Early Box Office Figures: Scott Pilgrim Tanks vs. Expendables, Eat Pray Love

Early Box Office Figures: Scott Pilgrim Tanks vs. Expendables, Eat Pray Love

The Expendables and Eat, Pray, Love off to strong starts; Scott Pilgrim vs. the World struggles to pace above $10 million for the weekend.

By TheBoxOfficeWatchmen - Aug 14, 2010 05:08 AM EST
Source: Deadline Hollywood

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By Alan Man

The action fans of the country have answered Lionsgate's "Call to Arms" and given The Expendables a comfortable early-weekend lead in the August 13-15 box office, but the buzz-worthy story is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World's collapse out of the starting blocks, according to early estimates from Deadline Hollywood.

Despite Pilgrim's clever viral marketing, built-in comic book fanbase, and Xbox-meets-Juno flavor, the film failed to even crack the top three in Friday receipts. Pilgrim's estimated $4.7 million in ticket revenue on Friday was only enough to garner a fourth-ranked spot in weekend's early frame. Budgeted at approximately $60-70 million, the quirky genre-bender will likely have to look home media rentals and sales to recoup its expenses.

Pilgrim has evidently struggled to find its audience in the early going. While the film was clearly marketed to the Web 2.0 youth, tracking on the film barely registered a blip on the radar of any demographic. While the comparison is on the very of becoming hackneyed, Pilgrim could be this summer's Kick-Ass: a violent and quirky motion comic that struggles in the domestic box office despite heavy internet buzz.

There's still room for optimism. The film can still find viable viewership overseas, as Kick-Ass netted nearly 49% of its $96 million revenue in foreign markets, rendering it an overall success. Also, Yahoo! users reviews currently grade out at an A- average, while the reviews of Rotten Tomatoes' user community aggregate at an 82%/7.7 metric. Positive word-of-mouth may spark some necessary momentum for Pilgrim. Otherwise, expect a domestic cume of $11-12 million come Sunday evening.



Raging and roaring into an early lead is The Expendables. Packed with the Who's Who of action film stars, The Expendables cashed in an estimated $13.5 million in ticket sales on Friday. The sheer marquee power of the film's ensemble -- Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Willis, and a cameo by Arnold -- virtually ensured The Expendables of front-running spot in a market starved for adrenaline and action. The early forecast is for The Expendables to collect a steady $34 million by Monday morning.



Coasting behind "The A+ Team" is Eat Pray Love with an estimated $9 million. The latest Julia Roberts vehicle is having modest early success as counterprogramming to grown-man on grown-man violence and de-pixelated video game battles. The early success can be attributed to the late marketing push heavily featuring Roberts' classic megawatt smile, luring the female 40-somethings back to the multiplexes to watch a familiar face. Budgeted at approximately $60 million, Eat Pray Love is currently pacing to rein in over a third of its costs with an estimated weekend gross of $26.5 million. Given the 38% "Fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes, now may be a good time to sell or short any stock in EPL.



Among the returning wide releases, The Other Guys suffered a 56% drop from its previous Friday open. Step Up 3D has lost a staggering 65% of its August 6 audience. Steve Carell's Dinner for Schmucks continues to disappoint, and pulled in only an estimated $2 million from its third Friday showing, slotting it below Carell's annie hit, Despicable Me.

How will Scott Pilgrim fare vs. the 8th evil Ex-pendables? Will Eat Pray Love keep its steady pace? Check back on Monday morning for a comprehensive recap and analysis of this weekend's box office performances.

(Alan Man is a registered user of ComicBookMovie.com and the owner of the fansite, The Box Office Watchmen, a website devoted to the box office analysis of comic book films. For questions, comments, or advertising information, please send feel free to e-mail us)


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Sespar27
Sespar27 - 8/14/2010, 5:32 AM
Who's at all surprised with this?

Expendables will draw all the guys just because its like our duty to watch something with all those action heroes of our past.

Eat, Pray, Love will draw all the girls.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World targets a very niche market which is pretty big but nothing compared to those who will go watch the other two. HOWEVER, reviews for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has blown The Expendables and Eat, Pray, Love out of the water.

I'm sure to all of us here, we couldn't care less how well Scott Pilgrim vs. The World does against The Expendables as long as Edgar Wright knocks it out of the park AND HE DOES!
Denn1s
Denn1s - 8/14/2010, 5:32 AM
haha i knew it. it seemed like a bomb from miles away. and versus the expendables? it stood no chance from the beginning...
StuckInPanels
StuckInPanels - 8/14/2010, 5:39 AM
Even well praised movies can do poorly. A film doesn't have to be #1 in the box office to be a great film. ED WOOD tanked at the B.O. but many consider it to be Burton's best film next to Sweeney Todd. I wanna see Scott Pilgrim badly but maybe not right away. I saw the Expendables and I'm sure its gonna be #1 instantly. I think Scott Pilgrim has been Over hyped, it's been giving so many TV spots, remix trailers, and the esthetic's of a real world video game feel, people might feel a certain disconnect where that world's universe makes no sense. Inception worked because it's sorta grounded in reality with the concept's of dream worlds and how people can share them. So despite any of the praised reviews we see on here, its a limited market with something like Scott Pilgrim, unless they re-released the 6 volumes in 2 huge TPB, much like Akira did. Oh well, I know we are gonna see things like Scott Pilgrim vs the BOX OFFICE or Scott Pilgrim vs The EXPENDABLES, or something else I can't think of
TANKGIRL
TANKGIRL - 8/14/2010, 5:39 AM
Expendables not my type of movie can't wait to see julia roberts movie and i already saw Scott Pilgrim


