Several Movie Studios Planning to Skip This Year's Comic-Con
Posted 06.14.11 by Ryan
The San Diego Comic-Con has become a huge promotional destination for comic book adaptations and other genre movies like Iron Man and Tron: Legacy, but this year's convention is going to have plenty of open slots in Exhibit Hall H.
The New York Times reports movie studios Warner Bros., Disney, DreamWorks, and The Weinstein Company are looking to skip this year's Comic-Con. Even Marvel Entertainment is looking to sit out this year, after unveiling the "assembled" line-up of their upcoming The Avengers last year, one of the highlights of the entire convention. So why are the studios skipping out on the convention?
According to the report, the reason is simple. For all the successful movies that the studios have brought to Comic-Con, the payoff for some of the convention fare has been less than stellar. Universal went out of their way for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which underwhelmed at the box office, while similar results befell Warners' Sucker Punch, which barely made back its budget.
"It’s a red-letter opportunity, but you shouldn’t go simply because it sits there on the calendar," said Michael Moses, co-president of marketing for Universal Pictures. "You have to be absolutely certain you have goods ready that can really make a difference for your film."
That may be why Warners is sitting out, which means director Christopher Nolan's upcoming sequel The Dark Knight Rises and director Zack Snyder's Man of Steel reboot will not have a presence at the convention. Same goes for Warners' Wrath of the Titans and the Sherlock Holmes sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. If Marvel sits out, that means that no Avengers footage will be shown, though after a script was leaked just as the movie went into production, the studio may be reticent to reveal anything else about The Avengers.
There will be movies to watch however. Twentieth Century Fox plans to promote Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Paramount will offer The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. Sony will launch an "aggressive promotion" of 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man, while Summit Entertainment will hold a panel for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.
Despite the bad luck for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Universal is still pressing forward with Cowboys and Aliens. Director Jon Favreau told The LA Times that he will premiere the movie at the convention because he thinks fans "should have the opportunity to see it" before the movie's July 29th release date.
The worldwide premiere of Cowboys & Aliens will be at Comic-Con, and not only are we going to premiere it there, we’re going to find a way to include as many of the fans as possible. I feel like they’ve come out for me, they’ve supported me.
That should give fans plenty to look forward to.
