Why Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Bombed At The Box Office

Before exploring what happened to "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" in theaters during the summer of 2010, let's find out how the film came to be. Unlike major comic book adaptations like "The Avengers," "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" was not a title with decades of content and an ardent fan base. Rather, the black-and-white source material began as a small project by a cartoonist working at a small comic publishing company.

Bryan Lee O'Malley created, wrote, and illustrated "Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life" for Oni Press in 2004 with a plan for five sequels. Despite lackluster sales, the title was soon shopped around Hollywood as a potential blockbuster. Surprisingly, up-and-coming director Edgar Wright attached himself to the project as early as 2005. However, with a year between new issues, it wasn't until the release of Volume 4, "Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together," in 2007 that the film project gained serious traction as the comics began selling better.

However, with seven evil exes still to fight, the script for the upcoming film was being written before the story had a conclusion. O'Malley confessed that much of Volume 5 and 6 was heavily influenced by his movie-making experience. Shockingly, the last issue "Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour" was released almost simultaneously with the movie, leaving fans little time to read the completed works. Meanwhile, sales were strong — but not nearly equal to what sets comics up for the film treatment nowadays.