WHAT HALTED PILGRIM‘S PROGRESS?

Entertainment writers and Hollywood moguls alike were busily conducting postmortems to determine the premature cause of death of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which opened over the weekend with just $10.6 million in ticket sales. The film had generated enthusiastic buzz, particularly on Twitter, following preview presentations at ComicCon last month; had received mostly positive reviews, and received an average A grade from those who saw it. Writer-director Guillermo del Toro, who directed the two Hellboy movies (like Pilgrim, they were based on a popular comic-book character), told today’s (Tuesday) Los Angeles Times, "Comics that have a lot of personality like Hellboy or Scott Pilgrim make for memorable movies. … But they require a hell of a lot more positioning and marketing. And even then, you are tossing a coin." A far safer proposition, said director Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Sin City, Machete) are films like The Expendables. "For young audiences, they resemble what they are playing at home with their video games." Of course, that’s what several critics said about Scott Pilgrim, too.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Box Office Mojo (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date):

1. The Expendables, Lionsgate, $34,825,135, (New); 2. Eat Pray Love, Sony, $23,104,523, (New); 3. The Other Guys, Sony, $17,408,501, 2 Wks. ($69,951,822); 4. Inception, Warner Bros., $11,285,051, 5 Wks. ($248,469,482); 5. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Universal, $10,609,795, (New); 6. Despicable Me, Universal, $6,971,355, 6 Wks. ($222,197,390); 7. Step Up 3-D, Disney, $6,905,201, 2 Wks. ($29,844,422); 8. Dinner For Schmucks, Paramount, $6,285,179, 3 Wks. ($58,785,547); 9. Salt, Sony, $6,219,502, 4 Wks. ($103,438,273); 10. Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, Warner Bros., $4,190,426, 3 Wks. ($35,218,937).