Ok look, before I say anything else let me put this out there first. I frigging LOVE Simon Pegg. I think he has some of the best comedic timing, both as straight man and protagonist working in the industry today and I find him completely entertaining. This guy should be a major star and I would put him in any film I ever do in a heartbeat, and probably ask him for a new autograph in between each take. (That’s me with him in the picture. See… I’m not trying to bash the guy in this post at all)
But my personal feelings aside, there seems to be no arguing with the numbers… Simon Pegg can not draw an audience, at least not in the North American market whatsoever. A point made even more true this past weekend as Pegg’s new film “How To Lose Friends And Alienate People”, which had a pretty respectable marketing campaign, only managed to make $1.4 million at the box office in 1750 theaters on opening weekend. OUCH!!!
But this isn’t the first poor showing like this. His last film, “Run Fat Boy Run” only managed to take in about $6 million in it’s total run. The fantastic “Hot Fuzz”, a film that SHOULD have easily been a $100+ film only managed to bring in about $23 million.
So my question is, why doesn’t Simon Pegg work as a lead for North American audiences? The guy is beyond brilliant. His performances are always wonderful. He has a lot of natural charaisma. So why doesn’t anyone want to go see his movies? Is it:
– His looks?
– The fact that he’s British?
– His movies look bad?
– The fact that he’s British?
– Bad marketing?
– The fact that he’s British?
All kidding aside, this is pretty disappointing. In a world where certain talentless hacks seem to be able to get attention, why can’t a genuinely great performer get any sort of love even when he’s given a chance by the studios? Your thoughts
