Not since “Wicked” (2024) has Hollywood seen a marketing campaign in such desperate need of a closer look, especially given the high stakes. “Thunderbolts*” is the latest film from the embattled Marvel Studios and is aggressively sliding into a prime May release slot, functionally kicking off the summer blockbuster season. 

Box-office tracking for “Thunderbolts*” is decent but not outstanding, with a projected $70 to $75 million domestic opening weekend. In February, “Captain America: Brave New World” opened to $88.4 million domestic on the way to a solid $400 million worldwide box-office run. But solid is not enough for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a theatrical tornado that frequently clears $1 billion at the box office.

Marvel has been on a bit of a losing streak of late, and on top of that, the studio has to sell a very different film from its norm. “Thunderbolts*” is a brand new team-up led by characters from lesser-known Marvel projects like “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (2018) and “Black Widow” (2021). The studio hopes to get a boost from the inclusion of longtime fan-favorite Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, for some reason.

But with an unconventional movie comes an unconventional marketing strategy from the typically homogenized Marvel machine. You may have noticed the asterisk in the title “Thunderbolts*” — and that’s because Marvel Studios has been hell-bent on ensuring you know about it. From trailers to posters to merchandise, Marvel is touting that this strange styling choice has some hidden meaning that will make sense once you — yes, you — buy a ticket!

The unique marketing campaign for “Thunderbolts*” has gone far beyond the asterisk, though. For example, the initial trailers for this movie were all quite different from your typical Marvel rollout. 

Teaser trailers are typically more reserved and concise affairs; the first trailer for “Thor: Love and Thunder” (2022) runs just 89 seconds long. But Marvel chose to confidently showcase the film upon its unveiling, with its two trailers boasting inflated runtimes of 3:24 and 3:40. 

These trailers, paired with two additional trailers of the standard two-minute variety, have flooded the market with far more footage than a Marvel film would typically show right away. Since this film has little in the way of brand recognition beyond the Marvel label, it’s an attention-grabbing move that gives fans of the franchise a lot more to chew on and get excited about before the film’s release.

However, none of these lengthy trailers match the intrigue of a subversive, minute-long spot Marvel put out called “ABSOLUTE CINEMA,” a nod to the A24-adjacent creative team that put “Thunderbolts*” together. 

Advertising that the film features crew members who worked on “Hereditary” (2018) and “Minari” (2020) might not seem appealing, but when cut together with a visceral “indie” trailer, the spot positions “Thunderbolts*” as a prestige film that just happens to be a CGI action slugfest. 

It’s a weird twist on a promotional ad spot, but if you believe in the adage that all press is good press, it’s certainly telling that a one-minute TV ad has generated over three million views on YouTube when a clip from “Captain America: Brave New World” called “Rebuild The Avengers” has netted just one million.

The presence of next year’s “Avengers: Doomsday” also looms large over this marketing campaign, which is not only trying to sell you on “Thunderbolts*” as a movie but also the “Thunderbolts*” themselves. Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell, Sebastian Stan and Lewis Pullman have all been confirmed for “Doomsday,” which is already in production.  

If this movie doesn’t work, its failure is going to make the next “Avengers” marketing push significantly harder. Imagine if “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) couldn’t sell you on the Guardians of the Galaxy — that would be Marvel’s problem here if “Thunderbolts*” doesn’t land commercially.

We’ve been talking mostly about Marvel, but it’s also urgent on an industrywide level that “Thunderbolts*” does well. April has seen a pair of hits in “A Minecraft Movie” and “Sinners,” which carry momentum for the box office after a brutal winter of underperformances from “Mickey 17” to “Snow White” — and one could argue “Captain America: Brave New World” belongs on that list as well, judging by the Marvel standards we discussed earlier. 

“Thunderbolts*” is just the first in a line of big risks this blockbuster season. No superhero movie this summer is a sure thing, from DC’s “Superman” relaunch to Marvel’s other new team-up, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” Beyond superheroes, blockbuster staples like legacy sequels and live-action remakes are also facing uncertain times, and yet the summer is packed with those movies anyway. 

“Thunderbolts*” is occupying the same release slot that movies like “Avengers: Endgame” (2019) have once held, so its job is simple, but difficult: to start the summer blockbuster season with a bang. 

This film has taken risks from its initial greenlight through its marketing campaign, and that’s admirable. But it all must pay off to set the tone for both a struggling Marvel Studios and the movie industry at large, which needs a profitable summer now more than ever.

Sammy Bovitz is a sophomore writing about the business of film. His column, “Boardrooms & Blockbusters,” runs every other Friday. He is also a magazine editor at the Daily Trojan.