Denzel Washington stars in Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest.” Apple\/David Lee<\/span><\/p>\n We live in a day and age where the attention spans of viewing audiences are so short that we\u2019ve grown accustomed to TV and movie trailers arriving less than a few months, and sometimes even mere weeks, before a project premieres. <\/span><\/p>\n This trend of last-minute,\u00a0lackadaisical marketing has become the accepted norm. However, recently, there seem to be some glaring outliers, particularly when it comes to projects led by talent of color.<\/span><\/p>\n Culture: \u2018South Park\u2019 Is Going After Trump Like Never Before. It\u2019s Exactly What We Need Right Now.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The most notable among them is Spike Lee and Denzel Washington\u2019s \u201cHighest 2 Lowest,\u201d a reimagined crime thriller produced by A24 and Apple, which has had a relatively hushed rollout since its glitzy May premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. <\/span><\/p>\n The movie debuted out of competition, though it was not included on the initial lineup announcement \u201cbecause of some last-minute information we were waiting for,\u201d <\/span>according to festival chief Thierry Fremaux<\/span><\/a>. Instead, Lee\u00a0<\/span>broke the news on Instagram<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Still, \u201cHighest 2 Lowest\u201d got the A-list treatment at Cannes, with Lee, Washington, his co-star A$AP Rocky and other celebs hitting the red carpet to kick off the summer film\u2019s rollout. Washington was even presented with an honorary Palme d\u2019Or by his longtime collaborator Lee before earning a <\/span>five-and-a-half-minute standing ovation<\/span><\/a> for their movie. From there, it seemed like the best was yet to come for one of the most anticipated films of the year.<\/span><\/p>\n However, after critics\u2019 initial reviews and a handful of trade interviews with Lee came out, the buzz surrounding \u201cHighest 2 Lowest\u201d dried up a bit. That is, until the first\u00a0full-length trailer<\/a> finally arrived, albeit\u00a0<\/span>11 days<\/span> before the film\u2019s scarcely-marketed Aug. 15 theatrical release (which only has a two-week window before streaming on Apple TV+).<\/span><\/p>\n The backlash was immediate on social media, as many took issue with the unusually late trailer release for such a high-profile, star-studded project:<\/span><\/p>\n One TikTok user said plainly, \u201cWe\u2019re so used to studios not giving a damn when it comes to marketing Black projects, but to not market a Spike Lee and Denzel feature, their fifth one together? Ya\u2019ll just love to piss me off.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s fair to ask why a new flick from one of the most prolific American filmmakers isn\u2019t getting its proper shine in the limelight, especially with a cast that includes towering figures like Washington and Jeffrey Wright. <\/span><\/p>\n Yes, there\u2019s been a\u00a0<\/span>push of TV<\/a> and junket interviews amid release week, but the effort feels more last-minute than anything. And why, if Lee and Washington\u2019s latest reunion (their fifth in nearly 20 years) has been teased since early last year?<\/span><\/p>\n Culture: Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s Suspension \u2014 And Return \u2014 Exposes The Threat To Free Speech In Trump\u2019s America<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n You would think such an event would get the red carpet rolled out, or at least a better marketing campaign than what we\u2019ve seen thus far. If a two-part adaptation of a Broadway musical and a doll movie can <\/span>exhaust millions of ad dollars<\/span><\/a> to guarantee a wider audience, why couldn\u2019t the same be done for \u201cHighest 2 Lowest\u201d? <\/span><\/p>\n Unless that\u2019s to say the rules are different for projects that aren\u2019t aimed at lining Hollywood\u2019s pockets.<\/span><\/p>\n In that case, it seems to be a trend among a few smaller releases this summer, like Disney+\u2019s <\/span>\u201cIronheart\u201d series<\/span><\/a>, which limped toward a two-week premiere after years of delays, and the animated \u201cBlack Panther\u201d prequel, \u201cEyes of Wakanda,\u201d which was <\/span>pushed up nearly a month ahead of schedule<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n It can\u2019t be a coincidence that these projects and others like them suffered from the same marketing treatment, or lack thereof. It doesn\u2019t help that another Apple title, \u201cF1<\/a>,\u201d achieved unprecedented success at the box office<\/a>\u00a0this summer, setting the expectation that, perhaps, upcoming releases would get a bigger push. Guess that\u2019s not so true of \u201cHighest 2 Lowest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Whose fault that is is unclear, but what is clear is that audiences seem to be still clamoring for the Spike Lee Joint, even if the Hollywood machine acts like it doesn\u2019t believe in it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Subscribe to The Culture Catchall<\/span><\/a> to stay up to date on all things entertainment.<\/span><\/p>\n Read the original on celebrity.land<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n