Comments (46)

• Wow. Fox just made an easy payday.

  Well, the upshot of this is that it’s better to pay Fox than let them tinker with the film before release.

  Lesson learned.

  Comment by Hashim R. Hathaway — January 15, 2009 @ 7:49 pm  Reply to this post

• Now the blame game starts.

  Comment by souly stylie — January 15, 2009 @ 8:09 pm  Reply to this post

• … and the firing squad at Warner Bros begins.

  Comment by the guy who gets your damn bagel every morning — January 15, 2009 @ 8:21 pm  Reply to this post

• Well, as long as the movie is out on March 6, I don’t care how my $10 gets divided among the studios. This is a victory for the fans.

  Comment by NackAttack — January 15, 2009 @ 8:27 pm  Reply to this post

• I was hoping they’d go after each other, tooth and claw; sort “What would Kyser Soze do?”

  First off, it would be fun to watch (I was recommending Warners threaten to move their big tentpole films right into the same weekends as the big Fox films, sort of shoving a tentpole up their butts unless they backed off. Second, if the two studios were fighting, it would be the beginning of a Helter Skelter which could lead to the downfall of the AMPTP.

  Sadly, calm has been restored and nobody but the beancounters and sharks win (but that’s Hollywood, folks.)

  Comment by anotherwgamember — January 15, 2009 @ 8:44 pm  Reply to this post

• Sequels/Spinoffs? Have you (or anyone involved) read the book/script/heard how the movie ends? There’s nothing to spinoff, nothing to add to. I mean, I know Hollywood’s crazy for unnecessary sequels, but I would be truly shocked if that happened in this case.

  Comment by Brian — January 15, 2009 @ 8:44 pm  Reply to this post

• I am acting in good faith when I claim this statement makes me want to puke.

  Comment by a 20 year hollywood veteran — January 15, 2009 @ 8:48 pm  Reply to this post

• Well maybe now the fanboys can finally stop with all the nonsense about Fox being the evil empire. The statement looks like it answers the big question of when it was that Fox informed WB about their rights, BEFORE production.

  Comment by HoopersX — January 15, 2009 @ 9:22 pm  Reply to this post

• “…and fans of the comic book series/graphic novel can rejoice (or find something else about the movie to bitch about…”

  lol becuase it is so very true. Just enjoy the flick people.

  Comment by comic reader — January 15, 2009 @ 9:50 pm  Reply to this post

• So puke, veteran. It would be no different from what Hollywood puts out.

  Comment by Ron — January 15, 2009 @ 10:13 pm  Reply to this post

• It was all FAKE!!

  Geez you people are dumb.

  Comment by Anonymous — January 15, 2009 @ 10:14 pm  Reply to this post

• “Sequels/Spinoffs? Have you (or anyone involved) read the book/script/heard how the movie ends? There’s nothing to spinoff, nothing to add to.”
  Yeah I was kinda confused about that too. I guess it’s referring to Tales of the Black Freighter?

  Comment by Jacob — January 15, 2009 @ 10:16 pm  Reply to this post

• Yep. Money talks in this town. I can’t wait for the “Law & Order” episode that will be inspired by this nutty court case.

  Comment by JD — January 15, 2009 @ 10:21 pm  Reply to this post

• I think we need the real deal Nikkinsider scoop on this one. Namely, if establishing chain of title is Producing 101 (and it is, literally), why would Warners ever proceed with production when Foxx had come to them straight up and claimed ownership of the property? And continue to ignore them up till less than 2 months before release, only to give up 8.5 gross pts et al for no effort?? What’s the logic?

  They can’t be expecting to drop a New Line on Foxx like they was Tolkiens when this movie blows up big as 300… If there’s anyone that can figure out what these braindead poopsters were thinking when they bungled this jobbo, it’s Nikki.

  Comment by RJ.B — January 15, 2009 @ 10:35 pm  Reply to this post

• Brian, I was thinking exactly the same thing. There is no possible sequel here, even it performs well which it won’t. For those who’ve never read Watchmen, it would be akin to doing a Titanic sequel.

  But it’s all moot. This movie is going to tank big time.

  Comment by Tinker Tailor — January 15, 2009 @ 10:36 pm  Reply to this post

• to Brian,

  300 is getting a sequel/prequel/followup and that had a more definitive ending than Watchmen. If it’s a huge success maybe they’ll give it a prequel. But I think Watchmen will bomb so it won’t matter.

