Scott Pilgrim vs The World....
By
Acemace,
Posted on: 2010-08-12 14:03 in Comic and Hero-Villain Culture
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Whether it sells to the masses or not doesn't make it any less good. So yes, lots of families will go see Nanny McPhee and it will be enjoyable movie; it doesn't have the same audience.
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Originally Posted by Acemace
Here's a sickening thought to SP supporters, Nanny McPhee is going to kick Scott's azz next weekend.
Me and my wife are still looking forward to it, unfortunately we ran out of time this Sat. |
IO9's Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Lamentable Weekend Gross argues that (1) the Michael Cera backlash is strong (as can be seen on these boards); (2) critics are still snarking about it as a movie for the stereotypical video gamer, implicitly lowering the appeal of being a member of the audience; and (3) it's too much of a guy flick, with Romana Flower's character noticeably diminished from the comic series in order to keep the running time down.
I'm still looking forward to watching this in the theater, where it's clearly made to be seen. Putting it off as a rental is simply a bad idea. That said, I was on the fence about it going into this week. The marketing campaign hadn't impressed me, nor did the buzz from Comic Con. Only when Edgar Wright and the cast were interviewed in detail on the cusp of opening weekend did the movie sound actually intriguing.
Honestly, the Cera hate/backlash probably only affected the "in the know" fans. Like you said, like the ones who frequent these sorts of boards. You sub in another young B-lister (and really, who out there doesn't have backlash? Shia, R-Pat, Jesse Eisenburg) and I doubt it goes from placing 5th to 1st. Heck, I doubt it goes from 5th to 4th.
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I believe the reason for the lower numbers is simply the competition. For the action crowd you have The Expendables as a much more obvious choice, and for the rest there's Eat Pray Love. SPvtW appeals mainly if not exclusively to geeks, and not a huge proportion of those either. Yes, it's a comedy and a good one, but it's of the "quirky and hip" variety, not the broad (I'm trying desperately to avoid saying "LCD" here) style that makes solid money.
Think mainstream America here, folks. What would they turn out for?
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one more point that a commenter made, it really is a movie directed at younger viewers, 8bit references be damned. A lot of gamer geeks are just too old for what appears to be a boy meets girl story(both of whom look even younger than their actual characters are). now i like those, so its not a killer to me, but a lot fo the geekosphere is now older, married or in some long term relationship maybe even have kids, a lot of them were the ones the 8 bit stuff hit more solidly, and this is, to them, a teen movie.
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Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
IO9's Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Lamentable Weekend Gross argues that (1) the Michael Cera backlash is strong (as can be seen on these boards); (2) critics are still snarking about it as a movie for the stereotypical video gamer, implicitly lowering the appeal of being a member of the audience; and (3) it's too much of a guy flick, with Romana Flower's character noticeably diminished from the comic series in order to keep the running time down.
I'm still looking forward to watching this in the theater, where it's clearly made to be seen. Putting it off as a rental is simply a bad idea. That said, I was on the fence about it going into this week. The marketing campaign hadn't impressed me, nor did the buzz from Comic Con. Only when Edgar Wright and the cast were interviewed in detail on the cusp of opening weekend did the movie sound actually intriguing. |
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Yes and no. People thought Wolverine would be hit hard by it leaking on the internet so early, yet it still went on to be a #1 movie and a box office hit.|
Originally Posted by warden_de_dios
Concerning Vampires Suck:
There been a high quality workprint of that movie available on the internet for almost a month. The fact that people are already watching that movie in their own homes is gonna have to drag this movie's potential box office numbers down. Way down. |
Definitely not saying Vampires Suck will follow suit... just the people who want to see Vampires Suck might not exactly be the most torrent-savvy.
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Vampires Suck are from the same guys as Disaster Movie, Meet the Spartans, Epic Movie and Date Movie. Any three of those films combined probably cost less than Scott Pilgrim to make. All five combined probably cost less than The Expendables.
But each of those films tend to earn 2-4x their cost in the box office which is why the two writer/producer/director combo guys keep getting funded.
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I thought the movie was pretty clever. I've read the graphic novels and while there were a few big differences, Wright did a good job conveying most of the story in the short duration of the movie.
It was definately targeted at my generation, those born in the early to mid 80s who grew up playing 8bit games and who are still young enough to get into the guy trying to get the girl story. I'm 25 and went with my girlfriend and a group of friends my age. Most of the ladies didn't care for it, and all of the guys simply loved it. We're all into the video game/comic scene, so we get the references and the humor. My father came with us and didn't get any of the references, but there were enough funny scenes for those who aren't into video game culture and he had a good time.
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These were pretty much my thoughts, yeah. And it did pretty good at that.|
Originally Posted by SevereCalamity
It was definately targeted at my generation, those born in the early to mid 80s who grew up playing 8bit games and who are still young enough to get into the guy trying to get the girl story.
