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Watchmen and Canadian zombies at the box office

To no one’s surprise, Watchmen, Zack Snyder’s noisy, bloated, and obnoxious adaptation of the graphic novel co-written by Dave Gibbons (according to the film’s credits; writer Alan Moore’s name doesn’t appear anywhere in relation to the film as a result of his, erm, continuing dissatisfaction with Hollywood adaptations of his work) topped the North American box office this past weekend, raking in an estimated $55.7-million (U.S.) according to the website Box Office Mojo. This was somewhat less than Snyder’s last opening weekend, which saw his adaptation of another graphic novel, 300, pull in $70 mil.

Lost in all the hubub was the release of another film adaptation last Friday: Bruce McDonald’s Pontypool, based on Tony Burgess’s 1998 novel Pontypool Changes Everything. McDonald’s film, which takes place in a radio station during an apparent epidemic of zombie attacks, shares a commonality with the box office champ. Canadian actor Stephen McHattie, who plays the grizzled radio announcer in Pontypool, has a cameo as a grizzled writer in Watchmen.

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