Did 'Watchmen' Fail? And Why?

I don't have a lot of interest in seeing the movie. But I have a friend who read and loved the graphic novel, and so, was excited to see it on the screen. However, after seeing it, she felt that the movie was entirely too graphic and violent for her. While the novel is violent, most of the violence is inferred, rather then spelled out in all the blood and gore. In her midnight showing, the reel slipped off and was unable to be fixed, so she missed the last half hour or so of the show. But she's not sure she even wants to go back for a second viewing in order to finish it because the gore and violence was just too much for her.

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LOL, it is RATED R, it will be graphic and violent... GN was too

Film is so long that not everybody can sit all trough or even go to see it :/ There will be so much people who will buy Blu-Ray and at the and film gonna get money back :)

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The box office news makes me sad. I thought this was a great film for all audiences, even those not familiar with the novel. As for violence, there have been many others before it that were equally to it in blood and gore and those that are far worse. This movie does have brains and balls and I'd like to think there was a bigger audience for it than just those who loved the graphic novel, an audience with brains themselves, who can watch something with a bit of depth of intelligence to it.

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Im going to see Watchmen in cinema for the second time this week. I love that movie

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For one thing, the movie should've been a summer release. I would think that would be a no-brainer, but apparently since Snyder had success with 300 around this time of year the studio hoped lightning would strike twice. Only problem is this is a bigger movie.

Second, while I have yet to see the movie, what I've read about it hasn't exactly made me want to run out and see it in a theater. Likewise for the previews. It may very well be a good movie, a loyal adaptation, but it doesn't look like my kind of superhero flick. And I think the studio probably overestimated the demand for an R-rated superhero movie overall. You kind of lose a large portion of that genre's audience when children or teens can't get in to see it.

Lastly, also just from what I've read, it seems too weird for a mainstream audience. Good weird usually leads to cult classic status, not mega-hit.

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I hated the comic book, and so, being a true adaptation, the movie as well. Don't get me wrong, the movie was about as well made as it could've been given the source material, but with a terrible story like that, I'm not surprised the movie is tanking. It's not Snyder's fault, he did a good job. But that ending...ugh, just horrible

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I guess the good news is that you don't have to worry about someone getting a twinkle in their eye about a undoubtedly terrible sequel.


And frankly I didn't STAY away to help the drop...I just simply don't see a movie twice in the same week. I have every intention of seeing it again, but as much as I want to do what I'm told by screenwriters, I need a little time to do other things.

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I'll go with the consensus and say that they probably made the best adaptation possible...including the altered ending.

I loved it, but I was keenly aware of the pacing and the amount of time that was passing in the auditorium.

Maybe it was the 1985 setting? I think you have to remember the real 1985 to appreciate the cleverness of an alternate 1985.

Maybe it was expectations. Geeks, bloggers, and geek bloggers have been pimping this one to hell and back for 6 months or more. A fan base with that kind of soap box can be dangerous... especially when half of them are pissed about the ending! ANd Alan Moore's typical batshit craziness didn't help.

So, yeah, I wanted it to better. I thought it would. But, walking out after the show, I suspected it would not.

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The issue with the box office take really isn't a problem with the film. #1) It was rated R, and a Hard R at that. The Superman/Spiderman crowd simply were kept out of the theaters. That's where all the money is. #2) It was long, so the number of showings are down as well. #3) It's not a universally known comic book like Batman. Considering those obstacles, I think the film did rather well. I didn't know much about the Watchmen, but I went to see it anyway. I guarantee you this film will do heavy numbers on DVD.

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While it bothers me that it has plummeted, I am not the least bit surprised. The movie is really only for a certain niche of people, and the rest just seem to be perplexed by it. My father, for example, is a fan of the superhero movie but when I asked him about Watchmen hes said "I don't even know what it's supposed to be about. Screw it." It is certainly going to repel fans of the current superhero movies who don't want to deal with all the background.

When leaving the IMAX theater (I loved it, by the way) I overheard an older woman say "I know Batman, Iron Man...but who the fuck is Silk Specter?"

Also, there were A LOT of uninformed parents bringing their children into the theater, some looking younger than 13. There should be a whole other article dedicated just to how wrong that is.

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If I had to speculate as to one reason why Watchmen's box office take was disappointing in its second week, I would probably point to word of mouth. Warner Bros. ad campaign let people infer an awful lot about the nature of this movie. I bet many uninformed moviegoers went in expecting your typical comic book movie, left disappointed, and made sure all their friends knew about it.

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Not to repeat anyone but I will put on my Captain Obvious guise and point out that Watchmen is rated R and Witch Mountain is PG.

Not even the same.

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I was somewhat familiar with the comic, but I wanted to go into the movie with a clean slate. I thought it was very well-made. Snyder did the best job he could. The movie is more intellectual than visceral, which scared off the brain-dead morons who flock to other superhero movies. To call it a superhero movie seems far-fetched. When fanboy hype and the general public's puzzlement get factored in, it wasn't a suprise it wouldn't do well. I think it will do fine on DVD. It may be one of those films that you need repeated viewings to absorb all that is thrown at you. Time will be kinder to this film than it is right now.

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I gotta disagree with a lot of the comments here. I don't think the drop is due to the movie being "too smart" for the "dumb public" or because people were expecting a comic book Spiderman-esque super hero movie.

It dropped off so much for 2 main reasons: 1) the opening box office numbers were simply due to hype; people (including me) went to see it only because they had heard so much about it. And 2) It just wasn't that great. It was a decent movie with some very nice visuals, but just not very entertaining or stimulating. I think a lot of this talk of "a super-hero movie with a brain" is out of proportion. Maybe the comic book had a brain, but the film's intellectual level was pretty shallow. On top of that, the audience had zero emotional investment in anything. It went on for at least the first hour without even a driving plot. The visuals were strong, but the storytelling was weak. And really, people go to the movies for good storytelling - just look a how well Slumdog Millionaire continues to do.

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The reason the movie "failed" is very simple...

It is a deep movie and the average movie goer isn't read for a dramatic superhero movie. They want bubblegum type stuff. Watchmen is more like Master and Commander than Dark Knight. When you think about it, there is very little action in the movie and its alot of character and story development than anything. People who weren't exposed to the graphic novel were expecting something else.

I was horrified that they were going to make a movie of the graphic novel. I saw it last week and loved it. It was really well done. Like everyone, it was probably the best adaption that could have been done and personally I prefer the movie ending better, it makes more sense and didn't feel contrived.

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