SDCC and Studios – Is the Love Affair Over?
The buzz is that the major movie studios are looking to avoid Comic Con 2011 in San Diego this year. With poor showings for films heavily advertised San Diego last year, some of the big studios will staying away from SDCC.
Film such as Sucker Punch, Tron and Scott Pilgrim were heavily advertised at SDCC last year…who could forget the 30 story Scott Pilgrim banner that took the whole side of the Hilton on the Bay Front? It was impressive at the time, but it did not translate at the box office. This was especially true for Tron, which Disney built up for two years. For all the hype and publicity, the showing at the box office just did not have the impact Disney was looking for.
So it looks like Warner Bros, Marvel, Disney, Dream Works and The Weinstein Company will not be showing up at Comic Con in San Diego this year. Heavily anticipated movies such as The Dark Knight Rises or Man of Steel will not be previewed. This also means Jack the Giant Killer and Dark Shadows will also be absent.
To be fair, the blame should not be hoisted upon the fans of Comic Con. The films also had to deliver. Tron Legacy faced an uphill battle living up to original 1982 groundbreaking movie Tron (it still made 400 million worldwide and there is talk of a sequel). Scott Pilgrim, while a fan favorite at Comic Con, appealed to a small group of devoted followers. Who outside of comic book stores really heard of Scott Pilgrim? And Sucker Punch….I don’t think people got it. Honestly, I don’t think the director got it. So, was Comic Con to blame? I don’t think so.
By the way, there were other films that were heavily advertised and did great. The Green Hornet was everywhere, and made 220 million worldwide. Red was hyped quite a bit, and went on to do well. We can say the same for Resident Evil; Afterlife and The Expendables. Give people a good product, and they will come see it. Simple.
What can we expect this year at Comic Con 2011? Well, in spite of what happened with Scott Pilgrim last year, Universal will be coming at us again with Cowboys & Aliens. We’ll probable get a good dose of The Amazing Spider Man and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Also, Men in Black III and Total Recall should also get a big push.
Will we miss Warner, Disney, Dream Works, yes….for about 5 minutes! With the void left by these studios, it just leaves more room for other films. Who knows, there may be another District 9 out there that just may surprise us this year, but in the end the better films will make lots of money, and others, well we’ll just have to see.
