Watchmen's Weekend: $55.7 Million, and Unanswered Questions

Comic-book movie's debut is sixth-largest-ever for R-rated movie, but jury's out as to whether it'll make good on reputed $120-$150 million budget

So, when an R-rated comic-book movie that runs more than two-and-a-half hours and stars no brand-name stars, much less Batman or Spider-Man, opens with an estimated $55.7 million, that's good business, right?

Probably.

Watchmen's Friday-Sunday debut was the weekend's biggest, the year's biggest and the sixth-biggest R-rated opener of all-time. It was not, however, 300's $70-million stunner.

"It's hard to manage expectations," Dan Fellman, Warner Bros.' president for domestic theatrical distribution said today. "But with the length of the movie, and the number of shows possible, I think this is an excellent number."

Exhibitor Relations box-office analyst Jeff Bock said Watchmen's ultimate success, or not, will be determined by its performance next weekend. 

"If it holds like a horror film, well, then that's going to turn into a nightmare scenario," Bock said. "But if it can hold onto No. 1 two weeks in a row, then it's going to benefit Warners."

Watchmen cost a reputed $120-150 million—about about twice as much as 300, the first comic-book adaptation Warners made with director Zack Snyder.