  Comment by Downtown — January 15, 2009 @ 11:20 pm  Reply to this post

• how much cash does Fox get beyond the 8.5%

  while the watchmen seems like a great project there is no saying how well it will travel unless marketed as a summer flick (so it shouldn’t be too heavy)

  it does not have an internationally recognized character a la Batman fronting it.

  Comment by Gaurav — January 16, 2009 @ 12:07 am  Reply to this post

• Sequels to a sequel-proof book? Of course.(When David Morell sold the film rights to his novel FIRST BLOOD, his agent told him that, as his first deal, he wouldn’t get much- but if they made sequels, he’d clean up big. Morell thought this was a bad deal… because Rambo DIES at the end of the novel.We all know how THAT one turned out…)

  Comment by cst — January 16, 2009 @ 12:19 am  Reply to this post

• Does Fox realize that there should not in any way ever be a sequel (or even a prequel) to Watchmen, no matter how good the movie might be? Now they’re going to have to settle with the fans.

  Comment by Rob J. — January 16, 2009 @ 12:39 am  Reply to this post

• Sequel-Proof Source material? Check.
  Having to pay your (presumably) worst enemy $$$ when you produce a sequel? Check.

  None of this will matter ist Watchmen will make enough money.
  (Wich I also am unsure about, though I’m certainly looking forward to it)

  Comment by Mertel — January 16, 2009 @ 2:01 am  Reply to this post

• Regarding the “sequels/spinoffs” clause, the fact that the original graphic novel ending pretty much precludes a sequel unfortunately doesn’t mean they can’t make one- remember, one of the comic fans’ bugbears is that the ending has been changed.

  Still looking forward to it though…

  Comment by Elaborate Calculator — January 16, 2009 @ 2:42 am  Reply to this post

• I’m totally bewildered when people say this film was ever in doubt of being released on time. Hollywood is nothing if consistent.

  Never let a blood feud get in the way of a making money. All the studios have a ‘mutual destruction’ agreement much like the Cold War. They may hate each other with a hatred that burns like the Sun but they have to make money baby.

  And as for all this talk of Watchmen bombing, again, I don’t get it. Watchmen doesn’t have the ‘lightning in a bottle’ that The Dark Knight had…. but it has something.

  A big (but not 300-esque record breaking) opening weekend when all the kids go to see it followed by a big drop off but solid performance for the next six weeks as the older fans go and see it.

  I’m calling it now.

  $35-50m Opening weekend.

  $120-150 final US gross.

  Comment by Warner Borg — January 16, 2009 @ 2:42 am  Reply to this post

• I can’t help to wonder what happens if Watchmen bombs? I mean, all this hoopla over a movie that has yet to prove itself over any sequel or prequel, & a comic book that is only known within the circles of its readers.

  I kind of had to agree over the ruling that somehow, since Fox owned the rights, they are entitled to the shares of the profits. But if it bomb, Fox will get off easy. How very nice!

  Comment by Armand — January 16, 2009 @ 4:32 am  Reply to this post

• i really want to know if the biz affairs person on this deal we as the same genius that did dukes of hazzard for warners, and if so, why weren’t they fired for that fiasco and why havent they been fired for this one. it’s truly amazing that a screw up of this level could happen at a studio.

  Comment by Anonymous — January 16, 2009 @ 4:51 am  Reply to this post

• I never heard of this comic, but I really liked “The Dark Knight” and hope that this one will become such a brilliant movie, too. And “Watchman” sounds great..

  Comment by Tagesgeldkonto — January 16, 2009 @ 5:19 am  Reply to this post

• $200M total US gross. little more than folks think.

  $400M (maybe a wee bit more) total worldwide gross.

  money is money. deals get made. personally least interesting thing is this FOX vs WB war, now that they settled. think of it as another part of the distribution fees.

  i hear folks talk about a “flop” ?? tough call but I just dont think so. who would have thought V for Vendetta would make $132M on a $54M budget, not to mention $60M on dvd sales. If the overall plot is not too layered or complex, and not bogged down with meandering sequences, then it should do very very well. Or at least dialogue that is engaging and holds your attention ala V for Vendetta, Blade Runner, 300, old & new versions of War of the Worlds, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, old version of the Time Machine, Galaxy Quest(as a scifi comedy example not overdone), Enemy Mine, the Last Star Fighter, It, Them, etc…so many more.

  For all of Moore’s criticism of V and even 300 (the GN)as movies they were intellectually and emotionally inviting for audiences to jump in, throughout the world. If Watchmen gets fully understood by the movie going public, as well as entertaining, then there should be a nice tidy payday for everyone.

