The Monkey: Turning Social Hype into Box Office Bite

Client: Black Bear

With a fraction of the budget of studio giants, Black Bear tasked us with launching their new horror film, The Monkey, in a crowded UK market. Our goal? Ignite hype among 18–34s, especially horror superfans, and deliver box office impact without leaning on traditional media.

We dug into the behaviour of our audience and found the sweet spot: younger horror fans live on TikTok, Snapchat, and Reddit, not just watching, but engaging, reacting, and sharing. So we didn’t serve them ads. We built a fan-first campaign designed to feel native, spark conversation, and invite participation.

Every platform had a role to play. From TikTok takeovers to Reddit AMA-style interactions to leveraging Snapchat’s unique overlap, with creative tailored to each environment. Smart targeting and constant optimisation helped us stretch the budget and amplify the buzz.

The result? The Monkey became the top-performing new release on opening weekend and achieved the highest ROI in its peer set.