Sporting a new name, AMC’s annual Halloween movie marathon scared up its best results last month.
Rebranded from "Monsterfest," "AMC Fearfest '08" scored a slew of top-ever demo performances gauged on a total-day basis from Oct. 24 through Halloween.
The programming stunt averaged its best marks with 406,000 adults 25 to 54, 429,000 adults 18 to 49 and 221,000 men 25 to 54, according to Nielsen Media Research data.
Household ratings rose 39% to a 0.5 mark, translating into 780,000 total viewers on average.
With the net’s core demo, AMC Fearfest, which featured such theatricals as Constantine, PanicRoom and Return to the House on Haunted Hill, posted a 50% jump over Monsterfest’s 2007 level, while ranking fifth in all of cable that week with the delivery of men 25 to 54.
In primetime, AMC Fearfest averaged a 1.0 household rating, 1.2 million viewers and 724,000 adults 25 to 54, representing gains of 30%, 31% and 39%, respectively, from the 2007 event.
Growing 31% to 709,000 adults 18 to 49, Fearfest pushed AMC into the top 10 with that key demo during the week in question.
“AMC has always been an important destination for fans of this genre, and by re-branding, we were able to bring our audience an even broader range of films from our extensive movie library,” said Tom Halleen, SVP of programming and scheduling. “The unique way we package and stunt our movies continues to resonate strongly with viewers, and we’re excited that our strategy paid off with our highest delivery ever for this programming event.”
