In 2000, 20th Century Fox’s X-Men film was released, becoming both a critical and commercial success at the box office. Aside from spawning a film franchise that continues to this day, X-Men brought with it a renewed interest in films based on comic book properties.
Almost every summer season since has brought at least one famous comic book series to the big screen, and the number has only risen in the past few years. Already in 2010, five major films based on comic books have been produced.
However, if one mentions comic book movies to the average person, the only film likely to come to his or her mind is Iron Man 2, the latest film from Marvel Studios. Smaller films, such as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and The Losers, are lucky to get mentioned let alone have someone say they’ve seen it. This is a fact that transfers directly into box office numbers.
While there may be a greater number of comic book movies released every year, most have a difficult time finding an audience outside of fans of the original property. The question at hand is why do Batman and Wolverine find success where Scott Pilgrim and Kick-Ass fail?
On the surface, the answer can be boiled down to a matter of familiarity. Characters such as the X-Men have been around for several decades and hold places in the hearts of far more comic book readers than series that have only been out for a few years. As such, a film based on Marvel’s mutants is going to have a much larger draw and appeal to the average ticket buyer.
However, it takes more than comic book readers to bring in sales, as even the most popular books can do poorly when they make the jump to the silver screen. Watchmen, often considered one of the greatest graphic novels of all time, was by no means a flop, but it’s $185 million gross was far less than the $373 million taken in by X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a film that fared far worse in critical review.
Indeed, what ends up being the most important factor is the general public’s awareness of a franchise. When X-Men was first released, it followed a decade that saw increased interest in the series, with a Saturday morning cartoon, numerous toy lines and, of course, several successful comic series all bringing the popularity of the X-Men to an all-time high. Similar situations increased the profile for films such as Spider-Man, Iron Man and almost every character coming from either Marvel or DC.
Still, awareness in popular culture is not the only factor that drives success. Films based on original concepts are released throughout the year that manage to make hundreds of millions of dollars with ease. The big problem facing films based on small properties is usually in the marketing done by the studios.
“The marketing for films like Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim play directly to the geek audience, while not enough is being done to show the average movie-goer there is more than they realize to a comic book film,” Billy Flynn, host of the podcast Geek Radio Daily, said.
The advertising and press for smaller comic films play more toward the fans already likely to see the film, while doing too little to draw in new viewers. The trailers for Scott Pilgrim show a great deal of fighting and video game references, while downplaying other elements of the story that may interest the average American.
Courtney Holland, a sophomore in creative writing, enjoyed the parts of the film beyond what was in the trailer.
“Some parts are hilarious regardless of the video game culture put into it,” Holland said. “Plus, there’s still a solid romance story at the film’s core.”
Still, as more comic book films are released, it seems the market will continue to favor the big-budget superhero films. While this year’s Iron Man 2 made just more than $100 million in its first five days, Scott Pilgrim barely managed $10.5 million in its opening weekend. And though it only made an additional $5 million this past weekend, hope still remains for this latest indie comic picture.
Melanie Baldwin, a senior in creative writing, said she’s heard a lot of positive talk about the film from others.
“My friends are pushing others to see it, and some are even having parties to go watch it,” Baldwin said.
Of course, word-of-mouth may not bring many to the theaters, but it certainly makes an impact on DVD sales and rentals, as is shown by Kick-Ass, which placed No. 1 in its first week of release.
Unfortunately, as more small comic films continue to flop at the box office, the inevitable backlash will begin and fewer of these critically-acclaimed films will be produced. Be it from reworked marketing campaigns or quicker word-of-mouth, upcoming comic book movies such as Red and The Adventures of Tintin are going to need additional help to draw in viewers.
Without it, Scott Pilgrim will not be the last indie comic book film to flop in theaters.
