Why fan edits are movie marketing magic

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Only a true fan could dream up the singularly effective combination of watching Edward Cullen and Bella Swan’s love story unfold in Twilight with Charli xcx’s “Everything is romantic” as the soundtrack.

Thus goes one popular fan edit on TikTok, one of plenty dedicated to the film series, and part of a seemingly endless stream of movies and TV shows that have inspired such social media artistry.

Fan edits are typically marked by quick-cut scenes overlaid with a popular song, the two mediums coming together to invoke an emotional connection to a film or TV show’s characters. They can be made by just about anyone who considers themselves a fan, and they can promote everything from vampire movies released more than a decade ago to anticipated new releases like the upcoming final season of Stranger Things. With entire accounts dedicated to the format, many with millions of followers and views, fans-turned-editors have created a flourishing online community for fandom across genres and eras.

They also happen to often be excellent marketing materials, and studios have taken notice—both in appreciation and as inspiration. Lionsgate is just one of the entertainment houses that has leaned into fan edits as marketing on their TikTok accounts, and they’ve seen big engagement numbers as a result.

“[Fan edits] make your job as a marketer so much easier,” Briana McElroy, head of digital for the motion picture group at Lionsgate, told us. “The true dream of the team, and I think marketers who do the creative side of the business, is that you give people something that they can make their own.”

The art of the edit

Angel Bayer, an editor who runs the TikTok account @movi3archive that has posted fan edits of films like Saltburn and Conclave, says she prioritizes making her edits her own—not only to convey her personal perspectives on the movies, but also to protect herself from potential copyright infringement, an obstacle for any fan editor.

“I make sure to credit the original creators and keep my edits transformative,” Bayer told Marketing Brew in an email. “I stay updated on platform rules, and if anything gets flagged, I adjust the edit or change the music so everything stays safe to post.”

While fan editors foster community and engagement, they don’t always have permission to use footage and songs, and might even pull movie footage from pirated sources. For Lionsgate, McElroy said, the value of fan engagement is clear, and the studio approaches its fans’ use of its footage similarly to how TikTok handles fans’ music use on the platform.

In terms of TikTok and music, she said, “I wasn’t in the room, but I imagine their thought process was, ‘It’s going to happen, and we can spend all of our time trying to police that, or we can get behind it and find, ultimately, new revenue streams and long-term revenue streams,’” she said, adding that her own experience as a self-described "Tumblr girlie" also colors her perception of fan activity. “I naturally grew up in a world where my expression of love for IP was through taking it and creating it and remixing it and turning it to something of my own. So we lean into that.”

The organic fan edit offers something that Bayer believes marketers should tap into: deeper emotional resonance and internet fluency.

“We approach the film with a fan’s emotional instinct for which moments and songs truly resonate with audiences,” Bayer said. “It’s not just about selling a movie—it’s about giving audiences a taste of the experience, capturing their attention, and building excitement in ways traditional marketing alone sometimes can’t.”

Lionsgate, but make it extremely online

At Lionsgate, McElroy’s team has been making fan edit-style clips themselves for about two years, which can dip into surprising territory—like a thirsty compilation of scenes featuring Divergent character Four, played by Theo James—and often elicit comments from viewers like, “Love this edit—LIONSGATE?”

Such edits have led to increased interest in older library titles like Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Saw, McElroy said, as the edits can help younger audiences discover movies for the first time while also stoking deeper connection with existing fans.

The Lionsgate team also uses edits to market new films, like the upcoming heist thriller Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. With active titles, McElroy said making sure the edit resonates can be more difficult since audiences don’t necessarily have existing knowledge about a film that hasn’t yet been released. Instead, it’s the marketing team’s job to introduce audiences to characters and scenes that can help build connection.

“It’s so much easier to do it for library content,” McElroy said “A different type of thoughtfulness has to go into the development of that [newer] content, because we are trying to create connection that doesn’t already exist.”

While Lionsgate’s social accounts are aimed at cultivating and enhancing the fan experience, McElroy said she recognizes that some of the brand’s fan edits have different goals than organic fan edits, which is why Lionsgate sometimes commissions work directly with fan editors to help bridge that gap.

“At the end of the campaign, they have to serve a conversion purpose,” she said. “[But] what we are setting out to do in our early-on content is really that engagement and that awareness from a very genuine place in terms of wanting to connect with fans…It’s our expression of our passion and joy for the IP.”