When Timothée Chalamet appeared in a convenience store last week rapping alongside a masked British artist, it was neither random nor spontaneous. It was calculated, the latest burst in what has become Hollywood’s most audacious press tour, one that is rewriting the rules for how actors sell original films in an era when getting audiences into theaters has never been harder.
“Marty Supreme” opened last weekend on just six screens, and the movie has earned around $875,000. Reportedly, after the successful limited run, the movie will hit the cinemas, including approximately 2,500 screens across the United States, on Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 25, 2025.
For a period drama about 1950s table tennis, these numbers are extraordinary. But they are not accidental. They are the direct result of Chalamet treating promotion as performance, a months-long campaign that has included surprise film festival premieres, cryptic social media posts, and now a rap collaboration that has drawn reactions from Drake and other industry heavyweights.
The Collaboration That Broke the Internet
On Friday, December 19, Chalamet and British rapper EsDeeKid dropped a remix of “4 Raws,” where an unmasked Chalamet raps about his upcoming film “Marty Supreme,” girlfriend Kylie Jenner, and his own rap name, Lil’ Timmy Tim.The collaboration was unexpected but not unprecedented. Chalamet has long been open about his love for hip-hop, even rapping as a teenager under the alias Lil Timmy Tim at New York’s LaGuardia High School.
What made the “4 Raws Remix” particularly effective was how it capitalized on weeks of online speculation. Fans had theorized that EsDeeKid, a Liverpool rapper who always performs with his face obscured, was actually Chalamet’s secret alter ego. When asked directly about the rumors during a December 11 appearance on “Heart Breakfast,” Chalamet played coy, responding: “I got no comment on that… All will be revealed in due time.”
In the remix, Chalamet raps: “Trying to stack $100 million, girl got $1 billion, what the fuck what a wonderful feeling,” and “My life is an opera, look at the Oscars, look at the groupies, look at the movies, look at the triple-A girl gon’ choose me.” The track name-checks “Marty Supreme” multiple times, ensuring the film remained at the center of the conversation even as the collaboration went viral.
Rejecting Traditional Promotion
Chalamet has been taking a more active route to ensure the name on everyone’s lips is Marty, sitting for fewer traditional interviews, forgoing a routine press junket, and skipping key awards season stops like the Governors Awards. Instead, he has created moments designed to generate organic buzz and social media engagement.
In October, Chalamet shared a five-minute promo video shot at dusk in a field, featuring people in all-black outfits with giant orange ping-pong balls for heads playing table tennis, while he was locked in a glass box wearing a similar orange head and custom “Marty Supreme” tracksuit, being pelted by ping-pong balls.
Over opening weekend, Chalamet made surprise appearances at screenings, telling one crowd: “For your information, I’m doing this at every screening, for the next four days. I got 128 appearances in the next 96 hours.”
The Method Behind the Confidence
The press tour has not been without controversy. In one interview, Chalamet told a reporter that “Marty Supreme” marked his best acting role yet after he gave “top-of-the-line performances” over the last “seven, eight years,” adding: “I don’t want people to take it for granted. I don’t want to take it for granted.” He made comments on “Good Morning America” that many interpreted as predicting Oscar success.
Many fans on social media found the remarks off-putting, perceiving them as cocky. But Chalamet has defended his approach, arguing it is entirely intentional.
“This is in the spirit of Marty, and I feel like this is ultimately an original film at a time when original movies aren’t really put out,” Chalamet revealed to the media. “It’s a movie about the pursuit of a dream. I’m leaving it on the field. Whether it’s the merch or the Zoom or the media appearances, I’m trying to get this out in the biggest way possible.”
The character he plays, Marty Mauser, a brash 1950s ping-pong player determined to become world champion, shares Chalamet’s single-minded ambition. The actor appears to be channeling that drive in his promotional strategy, blurring the line between performance and publicity.
The Stakes Are High
“Marty Supreme” is A24’s most expensive movie with a budget between $60 million and $70 million, and needs a similar turnout to Chalamet’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” which earned an impressive $140 million at the global box office.The film opened on six screens on December 19 and grossed an impressive $875,000 during its opening weekend, resulting in the best per-screen-average of the year.
The film has earned a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score and three Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, Best Actor for Chalamet, and Best Screenplay.
Whether “Marty Supreme” ultimately succeeds commercially remains to be seen when it expands nationwide on Christmas Day. But Chalamet has already accomplished something remarkable: he has made a period drama about ping-pong one of the year’s most talked-about releases, proving that in an age of franchise fatigue, star power combined with genuine creativity can still break through the noise.
His press tour may be divisive, but it is undeniably effective. And in Hollywood, results are what matter most.
