`Watchmen' Busts Out on Opening Day by Brandon Gray
Billy Crudup in Watchmen March 7, 2009 In its full opening day, Watchmen pulled in an estimated $25.1 million on approximately 7,500 screens at 3,611 theaters, including an estimated $4.55 million from its first midnight shows. That ranks as the eighth-highest grossing opening day for a superhero movie and 32nd among all movies. Adjusted for ticket price inflation, other comic book adaptations rate higher opening days, including the first X-Men and Hulk pictures, but Watchmen's first day wasn't far off from the first weekends of previous Alan Moore adaptations V for Vendetta and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Among R-rated movies, Watchmen's opening day was fifth behind The Matrix Reloaded, 300, Sex and the City and The Passion of the Christ. 300, the previous picture from Watchmen director Zack Snyder and the one referenced prominently in Watchmen's advertising campaign, raked in $28.1 million in its opening day on around 4,800 screens at 3,103 sites. That picture was released in early March 2007 and holds the overall March record for opening weekend ($70.9 million). Much further down the Friday box office chart, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience had a steeper Friday-to-Friday drop than Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour did last year. Jonas Brothers plunged around 83 percent to an estimated $850,000, compared to Hannah Montana's 67 percent slide. The Jonas total is at less than $15 million in eight days, while Hannah had grossed more than three times as much at the same point. Meanwhile, Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail landed in second with over $2.5 million, followed by Taken with over $2.3 million. Both Taken and Paul Blart: Mall Cop continued to demonstrate longevity: each had drops of about 20 percent Friday-to-Friday. Slumdog Millionaire slipped 40 percent to over $1.9 million, while He's Just Not That Into You rounded out the Top Five with more than $1.3 million.
