Studios Pay Fans to Promote New Movies — SkimNews
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- Amazon MGM Studios deployed a branded ATM in Los Angeles that dispensed $100 bills to moviegoers who found its location and used a posted PIN, part of a promotional campaign for How to Rob a Bank.
- Skydance’s Paramount Pictures created an official Venmo account for Johnny Depp’s character in Ebenezer, distributing one-cent payments to users who requested funds during a limited activation window.
- Paramount teased a return of the Ebenezer Venmo stunt on Instagram, encouraging followers to check back as the account might become active again, despite its brief initial run.
- Venmo users, including fan Krystyna Ursta, sent money to the Ebenezer account and received full refunds plus a bonus penny and screening invitations, confirming studio follow-through on returned payments.
- Stellar Agency Inc. administered the How to Rob a Bank ATM promotion, distributing $1,400 in cash across four Los Angeles multiplexes, with each site giving ten $100 and twenty $20 bills.
- Film aggregation accounts like Culture Crave and DiscussingFilm amplified both stunts with viral social media posts, highlighting the real-money giveaways as timely and attention-grabbing.
Why it matters: These low-cost, high-engagement campaigns shift movie marketing toward interactive stunts that reward participation, leveraging real financial interaction to generate organic reach. With minimal spending—under $1,400 for the ATM and near-zero for Venmo—the studios achieved widespread social media traction, suggesting a scalable model for audience acquisition that benefits smaller promotional budgets while altering how studios engage financially conscious viewers.
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