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Warner Bros.' dark superhero pic "Watchmen" grossed an estimated $55.7 million from 3,611 theaters in its domestic B.O. debut, coming in lower than expected but still scoring the best opening of the year and one of the best showings ever for an R-rated film.

Moviegoers came out to watch "Watchmen" on Friday to the tune of an estimated $24.9 million.

Film News: 2009 releases earning big, but why? -- Domestic B.O. for January and February was up 13%. Admissions rose nearly 10%. With a slew of high-profile projects set to open in the next two months, Hollywood hopes to maintain this torrid pace.

Warner Bros. Pictures' Watchmen grossed $4.6 million in Thursday midnight shows. Zack Snyder's previous film, 300 , opened to $2.5 million with its midnight shows.

'Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail' locks up $16.5 million in ticket sales to claim the top spot at the box office again, beating out 'Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience.'

At the Star Trek panel at WonderCon, director J.J. Abrams was asked about the progress on making sequel to their monster hit (ha ha) Cloverfield, which opened last year to set a couple of box office records.

Very early data coming in suggests that Disney's Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience should open around $20 million this weekend from only 1,271 3-D theaters. "Honestly, I don't think it's disappointing at all," one rival studio exec tells me tonight. "Many had unrealistic expectations for this pic at 40+.

Tyler Perry rules the box office with his best bow yet, $41.1 mil, while ''Fired Up!'' generates little heat.

Ater months of teetering on the brink of $1 billion in worldwide box office revenue, The Dark Knight has officially reached the milestone, distributor Warner Bros. announced today. The Batman sequel is the fourth movie in history to hit the mark, behind Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

So writer/director/actor/producer Perry is heading for his biggest branded film ever as Lionsgate's Madea Goes To Jail opened #1 Friday to $14.7 million domestic from 2,032 theaters. The PG-13 laffer could come close to $40M for this Oscar weekend.