WATCHMEN coming CHRISTMAS 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Star Trek has never been a big money-maker. The franchise hasn't broken the $100M mark for two decades, and I suspect this relaunch will also be viewed as a commercial disappointment if you try to compare it to Terminator or Wolverine.

Last I heard, ST's budget has gone north of 150 million; I don't know if that includes publicity or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if this winds up being a one-and-out deal that puts the final nail in the franchise's coffin.

Fox will fight for 'Watchmen' delay
By Borys Kit

Dec 29, 2008, 03:46 PM ET

Updated: Dec 29, 2008, 07:49 PM ET

"Watchmen"

Warner Bros.' message to Fox regarding "Watchmen" copyright infringement can be summed up this way: Bring it on.

In a defiant statement issued Monday, Warners said it was prepared to go to trial or to appeal last week's ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess, who stated that the studio had infringed on Fox's copyright in making the adaptation of the Alan Moore superhero graphic novel.

"We respectfully but vigorously disagree with the court's ruling and are exploring all of our appellate options," the studio said. "We continue to believe that Fox's claims have no merit and that we will ultimately prevail, whether at trial or in the Court of Appeals."

Fox, meanwhile, is looking for an injunction against the March 6, 2009, release of the movie.

"Watchmen," directed by Zack Snyder ("300"), is one of Warners' tentpoles for next year, with a budget well north of the $120 million. While it is considered a seminal piece of literature with an appeal beyond the geek community, Warners has been carefully implementing a publicity campaign to generate word-of-mouth and awareness of the movie.

Both sides met Monday morning at the Los Angeles federal court, where Feess said he stands by the Christmas Eve ruling and also said he plans to hold a trial Jan. 20 to decide remaining issues such as damages, how far Fox's rights extend, and if to actually block the release of the movie.

Monday's events seem to be a speed bump to a costly settlement, with the hardline postures likely a strategic move for both sides more than anything else. Fox, which finally snapped a long boxoffice losing streak with "Marley & Me," gains most with a settlement, not a blocked release; the studio is already taking a beating in the geek blogosphere for messing with a fan-favorite property. Warners, meanwhile, could be on the hook for millions for developing and then filming a movie in which the film's producer, Larry Gordon, didn't pay Fox turnaround fees after allegedly reacquiring rights to the property.

"We are gratified by the recognition of our rights in the Judge's order, which speaks for itself," Fox said in a statement.

$150mil for the new Star Trek?!

What idiot greenlighted that budget?

The last film cost $60mil and made about 2/3rds of that back.

Star Trek does look like it's going to be a big-budget affair. Judging by the trailer, it looks like this one is going to have more big special effects and action sequences than the previous ten films combined.

It's a Hail Mary pass to revive the franchise; and it looks like they're trying to use nostalgia to spark interest in a whole new generation who isn't necessarily familiar with the original series, but they know about it.

Most of the younger people I know, teens-to-early twenties, know that Star Trek exists, and they know who Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock are, but they've never seen an episode of the series or one of the movies.

It's sort of like Transformers in that regard. They're taking an old franchise and redefining it for a new generation.

In my opinion the recent news all but guarantees this will not come out in March. But now one does have to wonder if Fox will put together their own version, while this goes through the court system. Now that would be interesting.

The only positive of FOX taking over is that the WATCHMEN DVD will more likely get a DTS audio track on the DVD, unlike Warner Brothers that rarely put DTS tracks on their dvds...

You have to remember with STAR TREK, it isn't just the movie - Paramount makes a huge coin on all the merchandising and tie-ins that come with any STAR TREK movie release.

I'm willing to bet Paramount's made more money from STAR TREK than any other property.

Now back on topic: Who's up for a WOLVERINE boycott?!

I could see Star Trek becoming the Speed Racer of 2009.

Oh, and don't forget massive amounts of Edge Enhancement.

Fuck FOX.

Financially maybe; I doubt the new Trek will be as half as entertaining as Speed Racer.

Embedded video trailer from Myspace (FOX owned ) Just saw on AICN.

I am down for a Wolverine boycott. As much as I grew up with the character and liked him, Watchmen is seminal. It has shown legions of people what comics/graphic novels can be with a little effort and inspired many a comic book writer.

As much as I would like to see a dts-HD master audio mix on the Blu-ray, all things being equal lossless audio is lossless audio. There is no difference.

Remind me again: Which half of that movie was entertaining?

The half where we hadn't seen any footage and all we knew was the Bros were doing a live action Speed Racer flick all green screen.

That may be true, but the context of the discussion is box office. I see no reason why the new Star Trek film would buck the 20-year trend of sub-par b.o. performance.

20 years? Star Trek: First Contact made $92 million in 1996.

Count me in for the Wolvie boycott.

I wasn't planning on seeing it, but I guess that still means I'm up for it since the possibility would still exist that I might have wanted to see it.

But, for sure, you have my vote for FOX sucks.

Coming in just below such 1996 hits as Phenomenon, the Eraser, and Michael. And that's the most successful Star Trek movie we can find; the others settle into the 70 million range, with Nemesis not even breaking $50M.

The point is that Star Trek, unlike most franchises, has never been a major box office draw, and that's unlikely to change in 2009. I'd be surprised if its domestic draw was even half that of Terminator.

That's not true.

The first Star Trek movie was a huge moneymaker, Star Trek II was the 6th highest grossing film of 1982, Star Trek III was the 9th highest grossing film of 1984, and Star Trek IV was the 5th highest grossing film of 1986. The series really didn't take a downslide at the box office until 1989 (thank you, Mr. Shatner).

Making 70 to 80 million in the early 1980s is pretty much the equivalent of making 200 million at today's box office. Tickets cost about $3 in the early 80s, compared with costing about $7 today.

Not to further derail the Watchmen thread, but I think this new Star Trek might do better than the others simply because it's being built with the mainstream auidence in mind. The other films were direct continuations of the tv shows, so if you didn't watch the shows you might not understand the character dynamics as well.

Back to Watchmen, assuming it gets released... will it crossover to the mainstream audiences? Keep in mind a majority of moviegoers haven't even heard of the original graphic novel. I've even overheard people during the trailer calling it a "Batman ripoff", I'm assuming because of Nite Owl. Will audiences flock to an unfamiliar superhero property without any big name stars? And if they do, will they 'get' it?

Nope. Even to me, and I love Watchmen, Owl man (visually in the movie) looks like a rip off of Batman. And dont forget Watchmen were based on Charlton Characters. Ahh the copying never stops!

But yeah when I see the trailer in the theaters, a lot of people seem confused, but who knows what the BO will be.

Shannon already touched on this, but I have to add that according to box office mojo, Star Trek IVs DOMESTIC B.O. was $109m. A huge hit in 1986 dollars.


Oh, yeah...and F**K YOU FOX!

The only Star Trek movies that I like are IV and First Contact. I saw that one from the early 00's (Insurrection, was it?) and didn't enjoy it.

The new one is going to do a fair amount of business. It looks like it could entertain the average movie goer. But it's hard to say if they'll watch. I think that a lot of people have a pre-supposed bias against Star Trek stuff.