The former investigative journalist known for catching alleged predators on camera is now targeting a different kind of audience - the one that shows up to watch A24’s upcoming thriller Primetime. Chris Hansen has purchased advertising time to run before every single screening of the film, a move that has the industry buzzing about the intersection of true crime branding and theatrical exhibition.
According to the exclusive details, Hansen’s ads will play in front of the feature nationwide, meaning no matter which theater or what time you catch the movie, you’ll be seeing his face before the lights fully dim. It’s an unprecedented saturation play for a single personality to lock down every print of a major studio release, and it raises immediate questions about what exactly the ad will sell - and why Primetime is the vehicle.
The film itself is already shrouded in a certain amount of mystery. A24 has built a reputation for releasing genre-bending, talked-about productions, and Primetime is positioned as a tense, modern examination of media scrutiny and the thirst for public confession. With that thematic terrain, Hansen’s presence feels less like a random purchase and more like a deliberate branding exercise that blurs the line between marketing and real-world commentary.
Hansen, of course, built his career on confronting suspected wrongdoers in front of a rolling camera, most famously with NBC’s To Catch a Predator and later with his own digital projects. In recent years, he has pivoted to creating content that leans on his distinct persona - one that audiences associate with uncomfortable confrontations, moral judgment, and the performance of justice. Placing that face in front of a movie about the dangers of public exposure is a canny fit, but it also signals a larger shift in how pre-show advertising is being sold.
Traditionally, pre-roll ads in cinemas have been the domain of soda brands, car manufacturers, and the occasional local dentist. Celebrity-driven spots exist, but they usually promote their own projects or products. Hansen’s move is different. He is not advertising a show, a podcast, or a book tie-in to the film. He is essentially buying the theatrical pre-show as a platform for his own personal brand equity, converting an audience captive for two hours into an audience that has already been conditioned to think about his specific form of moral scrutiny before the opening scene.
That may sound like a gimmick, but it can genuinely change the way you watch the film. If you know Hansen’s work, you enter Primetime with a particular framework. The movie apparently explores how ordinary people behave when they think they are being watched or judged, and Hansen’s warning-like presence sets an uneasy tone. It also creates a strange feedback loop: the ad tells you that you are about to watch a story, but Hansen’s own history tells you that some stories are actually traps.
For A24, the arrangement is unusual but not hostile. The studio is known for protecting the artistic integrity of its productions, yet it has allowed this external intrusion into the theatrical experience. That suggests either a very open-minded marketing department or a mutually beneficial arrangement that has not been fully disclosed. In an era when studios are desperate to get people back into cinemas, the promise of an unexpected, provocative pre-show spot could drive curiosity. A handful of moviegoers may come purely to see Hansen’s ad, only to stay for the film.
From a business standpoint, the move also challenges the conventional wisdom about pre-show inventory. If a single figure can command the attention of every screening, it raises the question of who else might try this. Imagine a politician buying before every showing of a political thriller, or an activist group latching onto a documentary about a related cause. The theater becomes not just a place to watch a story, but a venue for direct public messaging with a guaranteed, seated audience.
There is also no small amount of irony here. Hansen made his name by exposing people who arranged to meet minors after online chats, but the internet was also where his own controversies played out. His career has had ups and downs, with financial struggles and a brief arrest in 2019 on a charge that was later cleared. He has since rebuilt through a subscription-based channel and live-event tours. The ad buy, if nothing else, signals that he remains a commercially viable figure with enough capital and confidence to take over a theater chain’s most valuable screen time.
As of publication, neither Hansen nor A24 has commented publicly on the specifics of how the deal came together. That silence is telling, because it allows the campaign to generate its own speculation. In the coming weeks, audiences who attend Primetime will find out whether the ad is a minute-long monologue, a stylistic montage of past investigations, or something entirely unexpected. One thing is certain: when the movie starts, you will have been primed by a man who has spent his entire working life making people feel uncomfortable under the spotlight. Whether that enhances or distorts the film’s message is up to the individual viewer, but nobody will go in cold.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter