Race to Witch Mountain squashed Watchmen at the box-office over the weekend. Attendance for Zack Snyder’s controversial adaptation dropped by two-thirds to around $18 million in receipts, while the the Disney remake hauled in an estimated $25 million.
But the dystopian comic blockbuster isn’t dead yet. Far from it.
With over $49 million in total international receipts to go with its domestic take of over $86 million, chatter about Watchmen’s failure to recoup its $200 million expense is grinding to a halt. And, as Wired.com noted earlier, until potential blockbusters Terminator Salvation, Star Trek and X-Men Origins: Wolverine arrive in May, Watchmen has few rivals on the horizon. It seems likely that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ canonical comic will survive its evolution to the big screen just fine, thanks.
And that’s just theatrical revenue. Once the DVD campaign gets rolling, Watchmen could easily make back its costs with cash to spare, especially if Synder puts together a director’s cut that reintegrates extra material along with the entire Tales of the Black Freighter meta-narrative.
Throw in the limited-run theatrical release of an already announced director’s cut in July, and all that Monday morning quarterbacking pigeonholing Watchmen as a letdown could boil down to uninformed speculation by parties unaware of the comic’s enduring power and influence.
From Wired
Plummeting more than 67 percent from that start, Watchmen added $18.1 million to its two-week take. Sitting at $86 million, Warner Bros. Pictures is certainly hoping business will pick up to make back the flick’s $150 million budget.
Based on one of the most popular graphic novels of all time, Watchmen stars an ensemble cast that includes Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode and Patrick Wilson as a batch of masked vigilantes. In the film, a plot to kill and discredit all superheroes is uncovered as a group of retired vigilantes attempt to track down the mastermind behind the plan and decide whether the world’s dismal future is worth saving.
1. Race to Witch Mountain, $25 million
2. Watchmen, $18.1 million
3. The Last House on the Left, $14.7 million
4. Taken, $6.7 million
5. Madea Goes to Jail, $5.1 million
6. Slumdog Millionaire, $5 million
7. Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $3.1 million
8. He’s Just Not That Into You, $2.9 million
9. Coraline, $2.7 million
10. Miss March, $2.4 million
From the Examiner
E1 Entertainment today announced that Ryan Phillippe, Malin Akerman and Taylor Kitsch have signed on to star in the The Bang Bang Club, a Canada/South Africa co-production from producer Daniel Iron of Foundry Films Inc. and Lance Samuels and Adam Friedlander of Out Of Africa Inc. Steven Silver will direct the drama, which will be distributed worldwide by E1 Entertainment.
The Bang Bang Club was the name given to four young photographers; Greg Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe), Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch), Ken Oosterbroek and Joao Silva, whose photographs captured the final bloody days of white rule in South Africa. Two were awarded Pulitzer Prizes for their acclaimed work. The film tells the remarkable and sometimes harrowing story of these young men – and the extraordinary extremes they went to in order to capture their pictures. Anna (Malin Akerman) is their photo-editor, who looked out for them, protected them and made sure their photographs were seen across the world. Based on the book by Marinovich and Silva, The Bang Bang Club tells the true story of these four young men, recounting their relationships with each other and the stresses, tensions and moral dilemmas of working in situations of extreme violence, pain and suffering. It is also the story of the final demise of apartheid and the birth of a new South Africa.
“We are proud to be the worldwide distributor of this amazing story that shows the many complex facets of humanity, and to have such a talented cast portraying the lives of these fearless individuals,” said Patrice Theroux E1′s President of Filmed Entertainment.
As an actor, producer, and writer, Ryan Phillippe has established himself as one of Hollywood’s most versatile young talents. His credits include “Gosford Park,” the Oscar(R) nominated “Crash,” “Flags of our Fathers,” “Breach” and “Stop Loss.” Ryan recently appeared in the neo-noir film “Franklyn” opposite Eva Green and will next up star in “Last Battle Dreamer” with Sean Bean.
Malin Akerman is fast becoming one of the industry’s busiest young actresses and is currently starring as Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II in “Watchmen.” Her previous credits include “27 Dresses,” “The Heartbreak Kid,” “The Comeback” and “Entourage.” She will next be seen in “The Proposal,” due out this summer, and will star in “Couples Retreat” with Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman and Jon Favreau in 2009.
