The Watchmen Effect

Enjoying big budget films is as American as apple pie and this past weekend all eyes were on Zack Snyder's "Watchmen". Fans, critics, webmasters, and in this case, several studios were waiting patiently for justification or different levels of defeat. "Watchmen" did what most expected, it won the weekend. However, by only only pulling in 55 Million +, it fell below most predictions and expectations. According to most fans, the film did live up to anticipation though. The critics have been less kind to the visually stunning comicbook film nailing it with a 64% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Now the execuses are starting to trickle out:

"It did well for an R rated film."

"It did well for a film of that length."

"People should have read the graphic novel."

I finally saw the film last night and I have to say I dug it. It was pleasing to the eye, the action was nonstop, and I loved seeing the heroes portrayed in such a gritty manner. Sure there were flaws like anything else, but I think this film is going to scrore well on DVD. It sure isn't going to do all together that well at the box office, but that shouldn't stop people from seeing it on the big screen.

For some unknown reason fans feel like they need the box office to justify that they enjoyed the film or that the film was good. They follow the box office at every step and hope and prays that it eeks out just one more million. This movie was made for the fans, even going with an "R", when they could have dumbed it down to a "PG-13" to make it more marketable.

In the end the "R" might not have been the reason that "Watchmen" is performing like an anchor stuck in the sand, but you can be sure this changes things. McG has been fighting for an "R" rating on his upcoming film "Terminator: Salvation". You can be sure WB is going to put a stop to this, and make sure this film gets out there with a more family friendly "PG-13" rating.

What about other comicbook properties? WB's Jeff Robinov proclaimed back in August that he wants DC characters to go "dark" which caused a fanboy frenzy on the internet. All of this was direct result of the success of Batman, but is dark really the way to go? Maybe the fact that not so many people are watching the Watchmen will reverse this obession with darkness, at least until "Batman 3" comes out.

Now I'll be following "Watchmen" to see if it can beat "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" at the box office.