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Overall, I liked the movie. It felt a bit crammed, like it could have been broken into two separate movies and still had problems fitting everything in. At the same time, that gave it a bit of a hectic energy, where even calm scenes felt fast-paced... which is really pretty fitting, considering the subject matter and all.
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Originally Posted by Acemace
"hasn’t translated to the real world", sort of puts the geekdom community into perspective. Personally I thought SP would either take the weekend or come in a close 2nd. The 5th spot even with great reviews is surprising.
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Originally Posted by Friggin_Taser
One thing that united us before the movie won the hearts of the room? The only preview was for the new movie, Devil. As it was a screening by Universal, there were no previews or commercials beforehand, so we were essentially sitting in a quiet theater for a half hour with the lights on. So the preview starts and the crowd settles in. Then the text "From the mind of M Night Shyamalan" flashes across the screen and every single person in that theater, even the employee from Universal there to set up the screening, let out a loud groan.
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It will make it back, at the least.|
Originally Posted by Golden Girl
That might be hard - on average, the opening weekend of a movie represents between 33-25% of its final total, expecially in the summer when each weekend usually has a big-ish new release - and if a movie opens poorly, theaters don't tend to let it hang around to build up an audience - it gets yanked out in favor of the next blockbuster hopeful, and loses screens too fast to recover.
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I think it will make it back when it releases in the UK on the 25th, then turn out to be really profitable on blu-ray.
Thanks for eight fun years, Paragon.
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The Dark Knight only managed as multiplier of just over 3 on its opening weekend total for it's final gross - that means you're expecting this movie to perform twice as well as The Dark Knight multiplier wise |
Originally Posted by ChrisMoses
It will make it back, at the least.
I think it will make it back when it releases in the UK on the 25th, then turn out to be really profitable on blu-ray. |
@Golden Girl
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That's taking into account only the US box office. The Dark Knight's total revenue was roughly split between foreign and domestic but came down on the latter side. On the other hand, Edgar Wright's previous movies have made more money overseas, especially in the UK (70/30 in the case of his previous movie, Hot Fuzz). The British box office is going to make or break SPvtW the way things are going.
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Originally Posted by Golden Girl
The Dark Knight only managed as multiplier of just over 3 on its opening weekend total for it's final gross - that means you're expecting this movie to perform twice as well as The Dark Knight multiplier wise
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Some critics do the snarking, but overall, it's done pretty well in the critical reception department. |
Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
IO9's Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Lamentable Weekend Gross argues that (1) the Michael Cera backlash is strong (as can be seen on these boards); (2) critics are still snarking about it as a movie for the stereotypical video gamer, implicitly lowering the appeal of being a member of the audience; and (3) it's too much of a guy flick, with Romana Flower's character noticeably diminished from the comic series in order to keep the running time down.
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Things like this quote from the article linked just serve as fodder not to listen to the negative criticism when it has no basis:
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2.) Critical backlash: The movie has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 80%, but those critics who weren't too fond of film could have set the agenda more so than usual. Every film has its detractors, but as Linda Holmes at NPR observes, the reviews of Scott Pilgrim have been a soapbox for critics to razz on the film's demographic: After referring to the first part of the movie as a "dork-pandering assault," The Boston Phoenix reviewer goes on to say that Michael Cera's performance is "irritating" in part because of "the non-stop Pavlovian laugh track provided by the audience at the screening I attended." (As far as I know, that's a first: "You made the audience laugh, you irritating actor in a comedy, and that's what's wrong with you.") The review in the St. Petersburg Times begins, "First of all, I'm not a video gamer. I have discovered more appealing ways to not have a life." The New York Observer sniffs that the film is "clearly directed at an audience with generational ADD." |
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| I'm still looking forward to watching this in the theater, where it's clearly made to be seen. Putting it off as a rental is simply a bad idea. That said, I was on the fence about it going into this week. The marketing campaign hadn't impressed me, nor did the buzz from Comic Con. Only when Edgar Wright and the cast were interviewed in detail on the cusp of opening weekend did the movie sound actually intriguing. |
The PSN game is also a great marketing tool. I kind of wish Sony hadn't "scored" two week exclusivity so maybe some 360 players would have been drawn into seeing the movie after trying out the free demo.
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Originally Posted by Golden Girl
The Dark Knight only managed as multiplier of just over 3 on its opening weekend total for it's final gross - that means you're expecting this movie to perform twice as well as The Dark Knight multiplier wise
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I'm trying to find a weened world-wide box office gross. I can't do it.
From the article linked a bit back:
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| I thought Cera made a fine Scott Pilgrim, but some folks are very vocally burnt out by his semi-twee brand of comedy. Somehow, this mild-mannered actor has become a lightning rod for intense vitriol. Here's a fake trailer that capitalizes on that attitude |
He was a bit-player in like three scenes in Juno, and while that movie is reviled by "The Internet," I don't think Cera has much to do with it.
