As 'Watchmen' is struggling to reach profitable box-office takes, Warner Bros. are reported to give up on R-rated superhero movies.
- March 21, 2009
AceShowbiz -
Warner Bros. could end up putting an end to R-rated superhero fare. In its latest article, IESB hinted on the possibility that the studio may follow Marvel in excluding the R-rated films from their future plate after their latest R-rated movie, "Watchmen", opened to less-than-expected box office numbers and continued to experience rapid decline in sales the following weeks.
Warners now are said to stick with films that carry a more family-friendly but still with an edge of PG-13 rating. Pointing out on the reason for the proposed idea, IESB pinned down the financial success of recent PG-13-rated movies, like "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man", each of whom has collected a worldwide bow of $1 billion and $582 million respectively. Despite the circulating report, Warner Bros. have yet to make any comment.
In their future plate for the superhero movie, Warner Bros. have among others "Green Lantern" and "Wonder Woman". "Green Lantern", which will be directed by Martin Campbell has been set for U.S. release on December 17, 2010, while the Joel Silver and Leonard Goldberg-produced "Wonder Woman" eyes a 2011 release.
On "Watchmen" itself, the Zack Snyder-directed action fantasy debuted first at the North American as well as the overseas box office over its first weekend. However, it fails to live up to the analysts' expectation to get near the opening bow of "300". Among the superhero genre movies, it is listed #29, well behind "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer". So far, it has pulled in a worldwide total of $140.7 million.
