Editorial: Why Do Studios Hide Original Sci-Fi Until the Last Minute?

This is a question that has been on my mind quite a bit recently. It’s something I indirectly addressed once before in response to the numerous, revealing RoboCop remake set photos (titled: How Sony/MGM Just Let RoboCop Become a Flop Through Inaction). Why so much inaction, I wonder? Can they ignore everyone and everything until a few months before and pull out a campaign last minute? I suppose. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But it’s still an unanswered question that even if I were to discuss with a studio exec, I still wouldn’t have a real reason for why they think they can get away so easily with last minute marketing. There are examples on both sides: of a movie flopping because it didn’t have enough of an extended build up (e.g. recently The Thing remake, Dredd 3D, Skyline, Paul, The Darkest Hour) as well as those that launched most …