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StuckInPanels
StuckInPanels - 8/14/2010, 5:43 AM
@witty...YES THE MOVIE SEASON WAS WAY WAY TOO CROWDED!!!! a lot and I mean A LOT!!!! of films this summer season could have done moderately well in either the Spring or Fall, Summer season has been flipped from film graveyard to Big Budget Bonanza. I can name plenty of films this summer that should have been in the Spring or Fall and yet studios thought it would make them money if they released it in the Summer against BETTER movies
StuckInPanels
StuckInPanels - 8/14/2010, 5:44 AM
@tankgirl....My friend is in love with Julia Roberts and is probably seeing it by now
jazzman
jazzman - 8/14/2010, 5:44 AM
no one is not surprise at this Scott Pilgrim is more about quality and its own market audience.

@Aki87

hold on people like Ed Wood that movie was bad. i agree with u on a film doesn't have to be #1 in the box office to be a great film but film studios rather a #1 movie cause a film like Scott Pilgrim could open doors for another movies like Scott Pilgrim.

TANKGIRL
TANKGIRL - 8/14/2010, 5:52 AM
Aki87 no i don't love julia roberts check out my cast

jazzman check out my cast
claybo4131
claybo4131 - 8/14/2010, 6:39 AM
Im not surprised at this, some movies have that looks like a bomb on it from the start. Expendables is just about every action star ever in one movie, brings all the guys out. Unfortunatly, not like twilight which brings every girl from 22 and under in the world out.
flames809
flames809 - 8/14/2010, 7:22 AM
you know what movie will beat these 3 is lottery ticket which is coming out next week.
DogsOfWar
DogsOfWar - 8/14/2010, 7:50 AM
Nice write up B.O.W.

I think Pilgrim will be a slow but steady earner over the next few weeks. It might not be #1 but it won't lose over 50% after its first week either. Should turn out to be a modest hit in the end run, imo.
crazyray
crazyray - 8/14/2010, 7:53 AM
Couldnt be happier that Pilgrim tanked as well as EPL. Made might morning.
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 8/14/2010, 8:35 AM
Well, it was pretty foolish to release an offbeat movie based on a little known comic book (to those who dont really read comic book anyway) on the same day as one filled with well known action stars who consistently rake in a pile of money in each film they star in individualy, never mind together!

Sadly, Scott Pilgrim will probably be a critical success but not a financial one. I'm sure that when it's released worldwide though (along with future DVD/blu-ray sales) it will end up a decent success. And I hope so, because if rival studios see a movie like this do well they'll be tempted to start adapting more and more of these characters!
xbigvmanx
xbigvmanx - 8/14/2010, 8:47 AM
I can't help but name Juliet Roberts movie as "Eat Pray Queef" Doesn't anyone think that what is should be titled? After seeing the trailer, who watches this sh---
StuckInPanels
StuckInPanels - 8/14/2010, 8:54 AM
@Josh...I agree, a film based off of an obscure comic book going up against Action Heroes: THE MOVIE was a poor idea...then again look at this summer. Toy Story 3 Vs Jonah Hex. Inception Vs Everything else that week. I think Scott Pilgrim would have been better off in the Fall. Also this is a tough to sell to mainstream. It has no real target audience besides the hardcore fan base. Parents aren't gonna take their kids to see this, and its sorta of a date movie. I heard people leaving the showing as I was leaving Expendables and they said it was a very confusing movie. I think a film like this should have been a series of films Or a Miniseries. I'm gonna see it and just try to enjoy it
selinakyle
selinakyle - 8/14/2010, 9:08 AM
They can blame the poor box office take on opening weekend. How is it supposed to compete against The Expendables and Eat Brains love? Bad move. maybe it will do better overseas cos i don't see it catching up at all.
KeithM
KeithM - 8/14/2010, 9:48 AM
Fight Club - bombed at the box office ($37m - half its budget)

Donnie Darko - bombed at the box office (just over $0.5m - a proper flop)

It's A Wonderful Life (bombed at the box office and panned by critics at the time)

Peeping Tom (1960) - bombed at the box office and loathed by critics at the time, now lauded as one of the greatest British horror movies.

The Wizard of Oz - considered a flop by the studio (cost $2.8m, made $3m at the box office)

Blade Runner - bombed at the box office.

Shawshank Redemption - bombed at the box office (although one of the few films in this list that was liked by most critics at the time).

