This past weekend saw the release of 3 new movies, The Expendables, Eat, Pray, Love, and Scott Pilgrim vs The World.  It was fairly easy to predict which movie would come out on top, as action movies typically do good, especially during the summer.  What wasn't easy to predict was just how bad Scott Pilgrim, one of the most original movies of the past few years, would perform at the box office.


What is especially vexing is that if we look at the reviews for the movie things should be quite different.  According to Rotten Tomatoes, Scott Pilgrim is the 2nd best reviewed movie currently in the top ten, second to only Inception.  In fact with an 81% rating, Scott Pilgrim has a score which is twice as good as both The Expendable and Eat, Pray, Loven which have ratings of 41% and 39% respectively.

So what exactly is the problem with the movie, and why didn't it fair well at the box office, when it's had a ton of praise in the past couple of months?  I honestly have no clue, but many are pointing to it's limited appeal and horrible marketing.  You can see what others thought here, here, here, and here.

Personally I think marketing has a lot to do with it.  While I was enthralled by everything I saw, I know people, such as my wife, who I think would genuinely like the movie, who saw the trailers and tv ads and said it looked ridiculous.  And let's be honest, a movie where a guy must fight his new girlfriend's 7 evil exs, is a bit ridiculous, but in a fun way.

Here's my plea, if you like romance, comedy, action, or old 8-bit video games check the movie out.  It is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time (a review is forthcoming), and I'd have already seen it twice if it wasn't an hour drive each way to see it.

Now it's your turn: If you didn't see the movie this past weekend, and especially if you have no plans to see it at all, how come?  Was it the marketing of the film?  Was it Micheal Cera? Let me know in the comments section.

Labels: Edgar Wright, Scott Pilgrim