  Moore may not like the movie version of V but it was an entertaining “movie.” He should listen to his own advice about not judging a comic/GN in terms of if it can be done as a movie. He is correct in that observation. But once a movie version of a literary work is produced, in all fairness to the creative team, it should be judged on how well it is as a “movie.” That way any liberties with the text will be compensated by a thougthfully produced movie version, that may be criticized negatively in regards to the book, but enjoyed artistically as a movie experience. And I dont mean by having more “explosions,” although a well-placed explosion is always nice to watch. heh

  nuff said.

  Comment by lu-ee — January 16, 2009 @ 5:47 am  Reply to this post

• I’m calling a bomb on this one. I’d be shocked, shocked to see Watchmen top $30 mil opening weekend.

  Given its narrow (albeit dedicated) fanbase, it’s release date amidst the winter graveyard, R-rating, and ultra-high concept.

  If the tv spots are accurate (flashy as hell, full of over-the-top slow-motion action) the fan base will be pissed, and if, in fact, it’s accurate to the source material, the general audiences will fall off faaaaast.

  As for the Fox deal, expect to see this tied up in courts for years. Of course Warner’s took the deal allowing them to release the picture. Creative Accounting isn’t limited to being a studio-artist thing, they can do it to each other.

  And maybe (hopefully) there’ll be no sequel, but surely with all the crazy plans for the Pirate sequences, et al, there’s at least territory on the playing field for ancilliary markets, not to mention the regulars (toys, etc).

  So yeah. Recapping: Making a prediction that opening weekend won’t be huge, unless the movie’s capital-E Extraordinary the audiences won’t hold up, and as for Fox’s 8 1/2%? Expect to see that wrapped up in court for a looooooooong while.

  Comment by Rabble, Rabble. — January 16, 2009 @ 7:23 am  Reply to this post

• I can’t help to wonder what happens if Watchmen bombs?
  It’s more a matter of when than if, no matter what the rabid fanboys say. Remember them proclaiming the last Hulk was going to be the second coming?

  “Best selling graphic novel” is a big fish in a tiny pond. It’s not known outside the comic book geek patrol, it’s not something like Spiderman or Superman that the majority of the audience is familiar with at least in name.

  Comment by Karen — January 16, 2009 @ 7:26 am  Reply to this post

• Ah, sweet closure! Fox is happy, I’m happy. In regards to the ending, my guess is that Snyder changed it to be more relevant to the times. Although I think the ending in the film will achieve the same result as in the graphic novel I would have to agree with Zack Snyder that the themes within the story itself and the psychology of the characters far outweigh the ending.

  Comment by David Ferrell — January 16, 2009 @ 8:13 am  Reply to this post

• I’m a *huge* fan of the book and Alan Moore. I have no desire to ever see this movie. Some stories should never be moved from whatever medium they were conceived in and this is one. I’m solidly with Moore on this and hoping for nothing but bad things with any business associated with this movie.

  Having said that, I don’t think it will matter much anyway. I can’t see this movie opening higher than $17 mil. It doesn’t speak to a basic, primal instinct like 300 did. It’s not stylish and sexy like Sin City was. It looks like a very generic superhero movie with characters no one has ever heard of.

  Comment by Kenny — January 16, 2009 @ 8:51 am  Reply to this post

• For the person predicting a $35-50m opening weekend, (March 6-8) WATCHMEN should exceed this (regardless of Alan’s curse). There’s no contender opening against it. Win, win for Warner Bros (and great buzz for Paramount’s overseas distribution) and Fox who opens STREET FIGHTER (very weak) a week prior and ALL ABOUT STEVE on March 6th. It has 3 weeks to reach over $100M before Monsters vs Aliens hits theaters on 3/27/09. Not many “great titles” going against it until then.

  If this movie tanks opening weekend or doesn’t gross up to $200M by March 27th, I’ll buy drinks for Warner Bog, Tinker Tailor and Downtown (seriously). Remember this blog! If I am incorrect, on Tuesday, March 31st give me a call at 310-204-2004 to pay up.

  Comment by Visionary — January 16, 2009 @ 8:56 am  Reply to this post

• Armand posted, “a comic book that is only known within the circles of its readers.”

  Armand, this is a comic book that in the 20+ years since its release has routinely placed in the top ten best selling graphic novels every year and frequently is number one (and was number one in 2008). When new comic readers ask what is essential reading, Watchmen is the book that everyone invariably agrees on.

