Film hits such as Mean Girls go bitesize to match attention spans
In recent years, cinema blockbusters have undeniably become longer. Movies like Oppenheimer, Babylon from last year, and the latest Avatar film all have a duration of over three hours. However, the latest trend in films only demands a small amount of focus.
Yesterday, in celebration of Mean Girls Day (which falls on October 3rd), Paramount Pictures transformed Lindsay Lohan’s popular 2004 film about teenage drama to cater to a modern audience in 2023.
How? By slicing and dicing the noughties classic into 23 digestible clips, and serving it all up on TikTok for 24 hours.
Access to the catalogue of clips disappeared, Cinderella-like, at midnight but the official Mean Girls TikTok page – which carries the bio ‘Get in loser, we’re going shopping’ – now has 2.1million likes to boast of.
The hashtag #October3rd has accumulated over 426 million views on TikTok alone, excluding views from other social media platforms.
“I cannot reword”
Great news! The Mean Girls account has gained 2.1 million likes within just one day of its release.
Posting clips of favorite films on social media has been a common practice, primarily done by fans rather than studios.
In recent months, TikTok has been featuring official releases of both old and new films and TV series. With a decline in cinema attendance, there is a possibility that the small screen might surpass the big screen in popularity.
It’s possible to watch a clip-by-clip version of Mel Gibson’s 2000 rom-com What Women Want. And season one of US hit comedy series Killing It was made free to watch on TikTok in August, after NBCUniversal announced it would release five clips, each between three and eight minutes long, on the platform beloved of Gen Z.
Jane Crowther, the Editor-in-chief of Total Film magazine, stated to MailOnline that social media is presently the most influential promotional tool accessible to studios.
Jane Crowther, the editor of Total Film magazine, emphasizes the importance of attracting a new audience through TikTok for the upcoming Lindsay Lohan film, which is scheduled to be released as a musical in early 2024.
‘Influencers and TikTok are increasingly the way studios sell films. Engagement starts with fast, quick clips that entice punters into the cinema.
There are numerous films on TikTok that exist in this format without permission. If you prefer, you can watch several films in short segments, and now studios are imitating this trend. It’s essentially a situation where if you can’t defeat them, you should join them.
According to Crowther, Mean Girls still has a lot of vitality left, even though it has been around for almost two decades.
Yesterday’s campaign was aimed at ensuring that those who are unfamiliar with the concept of a “burn book” can engage with and understand the content of the new musical version of Mean Girls, which will be released in cinemas in January.
According to Jessica Piper, a Social Media Executive at W Communications, it is easier than you may think to watch a film or show in smaller portions if you are not convinced.
Mel Gibson’s 2000 rom-com What Women Want was also served up in clips on TikTok, with ‘playlists’ ensuring fans can watch in the right order
In August, NBCUniversal made a statement about sharing five video segments from the Peacock series Killing It on social media. Each clip will have a duration ranging from three to eight minutes.
According to Jessica Piper, a Social Media Executive at W Communications, TikTok provides fans with the opportunity to not only watch the series but also interact with fellow fans and discover related content effortlessly.
It is easier than it appears to watch full movies on TikTok. Users can create playlists for their series, allowing viewers to watch their TikToks in the order they were posted.
If you happen to find a scene on your ‘for you page’ that you want to continue watching, you can simply click on the account that posted the video. TikTok will then show you the most recently watched video from that account, making it easier for you to decide which one to watch next.
Piper suggests that it is simpler to summarize, and with a portable device in your pocket, you have the ability to watch the most recent movies wherever you are. The convenience of watching movies on TikTok allows viewers to easily rewatch, skip, or quickly navigate through content. It is much more efficient to keep scrolling on TikTok instead of switching to another streaming app or turning on the television.
According to the social media expert, watching a film through social media is not only becoming more popular but also makes it simpler to discover related content.
TikTok enables the formation of communities, and many popular movies have garnered a significant number of followers and fans who actively interact with each other through comments. This level of engagement is not typically found in other methods of watching films.
‘More and more TikTok trends are inspired by movies, from iconic quotes or mimicking favourite characters or even the “vertical movie” trend where artists would use AI to edit movies to be full screen on your phone rather than the usual Hollywood landscape filming.’
