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Thursday
31Jul2008

Empire Unveils Two 'Watchmen' Covers

DateThursday, July 31, 2008 at 9:05AM
Proclaiming it "The Citizen Kane of Comic Book Movies," Empire has a few new images from Watchmen, and has already devoted two covers of its latest issue to the film, as well.

A lot of people have asked me why they aren't releasing Watchmen in summer and there are a few good reasons, I think, all of them financial. Director Zack Snyder was able to fuel huge business for 300 by opening it in March, and there has to be some consideration of that in the decision. Or maybe superstition is a better word; Snyder's first three movies will all open in March, and the first two opened at number one.

Also, even though Watchmen is probably better known than 300 was at the time of its release, releasing it in summer places it in a more competitive environment. Keeping it away from that competition allows for a very aggressive marketing campaign that won't get lost in the crowd, especially after its opening weekend. 300 debuted to $70 million. Expect at least that much for Watchmen, and look for it to maintain that audience for the rest of that month.

Oh, and by putting a tentpole in March, what the studios are doing is conditioning audiences to huge movies any time of the year. That certainly doesn't hurt their business.

Will it be The Citizen Kane of Comic Book Movies? I dunno; based on what you read, we've already got one of those in theaters. But if it's as faithful to the graphic novel as it should be and if Zack Snyder can make it look as good in its own way as 300 looked, it has the potential to be an incredible experience.

Watchmen was one of the biggest hits at Comic Con and I don't think we've even begun to see how much attention it will receive when the release date gets a little closer.

AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment3 Comments |

Reader Comments (3)

I notice Empire decided to hide Billy Crudup's tentpole in a goofy banana hammock. I was surprised to see the MPAA-approved teaser trailer did no such thing, allowing for a direct transfer of Dave Gibbons' weinerific character drawings of Dr. Manhattan.

Thursday, July 31, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterCarv

Good movies play well anytime of the year. I think 300 proved that, and wish that studios would figure it out.

The more I think about it, it's almost safer to dump your really bad movies in the crowded Summer marketplace because as a producer you can say..."Well, we got our ass handed to us by The Dark Friggin Knight. If it wasn't for that, we'd have done $120,000,000."

There is still one month out of the year that I will NEVER pay money to see a new-release movie at the theater and that month is January. I dare a studio to release a good movie in that coldest, darkest month!

Thursday, July 31, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterWill

As I recall, Paramount briefly toyed with the idea of releasing Star Trek next January. Not for long, though.

Thursday, July 31, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterCarv

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