  Consider some lesser known Alan Moore works adapted to film and released:

  Figures from Box Office Mojo

  From Hell (2001) Budget 35M Opening 11.0M Domestic 31.6M International 42.9M Total 74.6M

  League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) Budget 78M Opening 23.0M Domestic 66.4M International 112.8M Total 179.2M

  V for Vendetta (2006) Budget 54M Opening 25.6M Domestic 70.5M International 62.0M Total 132.5M

  Each of these Alan Moore adaptations has made money despite rocky production decisions, e.g. Heather Graham being totally miscast in From Hell as a 19th Century English Prostitute stalked by Jack the Ripper; League of Extraordianry Gentleman resulted in the film makers and Alan Moore being dragged into a lawsuit, one of the reasons that Moore is so disgruntled with DC Comics, Warner Brothers and adaptations of his work, not to mention that the adaptation of LoEG was both unfaithful to the original work and dreadfully bad.

  V for Vendetta is quite good and quite faithful to the work, althogh Alan Moore had issues because he felt it did not accurately reflect the anarchistic politics of the original work, but then again by the time V for Vendetta was released, Moore’s experience of being sued had soured him on the whole film making process.

  So, the lesser (in terms of popularity) work of Alan Moore was not very well adapted and still made money. Watchmen, his most popular work which has had the benefit of the original artist Dave Gibbons standing in for Moore and cheer-leading the process and proclaiming how faithful it is, has an incredibly good chance of performing well at the box office.

  (Complaints of the changed ending notwithstanding, the original ending was tossed back when Terry Gilliam was attached to the project and Alan Moore signed off on the change at the time, before he was totally embittered by the process. Not surre if this ending will be the same as Sam Hamm’s first Watchmen script, but evryone from Moore to Gibbons on up have said that the comic book ending needed to be changed for the film.)

  The weekend after the first Watcmen trailer was relaesed, stores across North America and merchants at conventions were startled to sell out of Watchmen graphic novels, a title that they always stock and sell regularly, but a book that they believed that all comic book fans already owned.

  I am reserving judgement on how good the film will be until I actually see it, but I am fairly confident that it will do very well at the box office.

  Comment by Michael Ryan — January 16, 2009 @ 9:36 am  Reply to this post

• No film is sequel proof. The people who say that are purists (God bless them) and I want them to be right so badly but Hollywood has already perverted the novel. There’s a new ending so we don;t know if the story can continue.

  Also, the origin of any of the characters could be a film if the Watchmen takes off.

  All that said, this is a cluster fuck of epic proportions. I hope Snyder made a good film. 300 was visually thrilling but only soared on the charisma of a stellar cast.

  I hope the best for Watchmen.

  But I fear the worst.

  Comment by CinefileX — January 16, 2009 @ 10:32 am  Reply to this post

• WATCHMEN has a big circle of fans. Literally millions have read it. It doesn’t have the general public recognition of Batman or Spider-Man, but it’s not some obscure cult comic either. Certainly, V FOR VENDETTA should be considered the base for the opening weekend.

  Considering the lack of big budget spectacle for the upcoming months, it’s probably in a good position. Certainly there won’t be anything as big competing against it until May, due largely to the strike.

  Comment by Robert R — January 16, 2009 @ 11:17 am  Reply to this post

• Lesson for Hollywood:
  1. Contracts mean everything.
  2. Due Diligence matters.

  Comment by ReelBusy — January 16, 2009 @ 11:27 am  Reply to this post

• Fox is prepping Watchmen 2 with an original script by Scott Rosenberg. It’s set to star Shia LaBeouf, Zach Efron, and the golden retriever from the Air Bud series. John Moore is in talks to direct.

  Comment by Joshua Goldstein — January 16, 2009 @ 12:49 pm  Reply to this post

• ok quick T-shirt idea NOW:

  “WATCH THE WATCHMEN” “…coming to a theatre near u!”

  and have an uncle same type version of each of the Watchmen characters pointing at the viewer.

  copyright @ Lu-ee

  cheers.

  Comment by lu-ee — January 16, 2009 @ 2:38 pm  Reply to this post

• What everyone forgets is that, brilliant though the novel was, its ending sucked; it was easily the worst part of the book. The new ending can only improve it imo.

