In the big box office battle this past weekend,the biggest loser seems to be Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World,which only made it to the Top Five with a take of ten million. That might not seem so bad until you realize that the budget for this film was close to 80 million,making their current profit literally chump change at this point.
The movie did receive a strong number of positive reviews(along with negative ones)and while it did have a good shot at being the middle ground money maker between the guy friendly flick The Expendables(which rose to the top of the heap with 35 mil)and the gushing gal pal pic Eat,Pray,Love(that came in second with 23 mil),somehow Scott Pilgrim and friends seemed to have dropped the ball on this golden window of opportunity:
Despite the low turn-out for Scott Pilgrim on opening weekend,it's too soon to completely dismiss it as a film flop. This film does have a serious cult following from it's initial comic book audience and will more than likely become a quirky cult film that will make back it's money over time,thanks to international release and the DVD market.
Yet,folks are saying that with Scott Pilgrim and last spring's Kick-Ass,the comic book movie genre is in danger of being kicked to the pop culture curb. I'm not too sure about that,since Iron Man 2 did a hefty take this summer(beginning with an opening of 100 mil in the U.S. alone)with another sequel on the way and a few more classic superheroes such as Thor and Green Lantern set to hit the scene soon.
The real concern appears to be for the indie comic,which does have a harder row to hoe in terms of capturing the mainstream audience. What can help the smaller graphic novel based film hit the pop culture pulse with more impact is a breakthrough character,such as Hit Girl from Kick Ass. Not only is the young actress who played her(Chloe Grace Morentz)turning into the next big thing in Young Hollywood,there are fans clamoring for a sequel starring her. Not too shabby for such an underdog darling there:
With Scott Pilgrim,the real problem may have been in the marketing which,as some have pointed out ,catered more to those already converted to it's cause rather than draw in newbies. Perhaps advertising SP as a date night feature film option might've gathered in a little more do-re-mi at the ticket counter,it's a reasonable argument.
One main drawback that no one has addressed yet is that SP is a mid-August release and as most of us know,August at the movies is the land of low expectations as far as Hollywood is concerned.
Either your movie makes a quick killing at the multiplex that vanishes into the night by the next week until home video release or it becomes a surprise hit of the season. It's prison rules here,folks-kill or be killed,take your bloody pick.
While seeing Scott Pilgrim is not high on my pop culture priority list,fans of the film and it's comic should take heart that this lackluster opening weekend is not the death knell for the comic book genre in the graphic novel division. It may take a few more bold chances on a studio's part to give us the one good film that brings the medium right into the mainstream major leagues but it will happen at some point in time.
In the meanwhile,there are other comic book cinematic concerns that we should be rallying around like when are we going to get a Wonder Woman movie,huh,guys? Also,Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern,really? He made a decent Dead Pool,I grant you, but having him as Hal Jordan is a bit much,there. Oh,well,there's always something to stew about at the comic book store(and sing along to as well):
My husband and I didn't really want to see it but a couple of other family members went and they seemed to like it.
ReplyDelete