Why 'The Fault In Our Stars' was a box office success

One of the main reasons the massively famous ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ managed to become so successful so soon after its release, was the huge following the franchise already had prior to the film being released. The loyalty of the best-seller’s fans to the film gave it a head-start at the box-office over other films being released around the same time. The readers of the book were dedicated to the film and there was hyped anticipation for its impending release. The film was crafted to meet the expectations of those devoted followers and its success confirms their overwhelming contentment with it.

            Obviously, the film also needed to be advertised in order for many people to hear of the upcoming blockbuster. The film producers made contact with an Instagram company named ‘the Amplify’ to select five participants to go to a screening of the film and then share their experience watching it. One hashtag created by one of the five comprised 1.6 million posts and the film was soon being discussed throughout the site. The campaign allegedly managed to gather over 350,000 engagements on Instagram, whether it be likes or comments.  The comments made about the film, shared by these five Instagram-users, had apparently reached over sixteen million people.

            Similar to all other films yet to be released, ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ had a trailer which was played strategically before other films in cinemas, on television during advert breaks and also on sites all over the internet like YouTube and Facebook. The trailer on YouTube alone gathered more than three million views in the first 24 hours. However, it wasn’t the only advertisement, as  many posters were also placed around public places and images were used as pop-ups online also. This grasped the attention of potential viewers and sparked their interest in this new film, making them want to go and see it.

            Another reason for the film’s success is the notoriety of the author and the emerging cast members in the film industry. The author of the book-to-film adaptation has 2.1 million subscribers on YouTube alone, making him a man in the limelight. Any message he sends out is going to be read by millions of people – many more who can be persuaded to watch the film. Moving on to our two protagonists in the film, Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, it is clear that the two are becoming increasingly popular with the young adult audience after their appearances in other recent hit films such as Divergent and the remake of Carrie. The promise of already-esteemed actors makes the film much more appealing to people debating whether or not to see it.

            Finally, the added persuasion of a good review can be a tipping point for films to become so successful, and ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ definitely received its fair share of good reviews. The Internet Movie Database, (IMDb) has given the film an amazing 8.3/10, while other popular reviewers like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic have given the film 4/5 and 3.5/5 stars. The film has been the most successful contemporary drama for the last nine years and soared to the top of the box-office charts from the day it was released.