  Comment by A Fan — January 16, 2009 @ 3:03 pm  Reply to this post

• You wanna know what the sequel is gonna be? I’ll tell you what the sequel is gonna be. It’s gonna be the tort pageant when Fox realizes that Warner Bros. never pays them on their 8.5 percent gross deal because of all the rolling breaks. Remember, WB was the studio that had to make three “Batman” sequels because the first one, despite $150 domestic rentals on a $35 million negative cost, still lost $65 million.

  Comment by Buddy Bing — January 16, 2009 @ 3:17 pm  Reply to this post

• Hey, it beats going to the trouble and risk of, you know, actually producing a movie. Just let someone else make a movie you own the rights to, sit on your hands until the movie is ready for release and then raise your hand.

  In regard to the movie’s potential box office, the first time I ever heard of this was when Zack Snyder announced he was going to make the movie. I’d never heard of the graphic novel and I don’t know anyone else who knows of it either. I expect this to go to the dogs like The Spirit.

  Comment by Shane Venz — January 16, 2009 @ 4:18 pm  Reply to this post

• Watchmen cost $120M. It’s R-rated. It has no stars. It’s very long. No one outside of older comic book fans and middlebrow elitists who have read Time Magazine’s list of 100 great novels have any awareness of it. It is dark and complicated. It is the antithesis of a date movie.

  WB will be able to buy a big opening weekend, but the book’s fans will be underwhelmed (clunky, dumbed-down, too many changes, etc) and the mainstream auds will be baffled and bored. Maybe it can pull a $35 or so opening w/e, but it’s going to DIE after that. It’ll make X-Men 3 look like a marathon runner. A truly optimistic projection would be 65 domestic/60 overseas, and while that might not technically be a “flop,” it’s still going to be a costly failure and not worth the headache WB has given itself.

  Visionary, I want my shaken not stirred.

  Comment by Tinker Tailor — January 16, 2009 @ 10:23 pm  Reply to this post

• “Given its narrow (albeit dedicated) fanbase, it’s release date amidst the winter graveyard, R-rating, and ultra-high concept….”

  The winter graveyard? I thought this was an industry site, and then you read ignorant shit like this. Zack Snyder’s last two movies (both quite R-rated) opened at the same time of year in 2004 and 2007. Dawn of the Dead opened to nearly $27M, 300 to $70M. It’s almost as if people are allergic to the most basic of research.

  Comment by warner stooge — January 18, 2009 @ 8:50 am  Reply to this post

• No sequels/spinoffs/series? Maybe none that you’d WANT to see, but:

  – the Comedian and Manhattan in Vietnam. A little bit RAMBO. A little bit OF MICE AND MEN.

  – the heyday of the Minutemen, digging into the whole Capt. Metropolis, Hooded Justice, Sally Jupiter material

  – the heyday of the Watchmen themselves, before the anti-vigilante bill, mixing it up with Big Figure and Moloch and the like

  – a whole new set of heroes are inspired to action after the events of Watchmen. Brand-new cast means no big talent paydays and we’re not handcuffed by all that arty graphic novel crap this time. Just slap the title on it.

  – aliens kill/disperse a galaxy-tripping Manhattan and trace his energy to Earth. They stage an invasion and Nite Owl II must come out of retirement (again) to train a new group of heroes (teens) with the help of an estranged Silk Spectre II (still hot). They finally turn to Ozzie to rebuild Manhattan at the critical moment.

  – Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II settle down and have kids (6, 9, and 11), but are kidnapped by a new team of super-villains (all played by Eddie Murphy). The kids discover their parents’ super-gear (and an old Rorshach costume) and swing into action to save ‘em.

  No sequels? Ha. Welcome to development…

  Comment by development drone — January 18, 2009 @ 1:48 pm  Reply to this post

• This movie is going to be incredible. Glad they reached the settlement. As for those speculating on the box office take – all of your numbers are way too low!

  Comment by Ian Sassoon — January 27, 2009 @ 9:28 pm  Reply to this post

• Tales of the black freighter dvd is a spionoff I know some people have said this but I guess the people who say this is unspinoffable didnt read that(and won’t read this) plus didnt Snyder claim to change the end, and why is a sequel impossible? Only like 1 character dies in the end(sorry) why would a sequel be impossible?

  Comment by Anonymous — February 19, 2009 @ 7:44 pm  Reply to this post

• To Tinker Tailor, who predicted a $35M opening weekend:

  $88 million. In 3 days. More than twice what you predicted. (Though let’s keep an eye on it and see how fast it drops.)

  Comment by Anonymous — March 11, 2009 @ 4:54 pm  Reply to this post