‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E’ Takes Top Spot for TV Advertising
In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by iSpot.tv, “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” debuted as the movie backed by the most advertising dollars this week. It knocked last week’s No. 1 spot holder, “Ant-Man,” from the top spot, with the latter movie falling off the list entirely.
With an estimated $10.9 million spent in advertising, Warner Bros. aims to ensure a strong debut for “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” with 1,398 national airings across 42 networks, led by ESPN and Comedy Central. In the No. 2 spot this week was “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation,” which also made its debut on the list with $6.5 million spent in TV advertising by Paramount.
“Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation” saw 1,633 national airings across 44 networks led by MTV and NBC Sports, but despite more spots, it was still outspent by spy movie counterpart “U.N.C.L.E.”
Also on the list this week was previous top spot holder “Vacation,” which fell to No. 3 with $6 million spent this week on 990 national airings across 44 networks, led by FX and Comedy Central. In fourth this was the Columbia Pictures comedy “Pixels” with $5.7 million spent in TV advertising with 1,434 national airings across 45 networks led by Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.
In the final spot this week was Marvel’s “Fantastic Four,” dropping from No. 3 to the bottom with $4.8 million spent on advertising (nearly a million less than last week) for 1,488 national airings across 46 networks, led by Disney XD.
Overall, the movie industry spent an estimated $65.7 million on TV advertising this week. Warner Bros, with two movies in the top five, led the way with over 26% of that total, followed by Paramount with 11%, and Columbia Pictures with around 10%. Cartoon Network saw the most overall advertising dollars pushed its way, with $5.4 million spent to advertise across the network, while ESPN’s “SportsCenter” was the individual program to see the most money spent on advertising with $2.1 million invested.
Top Movie Commercials by Weekly TV Spend
Powered by iSpot.tv
$10.97M – The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Online Activity: 0.67% within the movie category*
National Airings: 1,398
Networks: 42
Most Aired On: ESPN, Comedy Central
Creative Versions: 10
Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $14.78M
Studio: Warner Bros.
Started Airing: 07/14/15
$6.57M – Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Online Activity: 0.75% within the movie category*
National Airings: 1,633
Networks: 44
Most Aired On: MTV, NBC Sports
Creative Versions: 42
Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $29.64M
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Started Airing: 03/22/15
$6.12M – Vacation
Online Activity: 1.22% within the movie category*
National Airings: 990
Networks: 44
Most Aired On: FX, Comedy Central
Creative Versions: 38
Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $26.9M
Studio: Warner Bros.
Started Airing: 06/14/15
$5.76M – Pixels
Online Activity: 4.30% within the movie category*
National Airings: 1,434
Networks: 45
Most Aired On: Nick, Cartoon Network
Creative Versions: 43
Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $32.05M
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Started Airing: 03/18/15
$4.82M – Fantastic Four
Online Activity: 1.16% within the movie category*
National Airings: 1,488
Networks: 46
Most Aired On: Disney XD, Cartoon Network
Creative Versions: 24
Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $14.11M
Studio: Marvel
Started Airing: 06/11/15
1 Movie titles with a minimum spend of $100,000 for airings detected between 07/20/2015 and 07/26/2015.
* Percent of digital activity captured across online video, social media, and search activity that was stimulated by these movie trailers and measured in comparison to all online activity in the movie category.
Variety has partnered with iSpot.tv, a company that catalogs, tags and measures activity around TV commercials in real time, to bring you this weekly look at what studios are spending to market their movies on TV. Learn more about the iSpot.tv platform and methodology.
Related stories
Mid-Year Movie Report: Warner Bros. Dominates Top TV Ad Budgets
X-Men/Fantastic Four Crossover Movie Could Happen, Says Bryan Singer
Digital Audience Ratings: 'The Revenant' Rallies, 'Suicide Squad' Has the Last Laugh
Get more from Variety and Variety411: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
