The Internet giveth and the Internet taketh away.
Just as "The Blair Witch Project" exploded from out of nowhere last summer to become one of the year's biggest movie phenomenon and gross more than $140 million domestically--thanks largely to a clever online marketing campaign--its sequel failed badly at the box office in its opening weekend, even with a clever online marketing campaign. "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2" took in just over $13 million in its debut; in its opening weekend, the original brought in $29 million and in its first month $112 million.
How bad was the opening? "Blair Witch 2" couldn't even knock off the month-old comedy "Meet the Parents" from its No. 1 perch. While sequels in general--and this one in particular--aren't generally expected to do nearly as well as the originals, the extent of the drop-off here was something of a shock.
The dismal opening of "Blair Witch 2" underscores a key online lesson for studios: Netizens have become hip to the tactics of movie marketers. These jaded cyber-dwellers can sniff manipulation a mouse click away. And when they are displeased, they will fight back--and speak their mind.
The backlash against "BW2" began months before the film's opening, with negative buzz fueled by speculation that Artisan Entertainment--the studio that released both "Blair Witch" films--was putting out just another slasher flick. Hours after the movie hit theaters, the reviews started streaming onto message boards.
"I am horribly disappointed," wrote "Niptuc," a musician from Somerville, Mass. "It feels like a hijack of the original concept and adds nothing to my interest in the mythology that the original story established."
An online user nicknamed "Dr. Strangelove" was more blunt: " 'BW2' is definitely amongst the worst sequels in movie history. To be honest, I still can't believe how bad it really is. Is this some bad dream?"
"I just wish they left it alone," lamented another online poster. To be sure, some of the online assessments were positive. "It's a movie I'm gonna see again," wrote "TigaLily." "Not great, but after one viewing, I do think it's worthy of the Blair Witch name."
But on the whole, the Internet was hostile to the "Blair Witch" franchise this time around. Critics seemed to cluster on the dozens of fan sites and message boards dedicated to the film's mythology, making "BW2" to some extent a victim of the online success of the first movie.
