Where is the KANDAHAR poster? And does it matter?

UPDATE: Just hours after publishing this story, the KANDAHAR poster was revealed:

Did you know a movie called KANDAHAR is coming out next month on Memorial Day weekend? If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be alone. According to The Quorum, the film has only 13% awareness.

It’s interesting because it stars Gerard Butler, who has been a steady presence at the box office and is coming off the spring hit PLANE. On top of that, Open Road has put out two trailers for the film. And still, most people don’t know it exists.

To be fair, smaller movies don’t really build awareness until the final few weeks, so there is time for KANDAHAR to kick in. The real issue here, however, is that the studio has yet to release a poster for the film.

You’re probably wondering what’s the big deal. Why does it matter that there’s no poster? Here’s why. If there’s no poster, there’s no in-theater presence, which in turn means there’s little unaided awareness.

Let’s unpack that.

In-theater advertising is an enormously valuable way to build awareness. Think of all those trailers you see before a film. But it’s not just the trailer. The posters that line the hallways and the standees all create familiarity whether you realize it or not. And it’s cumulative. The more you see them, the more it registers in your brain as a film that’s on the horizon.

But guess what? If there’s no poster, there’s no in-theater advertising, which means awareness is suppressed. So, yeah. It is kind of a big deal.

Usually, a studio will release a poster and a trailer on the same day. That way, the marketing material is all aligned. KANDAHAR has had two trailers and no poster. Let’s hope we get one soon. Otherwise, KANDAHAR may have a rocky road to box office success.