Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight swept the board at the 38th annual Key Art Awards on Friday, leading a charge of superhero movies finding that good marketing may be their most useful superpower, after all.
The Key Art Awards, held every year by the Hollywood Reporter, recognize the contributions made by the people behind the trailers, posters and other movie marketing efforts that often get taken for granted. This year's batch of winners was dominated by last year's Batman flick, which won eight awards including "Best Theatrical Poster", "Best Theatrical TV Spot" and "Best Teaser Print," but overall, comic book movies were well-represented, with Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Spirit and Wanted all coming away with awards. In addition, Spider-Man director Sam Raimi was recognized with a Visionary Award for being a filmmaker who inspires marketers (A dubious honor, perhaps).
(Non-comic book, but equally io9, Wall-E also picked up more than a few awards, including "Best Animation/Family Trailer," even if it was robbed for animation by Kung Fu Panda.)
While we're always excited to see comic book movies get their due, we're wondering whether or not The Onion's take on the importance of marketing is getting ever-closer to finally coming true... and also whether The Spirit should've just stayed as a trailer in the end.
'Knight' notches 8 wins at Key Art Awards [Hollywood Reporter]