Why would they do a publicity stunt to reduce the profits from their film?
Separate but equal topic, why do studio heads sabotage films (especially if they were green light approved before the current board of directors came in)?
See the Battle For “Brazil” for a textbook example.
Additionally even if a little film gets to market and starts to show a nice profit, those profits can be covered up if someone in the studio has a vendetta against you. Hollywood’s creative accounting where the production costs of someone else’s film (or their catering budget) are written off against ‘your’ film. Have to protect the privileged celebs when one of their films is a turkey.