Street Fighter’s Genius Strategy on Times Square Is Marketing’s Most Legendary Moment

With just over a week to go before its release, this year’s highly anticipated game-based movie, Street Fighter, is taking its marketing to a new level. As seen in a recent social media clip (via DiscussingFilm), ahead of the release, the marketing team set up a large gaming console in the middle of Times Square, but the most interesting part was that actual human performers were fighting inside the big, box-like console.

Social media users had a field day with the clip, with many praising the Street Fighter team for pulling off the magnificent stunt. “That’s a wild promo. Would you stop and watch?” commented one X user. Another quipped, “This marketing is absolutely unhinged. Setting up a live-action arcade machine in the middle of Times Square is pure genius.”

A third added, “Movie marketing peaked right here. Somewhere there’s a performer who trained for years just to get button-mashed by a tourist in Times Square, and I respect the commitment immensely.” Fans also noticed Eric André outside the gaming console box, cheering up the performers.

Don’t believe us? Have a look at it yourself.

Street Fighter Is Taking Movie Marketing to a Whole New Level

Cody Rhodes Wearing Guile Popcorn Bucket | Credit: Instagram/@americannightmarecody

The Times Square marketing doesn’t actually come as a surprise, given Street Fighter seems to be nailing every promotional campaign. One of the major examples is the popcorn bucket. Lately, popcorn buckets are all the rage in Hollywood when it comes to movie merch; from Dune to Deadpool & Wolverine, many blockbuster movies have introduced unique designs for the snack vessel in the last few years, and Street Fighter joined the club.

Cody Rhodes, who plays Guile in the live-action, unveiled AMC’s official popcorn bucket, which is modeled after the character’s iconic flat-top hairstyle. It has the perfect size to fill with popcorn; the best part of it all is that it is actually wearable on your head with a chin strap.

If one popcorn bucket wasn’t enough, Street Fighter actually introduced an official arcade-machine vessel, available to purchase through Cinemark and Fandango’s Collector’s Pack. There’s also a big fan event coming ahead of the theatrical release. Select October 15 screenings offer bonus content and collectibles like art prints and character pin-back buttons.

Who Is Playing the Iconic Street Fighter Characters?

Noah Centineo and Andrew Koji in Street Fighter | Credit:- Paramount Pictures

The stacked ensemble cast features Andrew Koji as Ryu, Noah Centineo as Ken Masters, and Callina Liang as Chun-Li. Alongside the main characters, Street Fighter features Jason Momoa as Blanka, 50 Cent as Balrog, Roman Reigns as Akuma, Cody Rhodes as Guile, Vidyut Jammwal as Dhalsim, David Dastmalchian as M. Bison, Andrew Schulz as Dan Hibiki, and more.

Directed by Kitao Sakurai, Street Fighters is set to release on October 16. The movie is being distributed by Paramount Pictures.