The biggest movie moments often begin with something audiences already care deeply about: a story, a character, a franchise or a song.
That connection can start weeks before a premiere and continue well after it. Fans search for soundtracks, revisit artists and catalogs, build playlists, listen to podcasts and find new ways into the worlds surrounding the films they want to see. For Lionsgate’s “Michael,” that meant building a campaign around an artist whose cultural impact spans generations — with over 92 million monthly listeners and one of the most-streamed catalogs on Spotify. The results show what that kind of starting point can unlock.
Spotify’s first-party research suggests the opportunity extends beyond one campaign. Across 12 recent theatrical releases, search activity consistently built before release, peaked around opening weekend and continued afterward.
For marketers, the starting point is understanding what audiences already care about and building from there.
Building from the music out
For “Michael,” that connection started with the music.
Jackson’s catalog spans decades, genres and millions of followers on Spotify, a connection that crosses generations. Lionsgate built the campaign around that nostalgia and existing relationship with the music, using it as an entry point into a broader experience surrounding the film.
Spotify’s interactive visual experience invited fans to explore Jackson’s discography as a companion to the film. Podcast integrations extended the story into long-form audio, while targeted audio maintained a presence during everyday listening. Each touchpoint gave audiences a different way to connect with the music and story, from first listen to active participation.
“Michael Jackson always defied expectations, and today, his legacy spans generations, gender and geography,” says Dani Otero, executive vice president of global paid media and analytics at Lionsgate. “His story deserved a campaign that met audiences throughout their own experiences of the fan journey. Spotify gave us a way to build around how fans connect with his music and story, from discovery through deeper immersion and sustained engagement.”
Spotify gave the campaign a way to meet fans within the music they were already listening to, while its cross-format reach carried that connection from discovery through deeper participation.
The campaign reached 48.8 million impressions across formats. More than 32,000 users shared The Stage experience directly to Instagram Stories, WhatsApp and other platforms.
It also delivered measurable movement further down the funnel. According to Samba TV, Spotify exposure drove a +42% lift in purchase confirmations, plus a +42% lift in movie interest and a +37% lift in purchase consideration. Podcast placements stood out: they accounted for 17% of campaign reach while contributing 28% of purchase confirmations.
Together, the results show the potential of starting with an authentic fan connection. By building around what music audiences already knew and loved, the campaign created multiple paths into the film, from broad discovery and active participation to ticket consideration.
A pattern across theatrical releases
Spotify sees similar fan engagement patterns across theatrical releases.
Across the titles Spotify studied, audiences began engaging weeks before release, often around cultural moments like soundtrack drops and trailer launches.
“Wuthering Heights” offers one example. As anticipation for the film grew, Spotify activity expanded across multiple forms of engagement. In the U.S., user-generated playlists increased more than 2,000%, audiobook streams rose 440%, and listening around associated soundtrack artists spiked as audiences revisited different interpretations of the story. Search activity peaked two days after release and held 64% of that volume two weeks later.
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“When we look at how fans engage with films on Spotify, they’re searching, discovering and building out a movie’s world weeks before it opens,” Ann Piper, Spotify’s head of sales, Americas. “That’s not casual browsing — it’s early intent. And it gives advertisers a window to show up when fans are already leaning in, not just when tickets go on sale.”
Whether the entry point is a decades-spanning catalog or a story audiences are discovering for the first time, the opportunity is the same: understand that connection and give fans meaningful ways to go deeper.
When fan behavior becomes the campaign brief
A film’s entry point into fandom can take many forms. Music may lead for one title; a character, franchise, book or community may lead for another.
The creative opportunity starts by identifying that connection and understanding how it develops.
Spotify’s theatrical research shows one consistent pattern across different kinds of films: engagement builds before release, peaks around opening and sustains afterward. Family titles, for example, retained 83% of release-week search volume after release, compared with 50% for non-family titles.
That pattern points to a simple approach: start with the fan connection, then match creative to the moments when that connection shows up.
Before release, creative can build anticipation while audiences discover and explore a title. Around opening weekend, it can deepen immersion as people make moviegoing decisions. After release, it can sustain connection while fans continue talking, listening, sharing and revisiting the story.
Creative evolves with the fan journey. These principles also inform Spotify’s theatrical planning framework, which maps creative objectives to different stages of fandom.
Building from fandom out
Fandom gives theatrical marketers a starting point. Fans bring existing interests, behaviors and connections to the films they care about and behavioral signals can help marketers understand how those connections develop across the release cycle.
For “Michael,” music provided the natural starting point. Another title may begin with a character, a story world or a community of fans.
The opportunity is to find that connection and build from it, creating experiences that give fans meaningful ways to participate throughout the journey.