I found an article that I need to research a bit more before I respond to, but in the course of that research, I found something bizarre. Remember this movie?
Sure you do, if you’ve shown up at this blog we probably travel the same circles. Well, I was looking at the gross number over IMDB, and I found something surprising. You know who had bigger numbers?
I wish I was making that up. And I’m kind of hoping IMDB is.
Check out the numbers of Hancock versus those of Watchmen. Hancock’s US gross on opening weekend? $62,603,879 (3,965 Screens). In contrast, Watchmen brought in $55,214,334 (3,611 Screens). That means that Hancock brought in..wait, let me get the calculator…$7,389,545 more and had 354 more screens to do it in. Granted, Hancock has Will Smith and a July release date. Both are R-rated and have superhero deconstruction as a theme. But it gets weirder. Check out the rest of the domestic figures.
| Hancock | Watchmen |
|---|---|
| $62,603,879 (USA) (6 July 2008) | $55,214,334 (USA) (8 March 2009) |
| $164,115,004 (USA) (13 July 2008) | $85,751,993 (USA) (15 March 2009) |
| $191,543,979 (USA) (20 July 2008) | $98,140,886 (USA) (22 March 2009) |
| $206,482,007 (USA) (27 July 2008) | $103,273,462 (USA) (29 March 2009) |
| $215,883,222 (USA) (3 August 2008) | $105,346,566 (USA) (5 April 2009) |
| $221,726,791 (USA) (10 August 2008) | $106,418,446 (USA) (12 April 2009) |
| $225,022,587 (USA) (17 August 2008) | $106,848,750 (USA) (19 April 2009) |
| $226,357,065 (USA) (24 August 2008) | $107,061,353 (USA) (26 April 2009) |
| $227,381,199 (USA) (31 August 2008) | $107,179,392 (USA) (3 May 2009) |
| $227,946,274 (USA) (7 Sept. 2008) | $107,322,168 (USA) (10 May 2009) |
| no figures | $107,453,620 (USA) (17 May 2009) |
| no figures | $107,503,316 (USA) (24 May 2009) |
| no figures | $107,509,799 (USA) (28 May 2009) |
| total:1,969,062,007(USA) | total:1,305,024,085(USA) |
It’s possible I messed up the final tally, and the totals don’t include the weekend gross lists, because I wasn’t sure if those were part of the final numbers or not but look at the total! Watchmen had three more weeks, yet the numbers say that Hancock did better overall. That’s domestically, mind you. Watchmen didn’t even play in Russia, according to IMBD. According to their figures, in the UK Hancock made £9,589,095 across 450 Screens, compared to Watchmen at £3,243,001 across 419 Screens. The numbers in Brazil and the Philippines tell a similar story. I don’t know about DVD sales, but I’d be surprised if the data continues the trend, especially with the regular editions AND the version that integrates the “Tales of the Black Freighter” animated DVD into the movie to match the graphic novel.
Hancock‘s budget was estimated at $150,000,000, and Watchmen at $130,000,000…wait, really? Hancock had $20 million more? Honestly? FOR WHAT? Will Smith? Jason Bateman? Possibly Charlie Therzon, but Watchmen had major set pieces to depict all the scenes in the comic, not to mention Night Owl’s craft or Dr. Manhattan’s Mars home (not to mention CGing Manhattan’s superwang). I didn’t see either film, but didn’t Hancock take place in a “regular” city and suburb? Did Hancock even have a secret headquarters? (My guess: the Beer Cage.) And one superhero costume versus two generations of heroes and the Comedian’s various costumes? The props for his guns and Night Owl’s gadgets? I think I snapped a synapse.
So what can you make about this? I’m not sure if either movie qualifies as “flop”, because I don’t know what the rules are for that determination. I just find this rather interesting. Should be blame Will Smith’s super-star power? The longer running time? Vacations? The economy? Who do you think would have won if the two movies came out at the same time?
BW Media Spotlight 
Re. the budget – maybe “Hollywood accounting” was involved here to make “Hancock”‘s profit margin appear less?
Re. the general performance: Well, hardcore Alan Moore fans did not have a reason to boycott “Hancock”…!
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