time. I know I wasn't thrilled when I found out that McG was in charge of a Terminator reboot, but that doesn't mean I won't be there on opening weekend. Think back to 2008 when fans were crying for blood over the delay of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince; a complaint that has lost some heat and Emerson Spartz, the founder of the mugglenet.com, even says that the boycott has, "...completely tapered off," One thing is for sure; I am awfully curious to see how many of the fans who participated in these boycotts stick to their word and stay far away come opening weekend.

Sound off below and tell us if you think movie boycotts really work; and would you be willing to give up the chance to see one of this summer's big releases to make a point?