I went to see it on the Saturday night the weekend it opened, and even though I live in tragically un-hip Casper, Wyoming, there were only seven other people in the theater with me. I was shocked. After seeing the movie and reading about its poor opening weekend, I became dismayed.
I was able to convince a co-worker to go see it the following weekend, and he loved it as well. I was shocked again when another co-worker (who usually is pretty savvy on cool movies) expressed no interest in seeing it. These are guys that make appointments to see good cinema, and it was registering zero on their radar. The term 'word-of-mouth' doesn't go far enough, this is more of a case of 'evangelism'. Mere recommendations are falling short, no less than total conversion of the uninitiated is required.
The article from cinemablend.com linked to above explains in detail how Scott Pilgrim's audience is hard to pin down. It's true, I can't fathom my parents liking this movie. I am most likely right in the wheelhouse of the intended demographic (late twenty early thirty-somethings that like music and classic videogames) and maybe that is skewing my view of it.
Ultimately, I think if given the chance, this movie will appeal to a wider range of audience than it has so far in the theater. Look for this to be a big time seller when it hits DVD and Blu-ray.
Could Scott Pilgrim be this generation's Rocky Horror Picture Show? This is Spinal Tap? Shawshank Redemption?
No comments:
Post a Comment