Facebook Watch – ‘Warcraft’ Commands

Monday Afternoon Update: Warcraft led all tracked upcoming films in Facebook like increases this past week with 124,183 new likes. The big impetus here was its opening in 19 international territories over this past weekend which gave it a significant bump. It has been a fixture in the top five for much of the last couple months but this is actually the first time it has led all films. While the early reviews have not been kind (its currently sitting at 19% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) it has still managed to generate significant buzz on both Facebook and Twitter.

Two fellow July 10 releases occupied second and third spot in Now You See Me 2 (57,951 new likes) and The Conjuring 2 (49,613 new likes). With the under performance of recent sequels X-Men: Apocalypse and Alice Through The Looking Glass over memorial day and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising the weekend before there are more than a few questions about their potential and if the market in general is experiencing sequel-overload. Those macro-market worries aside, Now You See Me 2 has really impressed in recent weeks, especially on Facebook, while The Conjuring has been now turning it on as its release approaches and the creepy ad campaign hits top gear, a usual trajectory for a film in the horror genre. We might be in store for a close race for top spot next weekend with these three new openers and the returning X-Men: Apocalypse.

After a brief hiatus The Shallows has made its way back into the top 5 over the past week as its release draws closer. Sharks are right up there with Zombies in terms of being able to grab the attention of moviegoers, more specifically suspense-junkies. The marketing so far has been very strong, first teasing with a very brief trailer and then with its second trailer fleshing out the story more its now raised its awareness significantly. Blake Lively’s last film was The Age Of Adaline which had less than half the likes of The Shallows from the same distance out. With a Summer filled with giant blockbuster special effects and sequels galore this could very well be the change many moviegoers are looking forward to.

Another original thriller joined The Shallows this past week in the top 5, Don’t Breath, with the largest jump in the top 10 of 222%. Though its opening in a traditional dumping ground of late August Facebook has responded well to its initial trailer. By comparison, As Above/So Below had just over 120,000 likes the same distance before its release on the same weekend in 2014.

Facebook Top 10 Movies by Like Increase for the last week Ending Sunday May 29th

Rank Release Movie Likes Change % Change
1 06/10/16 Warcraft 1,556,343 124,183 8.67%
2 06/10/16 Now You See Me 2 2,386,972 57,951 2.49%
3 06/10/16 The Conjuring 2 3,684,320 49,613 1.36%
4 06/24/16 The Shallows 281,437 46,195 19.64%
5 08/26/16 Don’t Breathe 60,943 42,019 222.04%
6 06/03/16 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows 2,610,541 41,566 1.62%
7 07/08/16 The Secret Life of Pets 1,693,012 37,351 2.26%
8 06/03/16 Me Before You 502,885 36,755 7.89%
9 07/22/16 Star Trek Beyond 3,605,978 31,001 0.87%
10 07/01/16 The Purge: Election Year 2,739,268 29,005 1.07%