Taylor Kitsch is best known for his role as Tim Riggins in the critically acclaimed series “Friday Night Lights.” He will next be seen as Gambit in the eagerly anticipated X-Men prequel “X Men Origins: Wolverine” in theaters May 1st. Taylor’s previous credits include “Gospel Hill,” starring alongside Angela Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson, Julia Stiles, and Danny Glover. Other credits include “The Covenant,” “Snakes on a Plane” and “John Tucker Must Die.” He is represented by Endeavor and Untitled Entertainment.
Steven Silver is an award-winning writer/director whose credits include such acclaimed documentary titles as “The Last Just Man,” “Diameter of the Bomb,” and animated documentary television series “The Dark Years.” He was the executive producer of the dramatic feature “Shake Hands with the Devil” and has won over 30 international awards including an Emmy(R), a Writers Guild Award and multiple Gemini and Audience awards at film and television festivals around the world. “The Bang Bang Club” marks Steven’s dramatic feature directorial debut.
The Bang Bang Club is produced by Foundry Films Inc.’s Daniel Iron (“Away From Her,” “Cairo Time”) and Lance Samuels and Adam Friedlander of Out Of Africa Inc. with financing from Telefilm Canada, Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), The Harold Greenberg Fund and Instinctive/Riot Entertainment. The screenplay was written by Steven Silver. Principal photography is occurring in and around Johannesburg, South Africa and is scheduled to be completed on May 1st, 2009.
From PR News Wire
According to Variety this is one of Malin’s next projects!
“Watchmen” star Malin Akerman and Ryan Phillippe will star in indie drama “The Bang Bang Club,” set in apartheid-era South Africa. South African documaker Steven Silver wrote the script based on a memoir by Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva and will direct.
Akerman will star as a photo editor of the so-called Bang Bang Club, four combat war photogs — Marinovich (Phillippe), Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch), Ken Oosterbroek and Silva — whose photographs captured the final bloody days of white rule in South Africa.
Film is a Canada/South Africa co-production and will be distributed worldwide by E1 Entertainment.
Foundry Films’ Daniel Iron (“Away From Her”) is producing alongside Out of Africa’s Lance Samuels and Adam Friedlander. Telefilm Canada, Ontario Media Development Corp., the Harold Greenberg Fund and Instinctive/Riot Entertainment are financing.
Lensing will begin next month in and around Johannesburg.
The adult-themed superhero film Watchmen seized control of the North American box office posting the biggest debut of the year with an estimated $55.7M in ticket sales over the Friday-to-Sunday period. Directed by Zack Snyder (300, Dawn of the Dead), the R-rated film based on the acclaimed 1986 comic series averaged a muscular $15,413 from 3,611 theaters. It was the third best March opening ever trailing 300 ($70.9M) and Ice Age: The Meltdown ($68M) and the sixth largest bow for an R-rated film after The Matrix Reloaded ($91.8M), The Passion of the Christ ($83.8M), 300, Hannibal ($58M), and Sex and the City ($57M).
With a reported budget of about $125M, the anti-heroes began the weekend with a terrific $25.1M on Friday including $4.6M in Thursday night shows beginning at midnight. Saturday fell sharply by 25% to $19M while Sunday is estimated to drop 38% to $11.6M.
Who watches the “Watchmen?”
Audiences answered that question on Friday to the tune of $25.1 million at the box office for the highly anticipated superhero film.
Its grosses included $4.6 million from midnight previews.
The two hour, 41 minute film opened on 3,611 screens, the most ever for an R-rated movie, though it will likely fall below director Zack Synder’s previous effort, 2007’s “300,” which earned $70 million during its opening weekend — a record for March openings. The long running time means that the film screens less times per day on each screen.
Based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ classic graphic novel, the journey of “Watchmen” to the big screen has been closely followed by fans.
The film follows a group of cynical heroes as they investigate the murder of one of their own against the backdrop of societal dysfunction and looming nuclear war.
The film faces no significant competition in the form of other new releases at the box office this weekend.
From Access Hollywood
Malin’s next film, “Couples Retreat”, will be released on October 9, 2009! The movie co-stars Vince Vaughn, Kristen Bell and Jason Bateman.
A comedy centered around four couples who settle into a tropical-island resort for a vacation. While one of the couples is there to work on the marriage, the others fail to realize that participation in the resort’s therapy sessions is not optional.