`Watchmen` Looking At $60 Million Opening

Its one-time legal adversary, 20th Century Fox, will also be rooting for the superhero film.

Warner Bros. is not the only studio hoping for big numbers when "Watchmen" opens across North America this weekend.

Its one-time legal adversary, 20th Century Fox, will also be rooting for the superhero film. The studio is in line to receive up to 8.5% of the picture's eventual worldwide gross following the settlement of a legal squabble with Warners over who actually owns the rights.

No studio has dared schedule a wide release to open opposite the gritty action movie, which gets an early start on the weekend with a series of midnight screenings on Thursday.

Its two-hour, 40-minute running time could hamper daily grosses a bit, but likely won't keep "Watchmen" from ringing up $60 million or more through Sunday. Similarly, early reviews have been mixed, but that won't matter much to fans of the 1980s comics series -- by writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons -- on which the film is based.

The film's director, Zack Snyder, saw his previous release "300" rack up $71 million during its first weekend in March 2007. Warner Bros. distribution president Dan Fellman said that tally "gives you something to shoot for."

Fandango said advance ticket sales were outpacing those for "300" amid reports of broad sellouts for hundreds of midnight shows "Watchmen." "Watchmen" will play in 124 Imax venues, with outsized grosses expected from the giant-screen auditoriums.

"This is a movie whose DNA is a direct hit with the Imax audience of techies who have supported us over the past few years," Imax Film Entertainment president Greg Foster said.

Fandango polled 1,000 moviegoers planning to view the film this weekend, and 57% said they would be attending with a group of friends. Some 85% had seen "300," with 73% of those surveyed male and 65% ages 18 to 34.

"Slumdog Millionaire" has a good shot at grabbing the silver medal this weekend after posting notably strong midweek grosses. The India-set drama enjoyed a strong Oscars bounce last weekend, coming in at No. 3 with an impressive $12 million to push its total to $115 million after 16 weekends.

Elsewhere this weekend, Disney executives will hope to sustain some traction with young fans of the Jonas Brothers, whose "3D Concert Experience" opened at No. 2 last weekend with a less-than-expected $12.5 million.