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Cinematic flop-sweat
Published: 5/18/2009 6:07 PM
Last Modified: 5/18/2009 6:07 PM

No film has ever had an opening weekend of $50 million-plus and then was unable to double during the rest of its run in theaters what it made in its first three days — until now.
It's official: "Watchmen" is a bomb, a comic-book movie drenched in historic flop-sweat.
What, you thought it was a hit? Sure, you and everyone else who follows those opening-weekend box-office figures seem to recall a $55 million opening weekend. You thought "Watchmen" was a smash.
That $55 million figure is ultimately meaningful only when confronted with reality: The movie about masked heroes that most people had never heard of reportedly cost more than $125 million to produce. A remarkable marketing blitz cost many millions more, reportedly up to $50 million. Then consider that Warner Bros. gets back a little more than half of ticket sales.
One of the most-anticipated films of 2009, "Watchmen" is stuck at $107 million, and it won't make another $3 million to avoid the dubious distinction of failing to double down on its opening weekend.
Just one year after what could be thought of as the summer of the comic-book movie – "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" were No. 1 and No. 2 at the box office in 2008 and two of the best films last year artistically – 2009 is confirmed as a bust.
"Watchmen" is a bomb, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is a turkey, and there are no more comic-book superheroes coming to the cinema this summer.

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Tulsa World Web Producer Chris Moore (4 years ago)

""Watchmen" is stuck at $107 million"...

Is that its worldwide gross?

Tulsa World Scene Writer Michael Smith (4 years ago)

No, the international box-office figure of $74 million-plus puts the total around $182 million, which doesn't help much considering studios get back about 55 percent of ticket sales (so, $100 million here). With production and marketing costs of at least $170 million for the studios, and some reports say as much as $200 million, the movie is a financial disaster.
But back to the original point of the blog, which was based on historical data regarding domestic box-office debuts of $50 million and more.

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I See Movies for Free

“I was born a poor, black child” … not me, actually, but Steve Martin’s character in the “The Jerk.” That absurd opening line is just one of the absurd number of film facts, quotes and minutiae contained in movie critic Michael Smith’s brain, at his disposal to toss out on a moment’s notice. It’s a key requirement as Tulsa World film critic to know these things. Michael learned a few other life facts along the way (seven years as a Crystal’s Pizza & Spaghetti manager) before attempting journalism and joining the Tulsa World in 1996, where he’s covered everything from a school shooting in Fort Gibson to a tornado in Stroud to witnessing an execution. A little community theater coverage was sprinkled in there, too. Movies engender many of his happiest memories, from standing in line for “Star Wars” and “Grease” at the Southroads Cinema to the James Bond and Pink Panther movies that always premiered at the enormous Continental Theater.

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Past Articles By Michael Smith

2/16/2013		Broken Arrow movie theater moves to discount showings
2/15/2013		Review: 'Amour'
2/15/2013		Review: 'A Good Day to Die Hard'
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2/14/2013		Review: 'Quartet'
2/14/2013		Shirley MacLaine to speak at Osage Casino
2/14/2013		Weekly rewind: February 14
2/14/2013		REVIEW: 'Beautiful Creatures'
2/12/2013		Belgian best picture hopeful 'Amour' opens in Tulsa on Friday
2/10/2013		'Die Hard' marathon at AMC Southroads on Wednesday ends with new film
2/9/2013		Review: 'Identity Thief' a stupid movie from stupid idea
2/8/2013		Oscar audit: Critics choices for best picture hold up over time

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