I come not to gloat, but to mourn. It took a shockingly long 21 days, and it's pretty much finished at the domestic box office, but Watchmen has passed the $100 million mark as of Thursday. Truth be told, this will struggle to reach $110 million total, which means it will be by far the worst weekend-to-total multiplier for any movie to open at $50 million or more. Ironically, it will only be the third worst high-profile 'opening-weekend to total domestic gross' multiplier this season. Both Friday The 13th and The Jonas Brothers 3D Concert Experience will end their run having made well over 60% of their totals on opening weekend.Had Watchmen kept its budget at $100 million (and had WB made sure that it actually owned the rights to make the movie), then this figure would be embarrassing on the surface level, but something that could be eventually profitable. But the apparent $150 million cost, plus the Fox lawsuit, means that this flawed but ambitious film is going to lose quite a bit of money. This also puts far more pressure on Terminator: Salvation than it deserves. Plus, I'm sure Warner Bros is thanking the stars that they decided to move Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince into July, 2009. I will say, that the only thing more surprising than Watchmen actually opening to $75 million (as certain parties had predicted) was its final gross coming in at barely $100 million. I don't think anyone thought it would collapse so quickly and so brutally.
Scott Mendelson
I'm inclined to agree. While I thought some of the characters were nice ideas, the plot and the politics were absurd and incomprehensible nonsense. Knowing that the story takes place in an alternate universe, it sure wasn't an alternate universe to my liking. I would have preferred a few definite story improvements to the idea that Dr. Manhattan couldn't have won the USSR. I mean, the guy builds giant clockwork ships on Mars. All he had to do was disable or destroy every Soviet nuclear missile and/or it's launching apparatus in its silo, mobile launcher and sub in the USSR and the oceans of the globe, and shield from or intercept any missile that got through. Piece of cake. Alan Moore didn't think. Superman did all of that already, and so much better, although, with characters like these, Alan Moore should have done well, too. And a superteam where the members couldn't equal one another? Silk Spectre would have given the Comedian his due pretty quick for attempted rape and he'd be out of the team. She'd at least have put him on his head for starters. And the flaws with Watchmen go on, and on, and on... Alan Moore has dumb politics and is essentially a bad writer who doesn't think things through. Frank Miller, on the other hand, is a mathematical tactician in his scientific beauty who's known for tying and explaining loose ends and improbabilities in a story in a pristinely sublime acquiesce. I think Watchmen could be largely rewritten and greatly improved upon.
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering, are you a troll or an idiot?
ReplyDeleteIf your a troll then have fun. Nobody posts on this blog to much, even if I think it is the best movie review site I have found. Anyway trolling is fairly pointless.
If your not a troll your just an idiot that totally missed the whole point of watchmen.
Gee, if you're going to call my site 'the best movie review site' you've found, you can at least leave your name so I can thank you.
ReplyDeleteScott.
I'm inclined to agree. While I thought some of the characters were nice ideas, the plot and the politics were absurd and incomprehensible nonsense. Knowing that the story takes place in an alternate universe, it sure wasn't an alternate universe to my liking. I would have preferred a few definite story improvements to the idea that Dr. Manhattan couldn't have won the USSR. I mean, the guy builds giant clockwork ships on Mars. All he had to do was disable or destroy every Soviet nuclear missile and/or it's launching apparatus in its silo, mobile launcher and sub in the USSR and the oceans of the globe, and shield from or intercept any missile that got through. Piece of cake. Alan Moore didn't think. Superman did all of that already, and so much better, although, with characters like these, Alan Moore should have done well, too. And a superteam where the members couldn't equal one another? Silk Spectre would have given the Comedian his due pretty quick for attempted rape and he'd be out of the team. She'd at least have put him on his head for starters. And the flaws with Watchmen go on, and on, and on... Alan Moore has dumb politics and is essentially a bad writer who doesn't think things through. Frank Miller, on the other hand, is a mathematical tactician in his scientific beauty who's known for tying and explaining loose ends and improbabilities in a story in a pristinely sublime acquiesce. I think Watchmen could be largely rewritten and greatly improved upon.
ReplyDelete