Apparently, the place to be last night wasn't at some trendy new club or celebrity hot spot, but at the multiplex surrounded by popcorn-chompin' geeks. After all, if the numbers are correct, "Watchmen" has officially opened its run in blockbuster fashion.
Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily broke the news this morning that "Watchmen" -- with no real competition other than last week's #1, "Disney's Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience" -- had no problem securing opening day receipts to the tune of an impressive $25 million. This number doesn't include the $4.5M made from the record-smashing 1,600 Thursday midnight shows and 124 IMAX screenings (all of which sold out), but now the question is -- will "Watchmen" roll on to become the March opening weekend box office champ?
Despite strong Thursday and Friday tallies, many industry insiders -- as well as numerous Warner Bros. execs -- are in agreement that "Watchmen" stands to only pull in around $60M for the weekend total, well short of the reigning March champ and former Zack Snyder vehicle, "300," which managed to take in $70.9M during its opening weekend. Most industry analysts peg this on the two-hour, 43-minute running time of "Watchmen" (but certainly not because of lack of theaters showing the film, which total an astonishing 3,611 -- another certified record for an R-rated film), thus giving the film less showtimes despite the number of theaters premiering it.
We'll be monitoring this story throughout the weekend, so be sure to check back in to see just how many folks watched the "Watchmen."
Did you see "Watchmen" Thursday or Friday? What did you think?
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