Feedback on social media has been Sharknado’s path to success, and with this week’s third installment, Syfy is once again asking the fans what they want.
The second Sharknado in the franchise was named by fans on Twitter (Sharknado 2: The Second One) and the third is taking that idea up a notch.
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! premiered Wednesday night to a Twitter storm of snark, ending the film (spoilers ahead!) with the undecided fate of Tara Reid’s character, April. The film ends with an abrupt fade to black, then the message: “You decide if #AprilLives or #AprilDies.”
Will April make it to ‘Nado number 4? YOU DECIDE! VOTE now using #AprilLives OR #AprilDies! #Sharknado3 pic.twitter.com/4vU8sIrCxR
— Sharknado (@SharknadoSyfy) July 23, 2015
Through an online voting system and a hashtag campaign, Syfy is letting fans decide whether she lives, which will determine how Sharknado 4 progresses. That’s right, there’s a Sharknado 4 coming.
That’s partly because the viewers are still watching and possibly more importantly, they’re still responding.
Syfy’s Sharknado 3 dominated the charts for Nielsen Twitter TV ratings on Wednesday, generating more than 2 billion Twitter impressions - double that of Sharknado 2. The event was the No. 1 trending topic for the night, with 360,000 related tweets reaching an audience of 4.5 million. On YouTube, clips of the film have been viewed more than 6 million times.
Sharknado 3 saw surprise cameos at every turn, elected Mark Cuban and Ann Coulter to president and VP, killed off Game of Thrones’ George R.R. Martin and birthed a baby inside a shark. The possibilities for Twitter moments and feedback were many.
Wednesday night saw tweets and social posts from cameos from the film, celebrities, brand partners and companies that had nothing at all to do with the franchise.
We love this photo of storm clouds rolling in over a field in Uganda. It’s no #Sharknado3, but it’s pretty awesome. pic.twitter.com/kBIB2rbVJt
— Peace Corps (@PeaceCorps) July 23, 2015
The story they managed to squeeze in among the product placements in #Sharknado3 is as silly and entertaining as I hoped. 3 of 5 chainsaws.
— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) July 23, 2015
#Sharknado3 is my favorite movie involving dangerous ocean creatures and natural disasters that is also part of a trilogy.
— Captain Obvious (@CaptainObvious) July 23, 2015
This movie right now… #Sharknado3 pic.twitter.com/tmsEHViMNa
— E! Online (@eonline) July 23, 2015
How you look when you tried to watch #Sharknado3 but your cable was trippin’. pic.twitter.com/yowQO44rJX
— Tyra Banks (@tyrabanks) July 23, 2015
The Hoff has gone to Hoffinity and beyond! #Sharknado3 #OhHellNo @SharknadoSyfy
— David Hasselhoff (@DavidHasselhoff) July 23, 2015
Left Shark.. you the real MVP. #Sharknado3 pic.twitter.com/WWsUTgZ3Fo
— SundayNight Football (@SNFonNBC) July 23, 2015
At one point throughout the night, Syfy’s Sharknado Twitter account hit 50,000 fans:
We just reached 50K fans! #Sharknado3 cc: @IanZiering pic.twitter.com/cqCcjewAf3
— Sharknado (@SharknadoSyfy) July 23, 2015
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