Lord Akiyama wrote:Universal has big plans for Scott Pilgrim at Comic Con.
AKA...Universal has suddenly realized that the release date is pants and that they really, reall, really need to appeal to the core audience to make sure word of mouth spreads and builds the film as they were no doubt intending/hoping it would do in a late August window...
Universal really went out of its way to make Scott Pilgrim the biggest thing at Comic Con. The marketing blitz they put forth was nothing short of astounding. So here's how it went down.
First, they had the windows of one side of the Hilton Hotel, across the street from the Convention Center, painted with the Scott Pilgrim poster.
Also across the street, but on the Gaslamp district, was where the plethora of Scott Pilgrim marketing was. First, there was the Scott Pilgrim Garlic Bread stand where they handed out free garlic bread (Scott Pilgrim's favorite snack).
Near that was a stall where they were giving out free Scott Pilgrim T-shirts (fans would get one of three pre-made shirts).
Then there was the Scott Pilgrim vs. Comic Con Experience, which was held at the Hilton Gaslamp station.
The line was super long, especially since anyone (with or without Comic Con badge) could enter. The wait time was between one-three hours depending. But the end result was often well worth it.
There was a station where fans could get a customized Scott Pilgrim T-shirt (as seen on the right of the image above). They could also make their own personalized flip book.
Play a demo of the Scott Pilgrim video game that will be available for download on the Playstation Network August 10.
They would also get to see live performances from the winner of the Band Battle Royale contest they held, Gorgeous Got a Gun.
And every now and then will get to meet members of the cast for autographs and pictures (see the Comic Con thread in the Outside the Lines forum). All for free!
On Day One, they conducted the Scott Pilgrim panel in Hall H with up to thirteen members of the cast along with creator Bryan Lee O'Malley and director Edgar Wright.
The panel was filled with great fun and hilarity, as you could see and imagine. At the end, Edgar had a surprise for everyone in that they were going to show the full film at the Balboa Theatre that evening. But to get in, folks needed to have received a 1-Up button during the panel. Edgar then jumped off the stage and led everyone with the appropriate button to the theatre. Seriously, he led the people to the screening.
Those who didn't get the button still had other chances as they were screening the movie two more times on Day Two and Day Three for free. That's right, free! Of course, fans had to wait in line for hours to ensure they were getting into the screening, which was first come first serve.
But the end result was worth it for the obvious reason. Not to mention the theatre was kind enough to also give out free popcorn and drinks. Inside, as fans were waiting for the movie to start, they were treated to music mixed together by Dan The Automator (of Gorillaz fame) and Kid Koala, both of whom worked on mixing the music for the film.
When it was time, Edgar and the cast came out to introduce the film. I'll try to get a review up later, but I can say with great honesty that this was a fantastic movie from start to finish. Edgar returned to the stage at the end of the film for a closing speech. Those who got to see the film on the first night were given an added bonus of a mini-concert from Metric, whose song "Black Sheep" was used in the film as a song performed by the in-film band Clash at Demonhead.
So you can see that Universal really went out of their way to make Scott Pilgrim one of, if not the memorable film presented at Comic Con.
Yep...as I said, they know that they really need to get the geek audience hyped up about this, hopefully making the "dumped" release date work in its favor by having an excited core audience that will promote and word-of-mouth the film to general audiences.
But, wow, some of that looks very cool...wish I had been able to make it this year!
Unfortunately, it looks like this film will get crushed on its opening day by "The Expendables," which seems to be getting a ton of hype just because of its macho cast.
I'm hoping that's not the case, as I've been looking forward to "Scott Pilgrim" all summer. But the movie I keep hearing people talking about right now is "The Expendables," not this one.
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift--that is why it's called the present."
There's a good chance Scott Pilgrim and Expendables will split the numbers for number one. Most guys, particularly the older crowd, would probably go to Expendables while the younger crowd, in particular girls dragging their unsure boyfriends, will go to Scott Pilgrim. It is a toss up to see who gets number one, but I think they'll be able to draw good crowds.
Yes, but "Eat, Pray, Love" is also opening on the same day, and is almost certainly going to generate a ton of money from female audiences. With the guys' "Expendables" and the girls' "Eat, Pray, Love" taking so much dough next week, where's poor "Scott Pilgrim" going to find himself? Unfortunately, probably forgotten by audiences.
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift--that is why it's called the present."
Older female audiences will likely flock to "Eat, Pray, Love." I think the younger female audiences would consider it only because it's directed by Ryan Murphy, the co-creator of "Glee." Outside of that, Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem in a romance is hardly a candidate to attract the younger audience. I wouldn't be surprise if it does, but I still doubt it would hamper "Scott Pilgrim"'s numbers.
I think Scott Pilgrim looks like fun, but I'd never heard of it until I saw the trailer a few months back and for a general audience, that's a big disadvantage. I coud see the film becoming a sleeper hit, but I doubt that it'll have a huge opening.
The Official Lugofilm Ltd Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/bartsimpson83
Yeah, I could see Scott Pilgrim getting maybe a little higher gross than Kick-Ass, mainly because of it's PG-13 rating and slightly more well-known source material. I don't know how popular the comics are in the United States, but they're pretty well-known up here in Canada.
Don't know if I'm going to see it in theaters, but a friend sent me a link to the Atari-esque rendition of Jerry Goldsmith's Universal fanfare that opens the film. Certainly put a big, wide grin on my face.
Last edited by Vernadyn on August 15th, 2010, 3:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
What's the consensus on this? I'm not sure the baaad opening numbers are totally to blame on Universal: sure the release date wasn't the strongest, but this hasn't stopped The Expendables from going ballistic.
There's a strong argument that the numbers not going to Scott are making the Pilgrim-age (sorry!) to that film because even though the subject matter is different, it appeals to the same core audience of geeks that just want to have a good time reverting to their 80s fanboy and/or see some big, silly action with people they recognize.
Also, don't discount the chick flick crowd, who were also being considered fair bait for Scott Pilgrim too. But they all went to see Julia Roberts' new thing. Now they're saying Pilgrim could struggle to make it past $30m domestic, which is an unfortunate state of affairs since it genuine sounds like a good, fun adaptation.
Bet you it's like Mystery Men...a good, decent film that gets totally overlooked by all but those core audiences that went to see it. Hopefully that audience will spill out into disc sales, or perhaps they're wanting to see the big action explosions on the big screen and have already decided to catch Scott in their own homes as more of a movie night experience with friends...?
Whatever, I do think Scot Pilgrim could be a big hit on disc, and don't think the release date or Universal's ultimately pretty fair handling of what must be a tough, quirky movie to sell is all to blame. Sly unexpectedly nabbed the audience!
Uni hyped the film well, and made a big splash at Comic-Con, so I don't blame them. Sometimes things just don't click. The core audience for this was small in absolute numbers, even if Scott's following is passionate. Ultimately, it's not the type of film to draw a huge crowd on opening day.
Critics love the film, though, and word-of-mouth is very positive, so becoming a sleeper hit is a definite possibility. We've become accustomed to wanting to see big openings, but some films still manange to do well over time without the big first weekend numbers. And I agree that disc sales will likely be strong.
What sucks is that "Vampires Suck" is on its way to making more in its first five days than "Scott Pilgrim" has made in its first ten. That's just wrong on so many levels.
"Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" is one of the best movies I've seen in 2010. Like "Kick-Ass" from earlier this year, it invites repeated viewings because it's just so gosh darn fun!
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift--that is why it's called the present."
