Social Cinema Roundup: Robocop’s Viral Debut, Milyoni’s Award, & More

We’re almost halfway through July, and most of the summer’s biggest releases have already come and gone. So it’s a good chance to reflect on how much social media has influenced the cinema landscape.

One of the biggest success stories comes from The Hunger Games, which brought in more than $450 million at box offices since March. That is thanks in no small part to an aggressive social media campaign from Lion’s Gate Entertainment, which used a YouTube channel, a Tumblr, and interactive games. According to Reuters, Lions Gate CEO Jon Feltheimer estimates that the studio saved between $15 and $20 million promoting the movie on social media.

The Hunger Games already had a large audience of under-30 people, but the other giant social juggernaut, Prometheus, had a much smaller but very dedicated fanbase that was excited to see an expansion of the world created in the 1979 classic, Alien. Fox’s team took advantage of this by targeting the core audience with viral videos, and getting them share with a new audience. So even though Prometheus spent more than The Hunger Games, it still saw a very impressive ROI for an R-Rated, sci-fi horror film.

With that in mind, some studios like Sony Pictures are already looking forward to next summer…

Robocop, Rebooted

Earlier this week, a new video surfaced on the web teasing what is sure to be the blockbuster of next summer: a remake of 1987’s Robocop. The video is an advertisement for a new line of crime-fighting weapons by the ominous-sounding OmniCorp.

Without ever directly referencing the film, every fan of the 1987 original recognizes the name of OmniCorp. The video also reveals the remade ED-209, the stop motion “bad robot” from the original film that was defeated by a staircase. This time, they are sleek, computer-animated killing machines.

The video also references the next generation product, “where human resources meets robotic engineering.” The not-so-subtle wordplay hints that fans may soon get the first look at the new Robocop.

Sony Pictures has also created a new website for OmniCorp, although most of the site’s functions respond with “Access Denied” when clicked.

The film is directed by Jose Padilha and will star Joel Kinneman as the eponymous officer. Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, and Hugh Laurie are also slated to play major roles.

But Robocop isn’t scheduled to release until August 2013. Is 13 months way too long for a viral campaign? Or does Sony have something up its sleeve to put Prometheus to shame?

Social Cinema Leader Milyoni Wins AlwaysOn Global 250 Award

Milyoni—the company that we always want to pronounce as Mil-ee-oh-nee but is actually pronounced Million-eye—announced on Tuesday that it was selected as one of this year’s AlwaysOn Global 250 winners. Other winners included Twitter, Box, Pinterest, and Foursquare, marking Milyoni’s status as an industry leader in the social media space.

The company works with entertainment companies to bring content to Facebook, creating a social experience by allowing viewers to like, chat, and comment throughout a concert, movie, or TV show. This past year, Milyoni brought the first Pay-Per-View movie and concert to Facebook, the first socially interactive movie on Facebook, and the first 3D movie on Facebook.

“At Milyoni, our goal is to make entertainment more accessible and more social,” Milyoni’s CEO John Corpus was quoted as saying in a press release. “We are thrilled to have our technology and achievements recognized by the experts at AlwaysOn and look forward to presenting our customers with new exciting innovations in the coming months.”

The annual competition, now in its 10^th anniversary, honors innovators and disrupters from all technology sectors. The winners are chosen by the AlwaysOn editorial team and a panel of investors, bankers, journalists, and industry insiders on the basis of innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value, and media buzz. This year, thousands of domestic and international companies entered. The full list of winners can be found here.

Have you ever watched a movie or TV show on Facebook? Are you already excited for the Robocop remake? Let us know in the comments and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn.

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