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Watchmen Does OK

$55.7M of okay. (Director Zak Snyder's last movie, 300, did more than $70M.) I didn't get to see it yet -- I was busy this weekend -- but I heard both raves and jeers from friends.

“Watchmen” was handicapped by its unusually long running time, of nearly 2 hours 45 minutes. Longer films get fewer showings in each theater through the course of a day.

The movie was also stung by the ambivalence of critics and fans, many of whom came to it with expectations based on a familiarity with, and often deep reverence for the complex illustrated story of damaged crime fighters being hunted by a killer.

“Everyone around me liked it a lot more than I did,” said James Thompson, who teaches a course in genre film, television and comics for Duke University’s visiting program at the University of Southern California.

--‘Watchmen,’ a Dark Tale, Lights Up Box Office - NYTimes.com

Meanwhile Tyler Perry's latest Madea movie continues to rake in the cash. I guarantee it is making a better return on investment than pontificating be-caped heroes.

About J. Ott

John Ott is a writer, filmmaker and futurist. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.