Weekend Box Office: Watchmen Debuts At No. 1

In its first weekend at the box office, Watchmen opened in the top spot, with $55.7 million falling in the far lower end of pre-release projections.

The previous two weekends saw Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail hit the number 1 mark. With no other wide releases opening this weekend, Watchmen had an opportunity to make more considering the hype around the movie and the lack of competition. Moviegoers know that the real blockbusters get released in the summer, so perhaps audiences sensed that Watchmen wasn’t worth watching in the theaters.

1. Watchmen $55,655,000 (Cumulative Gross $55,655,000)
2. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail $8,800,000 (Cumulative Gross $76,505,000)
3. Taken $7,450,000 (Cumulative Gross $118,049,000)
4. Slumdog Millionaire $6,925,000 (Cumulative Gross $125,441,000)
5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop $4,200,000 (Cumulative Gross $133,643,000)
6. He’s Just Not That Into You $4,020,000 (Cumulative Gross $84,647,000)
7. Coraline $3,313,000 (Cumulative Gross $65,680,000)
8. Confessions of a Shopaholic $3,121,000 (Cumulative Gross $38,356,000)
9. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience $2,785,000 (Cumulative Gross $16,791,000)
10. Fired Up! $2,600,000 (Cumulative Gross $13,360,000)
11. Gran Torino $2,100,000 (Cumulative Gross $141,676,000)
12. The Reader $2,086,000 (Cumulative Gross $30,021,000)