IMAX 'Watchmen' earns $6.2M worldwide

LOS ANGELES, March 10 (UPI) -- "Watchmen: The IMAX Experience" earned $5.4 million on 124 North American IMAX screens during its first weekend in release, it was announced.

The announcement was made Monday by Warner Bros. Pictures, Paramount Pictures International, Legendary Pictures and IMAX Corp.

Directed by Zack Snyder and based on the popular graphic novel, "Watchmen" stars Billy Crudup, Malin Akerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino and Patrick Wilson.

The IMAX release contributed $5.4 million of the $55 million that the film grossed at the domestic box office this past weekend. The picture posted a domestic IMAX per-screen average of $43,863, the companies said.

"We're very happy with the overall performance of the film, and the strong IMAX results show that the IMAX brand is clearly resonating with 'Watchmen' fans," Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures, said in a statement.

Andrew Cripps, president of Paramount Pictures International, added, "The international IMAX network played an important role in generating excitement surrounding the release, and these first-weekend results show the value of the IMAX experience with fans of 'Watchmen.' We look forward to the weeks ahead as we continue to offer moviegoers the chance to experience it in IMAX."