Neon’s Latest Marketing Stunt: Free ‘Longlegs’ Tickets to Anyone with a Birthday on the 14th

Brian Welk
·3 min read

Osgood Perkins’ “Longlegs” has not needed any help at the box office, but it is getting some anyway. And in true “Longlegs” (and Perkins) fashion, the plan is perfectly creepy.

Distributor Neon is partnering with Atom Tickets to offer free tickets to “Longlegs” for anyone who has a birthday that falls on the 14th of any given month. Sounds weird until you see the film — or at least know Nicolas Cage’s character’s propensity to kill.

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In the horror film, Maika Monroe plays an FBI agent decoding a series of occult clues to track Cage’s serial killer character. She discovers he only targets victims who were born on the 14th. The giveaway makes for a fun little easter egg for fans, and a good carrot to entice those who haven’t yet seen it. Birthdate pending, of course.

To get the tickets, those who register and purchase tickets through Atom Tickets will get a special promo code after verifying their date of birth, and they’ll be able to get one free ticket per customer, while supplies last. You also have only from today until August 4 (weirdly not the 14th) to redeem the tickets, but the ticket is good for any available showtime of “Longlegs” from now through August 4.

“Longlegs” has been one of Neon’s biggest hits in its history, pulling in $70 million worldwide to date. That’s second only to “Parasite.” Domestically it is Neon’s top earner ever.

Generally, giving things away for free is not a great way of making more money. But the gambit is about getting more butts in seats, bringing people back to the movies and back in the habit of seeing independent film. Earlier this year, Neon had another experiment in which it offered greatly discounted tickets to the Sydney Sweeney horror film “Immaculate” for the devilish price of $6.66 for one day only.

Speaking at CinemaCon, Neon’s distribution chief Elissa Federoff said the “Immaculate” stunt worked. The distributor made about as much money as they would have on a normal day, but twice as many people bought tickets. The theater owners at CinemaCon sure loved their concession-stand revenue that day. “Immaculate” made $28.2 million worldwide.

“Longlegs” had already put on a masterclass in experimental marketing. Despite being the film’s biggest star, Cage never appeared in advertising for the movie, sparking interest in Longlegs’ big reveal in theaters. Neon also drummed up interest via cryptic teasers, posters, and print ads that could be decoded and deciphered by fans. And ahead of the film’s release on July 12, a billboard with a phone number popped up in Los Angeles. When dialed, the caller got an unnerving message from Cage’s Longlegs. The phone number received over 250,000 calls from across the globe in its first 48 hours.

Pick up your tickets here or in the Atom Tickets app.

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