‘The Drama’ and the Internet’s Influence on Movie-Marketing Strategy
‘The Drama’ and the Internet’s Influence on Movie-Marketing Strategy
By Campbell Bensley — April 2, 2026
With the upcoming release of A24’s The Drama, directed by Kristoffer Borgli, the generic movie-marketing rollouts of the past have been replaced by immersive campaigns built for an online audience. The Drama, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, follows Emma and Charlie, a seemingly happy, newly-engaged couple, in the days leading up to their wedding. As the wedding approaches, cracks begin to form, and the relationship unravels. What begins as a familiar romantic setup—fans speculate—will possibly turn into a psychological thriller.
For years, studios relied on predictable, trailer-first campaigns, built around mass media rather than audience participation. Heavily popularized in the early 2000s, this studio-controlled marketing strategy involved exciting, straightforward trailers that left little to the imagination, along with star-studded press tours to build anticipation for a film’s release. Studios didn't cater to social media audiences; they focused on traditional media, such as billboards, magazine covers, and late-night show appearances. However, TikTok has rewritten the rules of film marketing, replacing linear campaigns with audience-driven ones.
Having an immersive marketing experience is not necessarily a new idea in Hollywood. Films like The Blair Witch Project proved decades ago that well-thought-out marketing works. By the early 2000s, most studios had ditched the idea of creative marketing campaigns in favor of cheap, structured cookie-cutter rollouts, but through the emergence of TikTok, some major studios such as Universal Studios, Warner Bros., and A24 are returning to their old form as a way to stay relevant in an attention economy measured in seconds.
The catalyst for this change was the success of the films Barbie and Oppenheimer. Two films released on the same weekend—which most expected to battle it out for that weekend’s box office favorite—instead became a social media phenomenon. Universal Studios and Warner Brothers capitalized on organic TikTok trends and, by using social media virality, both films exceeded box-office expectations, with Barbie becoming the highest-grossing film of the year, and Oppenheimer garnering similar success.
The Drama’s marketing first made headlines with a fake engagement announcement printed in The Boston Globe, detailing the recent engagement of Emma and Charlie, complete with family backgrounds, academic credentials, and a wedding date. This immersive advertisement, paired with a star-studded cast, intrigued audiences and generated significant buzz for the film ahead of the teaser trailer released the following day.
A24 then partnered with Los Angeles-based photography studio Norman & Blake, which posted engagement photos of Zendaya and Pattinson, both actors in character, indistinguishable from any other wedding photographer building their Instagram portfolio. These intentional decisions brought Zendaya and Pattinson’s characters to life, allowing audiences to get excited about the film and feel invested in the future of this fictional relationship.
On Valentine’s Day, A24 launched charlieandemmaforever.com, a fully operational wedding website, featuring an RSVP, dress code guidance, a travel guide for out-of-town guests, and an “Our Story” section detailing the couple’s relationship. A24 has also moved away from the traditional, tell-all trailer format, opting instead for ambiguity that reveals just enough to intrigue audiences while leaving most of the story open to interpretation.
Films that have embraced creative marketing have recently achieved box-office success. But this shift raises a larger question: Are films becoming more concerned with media attention than with storytelling itself, or is this a healthy evolution of marketing that allows audiences to engage more deeply with a film before its release? Whether The Drama and A24’s unique marketing rollout will pay off remains to be seen.
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