The latest early tracking chart from The Quorum, shared via Matt Belloni and Puck News, suggests CinemaCon chatter may not be doing much with general audiences.
If anything, the new numbers show awareness staying soft or even slipping for several notable titles, including Mortal Kombat II, The Mandalorian and Grogu, Masters of the Universe, and Toy Story 5.
Mortal Kombat II still leads the genre-heavy titles relevant to Cosmic Book News readers, but the bigger takeaway may be that awareness is not really climbing the way you would expect as release dates get closer.
Mortal Kombat II Still Leads The Pack
Mortal Kombat II posts a 48 awareness score and a 48 interest score.
That keeps it ahead of The Mandalorian and Grogu, which comes in at 46 awareness and 46 interest, and ahead of Masters of the Universe at 38 awareness and 42 interest.
Even so, Mortal Kombat II dipped 2 points in awareness and 4 points in interest over the prior two weeks. That is not the kind of movement you want to see closer to release – which is next week – especially after CinemaCon. Worth a mention is that Warner Bros. really started to amp up marketing this week.
Still, out of this group, Mortal Kombat II remains in the strongest overall position. We dive further into the data here.
The Mandalorian And Grogu, Masters Of The Universe Stay Soft
The Mandalorian and Grogu slipped by 1 point in awareness and 2 points in interest. It is still close to Mortal Kombat II, but it is not showing much sign of real momentum.
Masters of the Universe actually rose 1 point in awareness, but interest dipped by 1. The movie remains in an interesting spot because its interest score is still higher than its awareness. That means the people who know about it seem more into it than the broader public, but the film still needs a bigger push to break out.
Both titles look like they need stronger marketing if the studios want to turn fan interest into wider audience awareness.
Scary Movie 6 Looks Strong With Younger Audiences
Belloni notes that young people care about Scary Movie, and the chart backs that up.
Scary Movie 6 is sitting at 56 awareness and 53 interest, which are strong numbers for an early tracking chart. Even though both are down slightly over the previous two weeks, it is still one of the better-performing titles on the board.
That suggests the franchise still has real life with younger audiences, which is notable for a comedy sequel in today’s market.
Head on over here, where we take a closer look at what the numbers have to say.
Disclosure Day Has An Awareness Problem
One of the more interesting titles on the chart is Disclosure Day, Steven Spielberg’s movie, which Belloni points out has an awareness problem.
The chart gives it a 23 awareness score and a 44 interest score.
That is a big gap. It means people who know about the movie are interested, but not enough people know it exists yet. So the issue does not look like appeal. The issue looks like reach.
That makes Disclosure Day one of the clearer examples on the chart of a movie that may need a bigger marketing push. The flick’s first look also happened to come at CinemaCon.
Toy Story 5 Should Raise Eyebrows
Toy Story 5 posts big raw numbers with 64 awareness and 60 interest, but the trend is what stands out.
Awareness is down 6 points, and interest is down 2.
Those are still strong scores overall, but for a major Pixar sequel and one of Disney’s biggest brands, you would expect awareness to be building, not falling. That is another sign CinemaCon hype and trade coverage may not be translating to the general audience in a meaningful way.
We go further into the data here.
Recently also saw the news Toy Story 5 will be the first Toy Story movie of the franchise with a “PG” rating instead of “G.”
Death Of Robin Hood Starts Very Low
Hugh Jackman’s The Death of Robin Hood is now also listed on the chart, and it is near the bottom.
It comes in at 19 awareness and 42 interest.
That is a very low awareness number, though the interest score suggests there may be some upside if more people become aware of it. Right now, however, it looks like another title with little penetration into the mainstream audience.
It’s an A24 indie film, so this really isn’t a surprise.
What The Chart Really Reveals
The biggest reveal may not be that Mortal Kombat II is leading this group. It is that CinemaCon does not appear to have boosted awareness with the general public.
That event gets a lot of trade coverage and social media reaction, but these numbers suggest that industry buzz is staying inside the bubble.
Interestingly enough, Belloni made a recent claim that this year, that for the first time, CinemaCon brought in paid shills to help promote things. However, looking at these numbers, those shills didn’t move any needles, actually, quite the opposite.
Mortal Kombat II remains in the best shape among the genre titles covered here, while The Mandalorian and Grogu and Masters of the Universe are staying soft.
Scary Movie 6 looks really strong, Disclosure Day needs awareness, Toy Story 5 dipped when it should probably be climbing, and The Death of Robin Hood starts out low.