Citizen Kane - bombed at the box office (didn't even make back its budget)

I think the point is clear. Box office success doesn't necessarily mean 'good' nor does box office failure necessarily mean 'bad'.

Will Scott Pilgrim be considered a classic, like the above? Only time will tell (and I haven't seen it yet to call either way). But the point is that the box office opening weekend only really matters to the suits and their bean counters and bears no relation whatsoever with the actual quality of the film.

By the way, movies like Kick-Ass don't even come into this argument - at a cost of $27m to make, even its less than stellar US performance (of $49m) was enough to consider it a success at the box office, and its worldwide box office take of nearly $100m makes it quite a big success no matter how much of a negative slant you want to put on it by comparing it to big studio, big budget blockbusters, which it decidedly wasn't. An independent, self financed movie deliberately aimed at a niche market making $100m worldwide (before even factoring in DVD sales)? How can that not be considered a success?


Bandrews1
Bandrews1 - 8/14/2010, 10:27 AM
@KeithM I totally agree with you.
gibbyblaylock
gibbyblaylock - 8/14/2010, 11:55 AM
SO WHAT?!?!?!

People who judge films based on their box office takes or on the critical consensus are mindless drones.

Think, decide, watch, judge for yourself. Don't allow everybody else to do your thinking for you.
jbofctu
jbofctu - 8/14/2010, 12:21 PM
What sucks is Scott Pilgrim had only one theater at my multiplex whereas Expendables had two. Expendables has a better chance than Pilgrim if it has twice as many showings. Whats wierd though is my multiplex usually gives a R-rated film only one theater not two.
conformist21
conformist21 - 8/14/2010, 12:23 PM
i only saw scott pilgrim midnite show because some friends of mine aren't 18 yet,
so yeah, i'll watch expendables tomorrow,
aww yeh
Creature
Creature - 8/14/2010, 1:52 PM
Worst scenario it becomes cult. A lot of those great bob-ombs are now cult classics.
skullboy
skullboy - 8/14/2010, 3:55 PM
The Laughing Facepalm Pictures, Images and Photos
Dmon
Dmon - 8/14/2010, 5:03 PM
Scott Pilgrim is for Emo kids. I am glad Expendables is #1 it was awesome. Also most times when a movie does bad it just means it is bad. Saying Pilgrim will be a sleeper hit is wishful thinking, reminds me of when people use the Ledger/Joker example when they have a bad actor pick for a comic book part. Scott Pilgrim is no Shawshank Redemption come the F on.

Expendables > Scott Pilgrim deal with it.
KeithM
KeithM - 8/14/2010, 5:24 PM
@Dmon: I haven't seen either yet, so I have no idea which is better, but if it turns out that Expendables > Scott Pilgrim, then no worries at all. If it is, it is.

Have you seen both to know this, by the way?

Most magazine and online reviews I've read seem to have it the other way around. Rotten Tomatoes rates them at Scott Pilgrim 80% and Expendables 44%.

It seems Scott Pilgrim > Expendables. Deal with it.
NERO
NERO - 8/14/2010, 11:03 PM
I admit I know next to nothing about Scott Pilgrim, never heard of it until the previews for the movie came out, so I say this as a member of the Joe Q Public brigade and not a fanboy on this one.

I knew next to nothing about Scott Pilgrim when I first saw the trailer, still don't to be honest, but it never struck me as interesting. Yeah, it’s a weird trippy looking flick, but watching a guy go into video game fight scenes to beat down the evil ex's of a chick he likes.... What the [frick]?! Add that to the fact that the only character Michael Cera plays is Michael Cera in every [frick]ing movie (and I can't stand the little ass weasel). In the end I just had no interest in seeing the movie. Even in spite of its great reviews I just can't work up the desire to fork over the cash to see this at a megaplex. Maybe I'll download it on Netflix next month when it comes out on Blu-Ray.
prinzjoker
prinzjoker - 8/15/2010, 12:34 PM
i knew that dumb scott pilgrim wasnt goin no where
Tomdubbayou
Tomdubbayou - 8/15/2010, 2:06 PM
Just got home from seeing Scott pilgrim. It. Was. Awesome.
Askani2099
Askani2099 - 8/15/2010, 3:59 PM
Scott Pilgrim easily one of THE most entertaining movies I've ever seen. EVERYONE I know who saw it, wether they are comic fans or not, have loved it & raved about it.

Expendables was a good, mindless hollywood movie that you can just switch off & enjoy for its action.
ScorpioEagle1
ScorpioEagle1 - 8/16/2010, 5:59 AM
Great.. maybe now that another dork movie about a geek kicking ass will be enough to make these morons make better comic book movies about 1st tier guys hell even 2nd or 3rd tier guys that we all love.. I'm getting pretty sick of that kid from Juno showing up all over the place playing the same guy in every movie.. give it a rest already.. the dorks have had there time in the sun.. let's move on..
villain001
villain001 - 8/16/2010, 8:52 AM
Thank God this movie is out, was tired of getting updates & a new trailer every 5 minutes. Havent seen it yet, might be ok... but way over hyped.
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