• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 8, 2011

Paramount Pictures on Thursday will hold a sneak-peek screening of its forthcoming theatrical release "Super 8." While the screening is open to anyone who buys tickets and shows up at the theater, the idea is to tap social media and get Twitter users tweeting about the movie with the hashtag #super8secret. The movie is scheduled to open Friday.

While it's a first for Twitter to host a movie, it also signals a change of heart for movie studio execs. Media mavens call it "The Twitter Effect" -- the ability for Twitter to make or break a movie. That's because users can get the word out about the movie in real-time. If they don't like it, friends, family and followers know.

Paramount has also sponsored a Promoted Trend, allowing Twitter's global user base a direct link to buy tickets to the advance previews. At select, participating U.S. theaters, Super 8 Sneak Preview moviegoers will eat free popcorn with a purchase at the concession stand. A Twitter page also supports the promotion.

This promotion continues a key partnership between Paramount and Twitter on "Super 8." In March, the two companies released an exclusive trailer premiere on Twitter, another first for the site. IMAX theaters and multiplexes in about 325 locations will run the movie.

eMarketer Analyst Debra Aho Williamson points to the ecommerce portion of the deal as the most interesting, sending Twitter users to a site that allows them to purchase tickets. "We haven't seen a whole lot of that," she said. "We've seen companies like Dell sell products through their own Twitter handle, but this is one of the first times we've seen a company with an ad directing someone to buy something."

Most Twitter ads direct users to a Web site to get more information about products and services. This partnership clearly takes Twitter one step further as an advertising medium, according to Williamson. "Advertisers are moving past experimentation and integrating the medium into their strategy," she said.