slightly related:

Before Napoleon Dynamite's release, they had preview screenings, as most films do. But they encouraged people to attend multiple preview screenings. If you went to 4 (or 5?) preview screenings you could turn in your punch card and then get sent a Napoleon Dynamite Fan Club Kit.

It's a fun film and I'll admit I went to it multiple times (partially because I wanted the free kit). But there was something that felt off about it, like they were trying to turn it into a cult film before it was even released.

The film was obviously successful at the box office, I don't know if that was due to other marketing reasons and good reviews, or if the pre-release marketing strategy had anything to do with that.