Why Comic-Con is not the place to build buzz about movies

When Scott Pilgrim vs. The World hit Comic-Con last year, many declared it a hit before it made it to theaters. The excitement surrounding the geek crowd was electric and the reviews were, for the most part, stellar.

It didn’t break $30 million in domestic ticket sales.

This is not an isolated event. Comic-Con, the yearly Mecca of geek entertainment, has built a reputation as incorrectly predicting the overall success of movies. The image above tells the story.

People get into a certain frame of mind when they go. There is tons of cosplay, eager fans waiting in long lines to watch premiers, and a celebrity buzz that is as big as it gets outside of Hollywood. That is the problem. Those coming to see it all see the comic and entertainment world through very favorable goggles. The atmosphere wreaks of geeks and it smells wonderful to most who attend.

The rest of the world sees (and smells) things differently.