Watchmen takes a big fall in second weekend

JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN as The Comedian in Warner Bros. PicturesÕ, Paramount PicturesÕ and Legendary PicturesÕ action adventure ÒWatchmen,Ó distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. TM The Smiley Company. PHOTOGRAPHS TO BE USED SOLELY FOR ADVERTISING, PROMOTION, PUBLICITY OR REVIEWS OF THIS SPECIFIC MOTION PICTURE AND TO REMAIN THE PROPERTY OF THE STUDIO. NOT FOR SALE OR REDISTRIBUTION.

According to Box Office Mojo, “Watchmen” dropped by two-thirds in its second weekend for a weekend total of $18.1 million.  According to Box Office Mojo, only “Hellboy II” and “Hulk” had stiffer second-week drops among major comic-book movies.

While I think “Watchmen” was a success creatively, for the most part, there is the question of the film’s intended audience. Comic-book fans came out in droves and packed the IMAX theaters, but this wasn’t a movie that tracked well among women, and it wasn’t the kind of film that parents could take their children to see.

Still, the graphic novel has long been fiercely admired among its fans, and it’s possible the film will find a similar success in the longer term.  While cinema-goers have accepted Spider-Man and Batman films, there is apparently still some resistance to or confusion over a very mature superhero tale like “Watchmen.”

Still, I’d like to pass on some thoughtful words from someone else, who, like the characters in “Watchmen,” is a denizen of 1985: