...which, translated into Internet Exaggeration, means that a movie could make over $160 million, and have high ratings at both IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes (RT community's ratings), and still be "the biggest failure of all time!!!!!").

I still enjoyed the movie, though, for what it is. But this was a "pointlessly" R-rated movie.

If you want to see people discussing this A LOT, I'd recommend heading on over to IMDB.

And to think I call myself a fan of this site.

Thanks.

Interesting to read some of you saying Watchmen didn't need to be made as a R rated film. Even WITHOUT the graphic violence and sex scene on the Owl Ship, the film would have been slapped with a R due to Dr. Manhattan's penis. Most of you guys would have screamed "sell-out!" if Snyder covered Dr. Manhattan's genitals for the entire duration.

Can you imagine the level of outrage on this Talkback if it were announced last year Watchmen was being filmed as a PG-13?

Personally, Watchmen was a far stronger film after a second viewing. I was far more comfortable/satisfied with the changes made to the climax, after a second viewing.

Terrific film. It's a shame it isn't a financial success.

I am a fan of the comic and I loved it. My wife who had never read the comic,really enjoyed it too. She had read articles about it before and didn't have expectations of it being a typical comic book movie. Think that made a big difference.

Also agree on the ending, much better than the comic.

Acting wise agree with everyone on Jackie Haley, he was amazing. Patrick Wilson and Jeffrey Dean Morgan also very good. Billy Crudup did well,Malin Ackerman wasn't great but was good in the what the role offered. Mathew Goode was definetely the worst casting

I can understand why this won't do amazing box office wise, as its a challenging, mature, non-hollywood movie.

On the naked Manhattan issue, its funny comments I had heard about it came mostly from friends who are also Australian, American or British, Western Europeans friends didn't mention it much at all. It seemed to be more about how prudish we are than anything else. The overreaction by the American public to Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction was definete proof of that.

I was really moved by his performance. Good stuff.

As someone who has read Moore's novel at least 8 times...pretending Watchmen is "unfilmable" is absurd.

Cumulative gross for THE WATCHMEN through four weeks of release: $103,273,462

Reported budget: $150 million

Source: http://tinyurl.com/47hvb

Not to mention that the movie sparked an extra million copies of the graphic novel (also a Warner property) to be sold. The revenue streams have just started coming in, and the books won't be closed for years.

Fuck Alan Moore.

Would prefer to see a mini-series based on Preacher, Fables, 100 Bullets, Y the Last Man, Transmetropolitan

It's a nearly three hour, R rated movie based on a beloved miniseries of comics from the 80's that features superhero's who with the exception of one aren't super who are in an alternate US timeline and despite the marketing, not a whole lot of action in the movie.

It's domestic take was just about all that should have been expected given what I've just laid out.

I thought the movie itself was OK. Not bad, not great, just OK. Something that I'm glad I saw, that I enjoyed while watching it, but something I'll probably not go out of my way to see again more than once.

People also have to remember that the story was groundbreaking when it came out, but that was 20 years ago. A lot has changed. The threat of nuclear war with the USSR has passed. I'm 27 and I can barely remember it. People who weren't there at the beginning to experience that aspect of it will look back and say to themselves, what was so ground breaking again?

A lot of things that made it groundbreaking at the time have been ripped off a million times over and translated into other media that those of us who are unfamiliar with the material have seen and experienced. It isn't nearly as groundbreaking a story told now as it was when it was told then regardless of the medium involved.

That's not a knock on the movie or the comic. Things that scared and motivated the masses then aren't scary and don't motivate us any more and something unfathomable then like an attack on a major US city that kills thousands isn't just fathomable now, it's history now.

Yay! Other people did or did not like the same thing that I did or did not causing said thing to make or not make a lot of money. I am worthy! Seriously, grow up.

Watchmen box office wise may fail to reach expectations of the Studio, but is certainly not an unmitigated disaster.

On the expectations front, if WB really expected it to make huge money, think they were in dreamland, a similar kind of dreamland that investors in Investment Banks were in when they kept expecting them to make record profits.

b) Some people thinking that this makes riskier (some would say alternative) projects less like to be greenlighted. - I think this is a valid concern.

Understand on your dark point, yes given Dark Knight (really don't think X-Men is that dark, and V for Vendetta has similar aspects, but is a different kind of story), it doesn't show as much contrast as it would 10 years ago or so.

Watchmen is a great comic book, perhaps one of the best.

It certainly isn't unfilmable, as others have pointed out, particularly as it is in many senses are storyboard, but I think for some people its impossible to make a movie about it that would have pleased you. You have romanticised it so much that it has become bigger in your head than just a really well done story, almost like a religious sense of infallibility.

Was also thinking whether a known actor would have helped. As an example Brad Pitt as Veidt, salary probably around $15m, could that get an extra $30m in the door , hmmm , maybe, maybe not. Those whould be attracted to simply see a good looking guy could be put of by the word of mouth saying its a dark, mature, movie, certainly not a light "popcorn" one.

Contrast this to Iron Man which in my mind got its large box office thanks to RDJ and being a "fun" movie.

Its your financial disaster comment, is where you come across simple and uniformed. In the real world when any business spends money on an investment its not so simple, there are multiple facets and issues to that investment.

Would recommend chatting to some in business, and understand about decision making, might help you with the difficult situations you will face in life.

If so what would be different, given that it was a 12 issues series would you prefer to have it split over two or three movies (though don't think a Studio would have ever gone for that)?

Now, about breaking bricks with the fist -- there are plenty of martial artists who can do that.

Never a truer word hath been spoken.