Arrested Development was great all around, and still not enough people have watched it to develop an antagonistic relationships with Cera.
Superbad was loved by everyone, and he was an appropriate foil to Jonah Hill.
In Paper Heart, he plays himself and is really relateable, but I doubt even many of you have seen that.
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist would probably fall under a "chick flick" designation from many here (hell, if SP can...) that I found to be somewhat enjoyable. I watched it once and that was enough.
Did anyone besides me even bother to see Youth in Revolt? He was okay in that, but could anyone really hate him?
Is that about it? Where does the hate originate? I don't see it.
Oh, there was Year One. I never saw that, I heard it was awful. But was that due to Cera, or horrible writing?
Thanks for eight fun years, Paragon.
The LA Times has a great review comparing the movie to High Fidelity. I dig the angle the writer takes.
And here is a great review for the game.
Thanks for eight fun years, Paragon.
I think the Cera hate comes from him playing basically the same character (not in my mind) in every movie: an awkward teenager/young man who has the same tics and characteristics as George Michael Bluth. Basically, Cera can't act.
Also, some AD fans didn't take to kindly to Cera saying not only would a movie never happen, he doesn't want to do the movie. He has since said that he was only worried that a movie would be lower in quality than the show and didn't want to hurt the show's legacy.
"Ben is short for Frank."
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That's just silly, there are a lot of popular "actors" that fall in that catagory Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Sean Connery, Ricky Gervais, Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Jason Biggs, Michael J. Fox, Jeff Goldblum, and so on. Many of which made whole carreers off of one character.|
Originally Posted by BafflingBeerMan
I think the Cera hate comes from him playing basically the same character (not in my mind) in every movie: an awkward teenager/young man who has the same tics and characteristics as George Michael Bluth. Basically, Cera can't act.
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Some have range enough to play even two characters like Ben Stiller (himself and Zoolander) and Harrison Ford (Cocky Badass before he turned 40, and Grissled Badass after he turned 40).
Talented actors like Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, among others who have wide range are in the minority in Hollywood and rightfully so.
He's signed on for the movie since then I believe.
So... Cera can't act, but those critical were lining up to see The Expendables, certainly a pinnacle of the theater arts.
Thanks for eight fun years, Paragon.
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Difference being, no one's going to see the Expendables for the acting.|
Originally Posted by ChrisMoses
He's signed on for the movie since then I believe.
So... Cera can't act, but those critical were lining up to see The Expendables, certainly a pinnacle of the theater arts. |
Also, Innovator, certainly many of those people you've listed could arguably be claimed as only being able to play one type of character, I believe the problem with Cera for his detractors is that they *don't like* the character he's good at pulling off.
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So don't go see Scott Pilgrim for Cera's acting. See it for Kieran Culkin's hilarity or the absolutely magnificent videogame and comic inspired style and narrative.
Thanks for eight fun years, Paragon.
This movie is awesome! I love the announcer yelling "K.O." hahahahaha
I sense the propagation of a meme:
Scott Pilgrim vs. the Critics
Scott Pilgrim vs. Itself
Scott Pilgrim vs. the Unfortunate Tendency to Review the Audience
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Really. It's getting annoying at this point. We get it. You like the movie. People will see it if they want to, and won't if they, for whatever reason, don't want to... but your constant proseltyzing is wearing very thin.
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Originally Posted by ChrisMoses
So don't go see Scott Pilgrim for Cera's acting. See it for Kieran Culkin's hilarity or the absolutely magnificent videogame and comic inspired style and narrative.
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"So come and get me! I'll be waiting for ye, with a whiff of the old brimstone. I'm a grim bloody fable, with an unhappy bloody end!" Demoman, TF2
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Basically, yeah.|
Originally Posted by Furio
Also, Innovator, certainly many of those people you've listed could arguably be claimed as only being able to play one type of character, I believe the problem with Cera for his detractors is that they *don't like* the character he's good at pulling off.
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I think it also feeds into the distaste some have for "awkward" humor. Some people find cringeworthy humor, well, cringeworthy. Cera and his movie choices/roles always have that tinge to them. The cringe-tinge!
"Ben is short for Frank."
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I absolutely despise "awkward" humor. Completely hate it. That was one of the reasons I couldn't stand the second and third Spiderman movies. I was starting to get the twinges of dislike for SP when I was watching it from the awkward humor moments, but the way they worked the scenes made it really work and dispelled the awkwardness (for me).
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Originally Posted by BafflingBeerMan
Basically, yeah.
I think it also feeds into the distaste some have for "awkward" humor. Some people find cringeworthy humor, well, cringeworthy. Cera and his movie choices/roles always have that tinge to them. The cringe-tinge! |
Me and my wife are still looking forward to it, unfortunately we ran out of time this Sat.
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