Publicity, News Content, and Cultural Debate: The Changing Coverage of Blockbuster Movies in Cultural Journalism

This article shows that blockbuster movies are predestined to receive media coverage not only because they are increasingly professionally promoted but also because they carry both “publicist” and media commercial news value. The promotional culture surrounding the blockbuster movie event, including the attention devoted to celebrity actors and directors, attracts media audiences, while the movie itself may stimulate sociocultural debate on film esthetics, art, celebrity culture, and the cultural industries. Taking our point of departure in mediatization theory, we analyze the interwoven communicative forms of the film industry and the printed press. We exemplify our arguments with the coverage in Danish newspapers of 3 blockbusters, representing different points in time in the more recent history of film and news media.