New Sweeney Todd trailer

There’s a new trailer that’s been released by Warner Bros. for Sweeney Todd, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. As others have mentioned, this new one comes sans any music save the background score, an absence that’s notable since the movie is based on – and is itself – a musical. The first trailer featured quite a bit of singing, mostly from Depp as he sang one of the story’s signature pieces.

This new one is more, honestly, for the Academy members. Also as many have noted, Depp has been nominated twice for an Oscar but never yet won. They might be loathe to give him another nod, much less an award, for a musical (which have fallen out of favor, it seems) with his frequent collaborator Burton. It’s also aimed more squarely at Burton’s core fans, which might be hesitant to check out a musical from him.

But it’s a good trailer, if for different reasons than the first one. Since the first highlighted the musical nature so prominently I don’t think WB is hiding the music, just deciding that different trailers need to be created to cater to different audiences.

That being said, it’s not as if Warner Bros. has done a bang-up job of marketing their just-off-the-mainstream films recently. Both Anne Thompson and then Karina Longworth have written about Warner’s problems in marketing and distribution of movies like Michael Clayton and The Assassination of Jesse James. But this seems to me less like flailing and more like serving audience segments. I could be wrong, but that’s my guess right now.
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