Warner Bros. Watches Watchmen to Gauge Health

Warner Brothers restructured last year to focus on producing blockbusters like The Dark Knight, and now the studio is waiting to see if the move pays off with Watchmen, the Financial Times reports. Warner can finance a slew of films with profits from one “tent pole” movie. “The obvious thing we’re going to take from” Dark Knight, Time Warner’s CEO said, is “more Dark Knight.”

Warner’s COO seems pretty confident in the $130 million superhero epic Watchmen, which opened today. “We are in the zeitgeist now,” he said, “and I would be surprised if it doesn’t do $60 million or even more this weekend.” It had better: Warner’s new production model promises “improved profitability,” the CEO said, but only after “reducing output.” Meaning, fewer chances to strike it rich. (More Warner Bros. stories.)