Somebody Must Have Watched The Watchmen
Watchmen can’t tell the time
Well, one of the most anticipated comic-to-film projects finally reached the silver screen. Initial industry projections hoped the film would have a boffo $ 70+ million opening weekend, exceeding the opening success of 300. As the weekend drew near, the industry types got cold feet and revised the projection downward a hefty 14% to $60 million.
The film even failed to reach that goal, as Watchmen‘s opening weekend take clocked in at a solid (but underwhelming) $ 55.6 million. And that includes the $4.5 million late-night Thursday haul of $ 4.5 million.
They swung for the fences and hit a double. Oh well, I honestly didn’t think that the film would translate well on 2009 movie screens. While I like the original comic, it’s very much a creature of its time, the mid-1980s. It’s dark and sometimes nihilistic world view is just a downer.
I expect Watchmen‘s box office to diminish 60% or more next weekend, and quickly vanish from the public eye.
Comic fanboys will just have to wait for the next big thing.
Also of interest:
No surprise. If it’s a faithful adaptation, then this one’s strictly for the fanboys. I guess they thought they’d get a lot of people wanting to relive the dark Batman movie mood, but these guys ain’t Batman. It’s a pretty dated story, anyway, and part of what made it so exciting was that it was so fresh at the time. Of course, the gloom and doom approach has become standard issue now, so Watchmen’s impact isn’t nearly as resonant as it might have been 20 years ago.
I expect it’ll drop off the charts pretty quick, now.