Ok, well, not really. There’s no direct connection between Borat and Snakes on a Plane. Borat is made by Fox, not New Line. Borat is about a foreigner, not snakes. Borat stars a British comedian, not Samuel L. Jackson.
What they do have in common, however, is underground appeal. And Fox seems as though they’re trying to rectify some of the perceived problems with New Line’s handling of Snakes on a Plane:
Fox had hoped to open “Borat” in more than 2,000 theaters. Instead, the film will start in about 800 locations, then expand to 2,200 the following weekend when Fox hopes the movie will have gained traction. “The movie plays like a concert,” Snyder said. “It’s great in a theater.”
…
The movie also could be suffering from what one executive called “Snakes on a Plane” syndrome — buzz that peaks too early. After a year of Internet hype, “Snakes” had a disappointing opening this summer for New Line Cinema. Still, that movie was being hyped sight unseen, whereas critics have raved about “Borat.”
“It’s gotten a lot of publicity, but publicity does not necessarily equal an audience,” said analyst Brandon Gray, head of BoxOfficeMojo.com.
BoingBoing thinks so too:
But all that’s changed now. And between Borat’s MySpace hijinks, the tons and tons of looks-like-homemade promo videos… this is the first big-studio movie to really nail online viral promotion perfectly. How smart was Fox? MySpace, which Fox bought for $580 million, doing online street promotion for Borat, a Fox property… this is no “Snakes on a Plane” accident.
Will Borat succeed beyond the financial success of Snakes on a Plane? Â (Ha, even BoxOfficeMojo thinks SoaP is like Borat.)
to be honest i think theres no similarities whatsoever. the whole point of soap was that unlike the blair witch project and now Borat the hype wasn’t started by the filmmakers but the filmgoers because of the amazingness of the title.