OpenTube

Behind the Box Office Failure of Scott Pilgrim

Isenhart Productions

57,157 views

In this video essay I take another look at Edgar Wright's 2010 film, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, to find out why it failed at the box office, as well as explore the history and some of my thoughts on the movie.

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Chapters:

Intro: 0:00
Behind the Film: 0:28
Why it Failed: 4:14
My Thoughts: 9:20
Conclusion: 12:30

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Letterboxd:
https://boxd.it/5NDWn

Instagram:
Instagram: isenhart_productions

Isenhart Reviews:
@isenhartreviews

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Music Attribution:

"Vibin Over Venus" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...

"Backbeat Lounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

"Smooth Loving" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

"Apero Hour" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

"Study and Relax" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Sources:

https://www.latimes.com/archives/blog...

https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/feat...

https://variety.com/2005/film/markets...

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/scot...

https://www.firstshowing.net/2008/mic...

https://ew.com/comic-con/2010/08/10/s...

https://ew.com/movies/scott-pilgrim-v...

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/...

https://www.nme.com/news/film/robert-...

https://web.archive.org/web/201008161...

https://web.archive.org/web/201008171...

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release...

https://www.stereogum.com/2094280/sco...

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertain...

https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Box-O...

https://web.archive.org/web/201008171...

https://collider.com/scott-pilgrim-mo...

https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent...

https://www.looper.com/1420734/scott-...

https://www.ign.com/articles/edgar-wr...

20 Comments

@JustinCage56 10 months ago

It's rare when a studio still praises and congrats its director when their film bombs. It's really wholesome in a way.

@sonyakinsey4376 10 months ago

The rare movie where Toronto plays itself.

@berryhorrorshow64 10 months ago

Gonna be honest here, you covering a film that is arguably great after covering multiple mediocre or bad films was a breath of fresh air

@mkoontz7721 10 months ago

that there is a world in which seth rogan played scott pilgrim is absolute nightmare fuel

@Ulfilias 10 months ago

HOW you missed the gag of it Bob-Ombing I don't know 🤣

@respen43 10 months ago

I remember when this came out. Everybody was sick of Michael Cera playing Michael Cera, and Inception was the only thing anybody was talking about.

@TheRealJFranco 10 months ago

Years not days is such a perfect way to sum it up. Some movies are just meant to find their audience over time rather than opening weekend

@Cursed888 10 months ago

Only saw the movie in theaters off a whim with a group of friends at the mall.

It's still up there as one of my favorite theater experiences.

@RFzone1 10 months ago

You should do video on why sonic 2020 succeeded.

@SwissToni34 10 months ago (edited)

I was a projection operator at a second run theater when this movie was released. We usually got movies a month or so after initial release and kept them for a month or two to fill a screen. We got Scott Pilgrim a mere 7 days after it premiered, and we only had it for a week. I brought everyone I could to see it that week. We ran a private screening at midnight all 7 nights and by the 4th or 5th night we all had big patches memorized.
I made sure to buy it in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack as soon as it came out that November. One of my most loved, most watched movies. I've been like a proud brother all this time... Watching while my little guy got more and more praise over the years as everyone catches up to the greatness I knew was there all along.

@lovetrain2455 10 months ago

One of the few comic book movies that isnt ashamed of being faithful its source material and style, and it underperforms, we deserve all the V shaped MCU superhero suits

@knightterror2826 10 months ago

I went into this movie with no knowledge of the comic, just as a casual theater goer. I loved it. I still have the dvd.

@CaptainFirefred 10 months ago

That you not even mention Brandon Routh as part of the cast show what a bomb Superman Returns was and it was not even his fault.

@DinoDave150 10 months ago (edited)

4:53 As a twenty-something-year-old currently working on an indie comic with a buddy of mine, I feel called out. And I DO have a job, thank you very much!

No seriously, I was literally typing up character layouts when the notification popped up.

@ThisICommand666 10 months ago

I was in fairly deep depression when this came out. My then-girlfriend I shared a house with took off leaving me with the mortgage on my own, didn't want to do anything and nothing brought me joy. The trailers for this had me kind of leaning toward seeing it, but doubted I would. On the way home from work and not looking forward to another weekend of nothing, I dipped into the theater and saw Scott Pilgrim vs the World. I still talk about going to see it to this day, sitting in a mostly empty theater and having the best time I'd had in a long time for the whole runtime.

Sometimes it's not about the box office take. For studios, yes, but not for me.

@thebaccathatchews 10 months ago

One of my favorite memories is watching this in an empty theater.

@uncaringgenius 10 months ago

This got a lot of hype by fans but as soon as Michael Cera was revealed as Scott, interest went way down. Lot of people thought it would be just hipster garbage.