Attention Citizens
Watchmen was released at midnight on March 5, 2009, and earned an estimated $4.6 million for the early showing, which is approximately twice as much as 300, Snyder's previous comic book adaptation. The film earned $24,515,772 in 3,611 theaters its first day, and later finished its opening weekend grossing $55,214,334. Watchmen's opening weekend is the highest of any Alan Moore adaptation to date, and the income was also greater than the entire box office take of From Hell, which ended its theatrical run with $31,602,566. Although the film finished with $55 million for its opening, while Snyder's previous adaptation 300 earned $70 million in its opening weekend, Warner Bros.' head of distribution, Dan Fellman, believes that the opening weekend success of the two films cannot be compared due to the extended running time of Watchmenâ€"the film comes in at 2 hours and 45 minutes, while 300 is just under two hoursâ€"provides the 2009 film with fewer showings a night than 300.[87] Next to the general theaters, Watchmen pulled in $5.4 million at 124 IMAX screens, which is the fifth-largest opening behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek, Avatar, and The Dark Knight.