Sony Pictures / Screen Gems · 2019

Black and Blue: the talent and influencer campaign for a Screen Gems release

For the 2019 theatrical release of Black and Blue, starring Naomie Harris and Tyrese Gibson, we ran the talent and influencer campaign, the paid social behind it and the ad buys. The film opened to $8.4 million in the US and Canada and grossed $22.7 million worldwide.

  • Black and Blue
  • Screen Gems
  • Talent
  • Influencers
  • $22.7M worldwide box office
  • Ad buys
  • Black and Blue
  • Screen Gems
  • Talent
  • Influencers
  • $22.7M worldwide box office
  • Ad buys
  • Black and Blue
  • Screen Gems
  • Talent
  • Influencers
  • $22.7M worldwide box office
  • Ad buys
Black and Blue · Sony Pictures / Screen Gems · 1:22 · Open the watch page

The brief

Top talent, posting in their own voice

  • Studio: Sony Pictures / Screen Gems
  • Theatrical release, October 25, 2019
  • Starring Naomie Harris and Tyrese Gibson
  • More like this: Film marketing and Digital publishing
Black and Blue (2019) logoScreen Gems logo

Black and Blue had to stand out in a crowded release calendar and reach its audience directly. Sony asked for top talent posting organically, first to push the trailer and then to rally opening weekend.

AONE Creative delivered the campaign as the white-label team behind Hyper Engine.

What we did

Talent, content and media

  • Talent

    The influencer program

    We chose creators whose audiences matched the film’s, booked them and ran the program from the trailer to opening weekend.

  • Content

    In each creator’s own style

    Creators worked the film’s message into their own content, and we cut promos from the Urbanworld and London events.

  • Paid social

    Three phases on Facebook and Instagram

    Paid support behind the organic posts, from the trailer push to opening weekend.

  • Media

    Ad buys and delivery

    Our team handled the ad buys and delivery for the release. More on media buying

  • Measurement

    Engagement on every post

    We tracked interactions across Instagram, Twitter and YouTube to see what was working.

Results

Opening weekend and beyond

  • $8.4MOpening weekend in the US and Canada, against projections of $8 to 11 million
  • $22.7MWorldwide box office ($22.0M in the US and Canada)
  • 11.3MImpressions on Facebook and Instagram, Aug 1 to Oct 30, 2019
  • First day: $3.1 million, including $675,000 from Thursday night previews
  • Second weekend: $4.1 million
  • 301,900 engagements and 39,800 link clicks on Facebook and Instagram, Aug 1 to Oct 30, 2019

Box office: The Numbers (opening weekend and totals), Deadline (first day, previews and second weekend), TheWrap (projections).

On screen

Naomie Harris and Tyrese Gibson

Naomie Harris stars as a rookie officer whose body camera captures a murder by fellow officers, with Tyrese Gibson as the one person in the neighborhood willing to help her.

Naomie Harris and Tyrese Gibson in an alley in Black and Blue
Naomie Harris and Tyrese Gibson in Black and Blue (2019).

What it taught us

Creators who tell it their way

Choosing the right creators, and giving them room to tell the story their way, built anticipation ahead of opening weekend. We bring the same approach to every release we market, and AI automation now tracks each creator’s post as it lands, so the paid support follows the voices that are working.

Start with AI

Put AI to work on your next release

An AI Readiness Audit maps your marketing workflows and ends with a plan you can act on, whether or not you hire us to build it. Snapshot $1,500 or Blueprint $4,500.

A wet street between apartment blocks at night, a frame from the Black and Blue (2019) cut

Talent and influencer campaigns

Need the cast to carry the campaign?

For Black and Blue we ran the talent and influencer campaign, the paid social behind it and the ad buys. Tell us the film and the date, and we will show you who can carry it and where.