Author: Erich Schwartzel / Source: WSJ
That was “too fringe,” he says they told him. “It’s [for] ‘those people’ who go to those conventions.”
This time, Mr. Shyamalan was not only at the convention, but begging for attendees’ approval. The director of “The Sixth Sense” and “Split”told the story Friday at Comic-Con International, where he brought footage of his latest feature, “Glass,” a January follow-up to “Unbreakable” that Universal Pictures was hoping would generate buzz among hard-core fans that can translate to overall success at the box office.
More than 130,000 people—many dressed as characters like Marge Simpson or Thor—descended on the seaside convention center for the annual celebration of fandom, encompassing several days of panels, merchandise sales and studio presentations of coming films and television shows.
When it was founded in the 1970s, Comic-Con drew a niche crowd. But since movies like “ Iron Man ” and “Spider-Man” have turned comic books in the profit drivers at most major studios, it’s not the movie stars and directors who are the most powerful people in the convention center. It’s the fans they come to court.
Hits and Misses
The slightest misstep in a crowd ready to tweet or post about their reactions to early footage can set a tone that lasts until the movie’s release. It was hard to get momentum for Warner Bros.’ “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” after its footage was met with shrugs at the convention in 2016. (The movie opened the next year and grossed a disastrous $39 million.) On the other hand, blockbusters like “ Deadpool ” built early buzz there and rode it to box-office success.
This year, the next DC Comics feature, “ Aquaman, ” starring Jason Mamoa as the amphibious superhero, drew the highest level of response on social-media platforms, according to an analysis by the ListenFirst analytics firm.
That’s good news for Warner Bros., which has tried in recent years to rejuvenate its DC brand after critical flops like “Justice League” and “Suicide Squad” turned fans into skeptics. The studio’s other offerings, the comic-book comedy “Shazam!” and Harry Potter spinoff “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” also scored high—though the latter may have been in part due to a surprise appearance by Johnny Depp in character. (Warner Bros. also made the savvy call to release the Comic-Con footage immediately, allowing people everywhere to weigh in.)Sony ’s “Venom,” an R-rated comic adaptation about a journalist who becomes the host of a sharp-toothed alien, was also well-received among the crowd, some of whom yelled, “We are Venom!” On the television side, fans were chattiest about “Doctor Who” and “The Walking Dead,” which used its convention appearance to confirm that star Andrew Lincoln was leaving the show.
Comic-Con attendees turned the gathering into a big-tent embrace of every conceivable costume or fandom. Photo: Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/Getty Images
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