Thank the high heavens, or the gaping hole now in Warner’s wallet,  as Watchmen should make its March 3rd US release (March 5th in Australia).

Two weeks back we reported on the bitter rivalry  between 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. over who rightfully owns the rights to a film adaptation of the highly acclaimed Watchmen graphic novel. Fox argued they’ve had rights to the film for decades, Warner arguing they lost it when they signed it off to producer Lawrence Gordon in 1994.  However, on December 24th last year, Fox won the lawsuit against Warner, granting as the rightful owners to make a Watchmen adaptation. Adamant they did no wrong, Warner has  since been engaged in heated settlement talks with Fox, fans fearing the worst when Fox called for an injunction to be made to prolong the films March release.

Today, a settlement has been made, and it’s a win-loss situation for both studios.

Whilst specifics have not been disclosed, the Hollywood Reporter says that it involves a large sum of money being made out to Fox, likely to be a cut of the film’s Box office returns . It’s not all bad for Warner;  despite initial concerns, Fox won’t be a co-distributor of the film or own the rights to future releases in the Watchmen film franchise.

It’s safe to say that neither parties are happy with producer Lawrence Gordon, as Warner is seeking talks with his attorneys to be reimbursed for the settlement. Warner were unaware that Gordon had made a pre-existing agreement with Fox in 1991, that still affected the turnaround deal made in 1994 when he left Fox.

So who came out of this settlement as the biggest winners? The fans, of course, who can expect to see Watchmen hit Australian cinemas March 5th, 2009.

 

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