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What if Wolverine does an extended song and dance number?

Kim Hollis: Does the performance of Watchmen alter your opinion any on either X-Men Origins: Wolverine or Star Trek?

Brandon Scott: Not at all. Watchmen's awareness to the fanboy was near nil coming into all of this. Star Trek is a universal name and Wolverine, while clearly behind Star Trek in recognition, comes from an established name franchise. This should have no bearing on those box office figures. What will have bearing is how good those movies are. I think Star Trek is gonna suck and Wolverine looks pretty good at this point.

Max Braden: Wolverine didn't need any boost; Jackman was the star of the X-Men series and the trailer delivers everything fans could hope for. Watchmen may help Star Trek in a "the movie turned out better than the trailer" way. But with different people responsible for each project, any bump is going to be small.

Daron Aldridge: Agreed. Other the obvious overlap in fanbase, I am not seeing Watchmen as impacting any other films' reception. Wow, Brandon, I have to say that I am surprised at your expectation of Star Trek. I haven't heard anyone be that pessimistic about it. While I am not a fan of Kirk and Co., the trailer at least got my attention but probably not my money (for what that's worth).





Tim Briody: Not in the least. The three projects, to me, are apples, oranges and, uh, another fruit of your choice.

Pete Kilmer: Negative. The Wolverine movie has three things going for it: Hugh Jackman, Wolverine, and a rating that isn't R. Star Trek has tremendous brand recognition (though a little faded) and if the trailers are any indication of the final product (Great Bird of the Galaxy willing) then we just might see a total re-ignition of the franchise. But Watchmen will have zero impact on these two properties.

Craig Hemenway: I agree with Pete, Tim and Max. Given the broad-based recognition of both the X-Men series and Jackman at this point, there's no real benefit or detriment to Wolverine: Origins from Watchmen's performance. Likewise, although Watchmen and Star Trek may share a significant portion of a fanbase, they're sufficiently different that success of one doesn't impact the other.

The more interesting question to me is: Does the success of Heroes (or failure, depending on your view of the last two seasons) impact Star Trek in any way? Ignoring the casting link, the base of viewers would seem to be much closer.

David Mumpower: Wolverine is an entity unto itself to a degree. It has the X-Men pedigree although I don't expect it to open as well as either of the last two X-Men films did since it's a standalone project. Star Trek is a more intriguing comparison. That's never been a franchise that opened huge ($30.7 million is the best yet managed) and there is only one $100 million earner thus far (although three of them inflation-adjust to the $190+ million range). There is also a wild card element to it since the new film reboot scorches the earth and starts over again. It feels similar in theory to what we've just witnessed with Watchmen. It is trying something new and seems to have a lot of reason for concern from the core audience. So, I am hedging my best on Star Trek a bit more because of what we have seen with Watchmen and that will go double if Watchmen's legs are poor.

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