It doesn’t open until midnight tonight, but “Watchmen” has already broken a record according to the Hollywood Reporter The movie’s 3,611 playdates are the most ever for an R-rated film.
Further aiding its much-watched bow, the Zack Snyder-helmed comic book adaptation will play in an impressive 1,600 locations starting at midnight Thursday. That’s substantially more than the 656 midnight shows that helped Snyder’s ancient Greece actioner “300” fetch an incredible $28 million in only the first day of its $71 million opening weekend in March 2007.
The first-day haul for “300” was the second-highest ever for an R-rated pic, after the $42.5 million tally that Warners registered with 2003’s “The Matrix Reloaded,” according to Nielsen EDI. The previous widest release for an R-rated pic was the distributor’s 3,603-theater bow for “Reloaded.”
Warners distribution president Dan Fellman said “Watchmen” wasn’t a tough sell with theater owners.
“The reaction at our exhibitor screenings was terrific, and after the success of ‘300,’ there wasn’t an exhibitor in the country who didn’t want to play Zack Snyder’s next movie,” Fellman said.
The “Watchmen” playdates include 124 engagements in Imax giant-screen auditoriums.
“All will have midnight shows, and that’s a function of demand,” Imax Filmed Entertainment president Greg Foster said. “If there weren’t midnight shows, there would be a riot. The demand is very, very strong.”
Imax’s Web site crashed four times this week because of traffic surges by “Watchmen” fans looking for ticket information, Foster said.
Online ticketer Fandango said Wednesday that “Watchmen” purchases represented 90% of its advance ticket sales for this weekend. No other wide opener is set for the frame.
very cool.
This movie is right up my alley. I cannot wait to see it, I have been waiting for it for so long now!