Les Misérables - Case Study - High Budget Working Title Film

Les Misérables

Directed by Tom Hooper

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway 

Promotional Poster

A musical drama film produced by Working Title Films and distributed by Universal Pictures.

Les Misérables premiered in London on 5th December 2012 and was released on 25th December in the United States, on 26th December in Australia and on 11th January 2013 in the UK, it was originally supposed to be released in December but they released in January because they didn't want the film to be associated with Christmas. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Jackman and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for Hathaway. It has also won four BAFTA Awards, including the Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Hathaway). It received eight Academy Award nominations including Best Picture (the first musical nominated since 2002's winner Chicago) and Best Actor for Jackman, and won three, for Best Sound Mixing,Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Supporting Actress for Hathaway.

The film was produced by Working Title Films on a budget of $61 million and at the box office it grossed over $437,710,466. As NBCUniversal own 67% of Working Title (Horizontal integration) they have access to a higher budget and new technology such at 3D and 4D cinema releases and better CGI effects. Through the use of synergy Working Title Films are able to not only create low budget British independent films they are also able to create big budget blockbuster films like Les Misérables. Through cross media convergance Working Title have the advantage of being able to make more money in the box-office, DVD sales from different countries and having better advertising methods. The film released the soundtrack before the actual release of the film to create a buzz around the film.

Running time	158 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$61 million
Box office	$437,710,466

Official Website

The official Les Misérables website contains a variety of links which give additional information about the film. Firstly the home page has the information that the film was nominated for 8 Oscar's and 9 Bafta's, this establishes the film as a well recognised film and this therefore means the audience will be intrigued and want to find out why it is so good. In the centre of the page there is also a link to a Facebook page where you can buy tickets to see the film. The page is very user-friendly as all you need to do is type in your location and it will inform you where the nearest cinema to view it is. Additional links on the page include links to the story (therefore the audience is informed about the context of the film which will draw them towards it), images, videos (including trailers and teasers) and soundtrack (which includes a list of all the songs on the album and links to sites where you can buy them, including; iTunes, amazon and Spotify.) Also in the top left and right hand corners of the page there are links to the official Facebook and Twitter.

Behind the Scenes Commercial

To market the film Universal advertised trailers and behind the scenes material. The behind the scenes material largely explained and promoted the film's use of live signing by the actors for all the musical numbers instead of prerecorded studio tracks. On one hand this could be seen as positioning the film as innovative and on the the other hand it forewarns the audience of potential disappointment. The comercials address that the actors took liberties with the music, allowing for a more intense acting experience to occur even at the sacrifice of harsh criticism. These specific commercials were intended to create a buzz around the fact that celebrities like Russell Crowe were able to pull off a musical performance, it also made the film stand out. It was also a way of warning the audience if a note would fall flat. 

The first poster to be released was of the iconic and famous image of young Cosette. This was done to raise public awareness for the film as the audience could compare it to the iconic image of young Cosette used to market the west end production. 

Les Misérable was originally going to be released on 7th December 2012 before it was moved to 14th December; however, on 18th September 2012, the film's release date was moved back to 25th December, so as not to conflict with the opening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.