Multiple factors are probably responsible for this state of movie going affairs. Sure, the tastes of the population might be a bit wanting and Snyder has a lot to learn about creating tension in a scene.

I think the biggest problem is the perception of the movie by the majority of people. To the ignorant, it looks like a grade B superhero movie. Imagine you are the average TV watcher and you see a commercial for this movie. The costumes are not unified, and things are not quite as flashy as what you expect from superhero blockbusters, it's rated R and there isn't a simple single character plot with a famous Hollywood name to make things easy for you. You have no idea what it's about and nor do you care.

That is the biggest reason for it's modest turnout. It has everything to do with the commercials and little to do with the actual movie.

The problem with Watchmen was it was too smart for it's own good. Most movie goers are morons. Snyder chose not to dumb it down for conventional audiences so that it'd be easier for them to swallow.

Alan Moore never saw the film- he hates it the same reason he hates all movies based on his comic books because he feels that the whole point of the graphic novel genre is to do what neither film nor the written word can do. I collected comic books as a kid too, and never heard of Watchmen. I don't think that is an indictment upon Watchmen, but rather our tastes. I read it a couple months ago and was shocked at how good it was and have no idea how I missed it. The film wasn't a substitute for the comic book, but it was really really good. Snyder didn't compromise and he gets big props. The movie had its failings, but it was engaging and didn't pander. I guess its drop off in the second week has something to do with an audience that desires escapism, but also some level of confusion on what exactly it is- if I hadn't read the comic, I'd be confused as well. I think both the comic and the eventual DVD release of this film will do pretty well in the long run though, once the public catches up to it.

Look, a LOT of people were not confident about this movie's chances. And a large percentage of the general public had no idea what this story is about. So all they have to go on is word of mouth and critics' reviews. Well, guess what? Poor word of mouth and extremely mixed reviews led most people to simply say "meh" to this film and validate all of the uncertainty industry people have had about it. Watchmen pulled in the fanboys for weekend one, but what it didn't have going in was strong reviews and an exciting buzz around it (like Dark Knight did). So most people's attitude is "maybe I'll check it out at some point in the theater, or maybe I'll just wait for Netflix".

What killed Watchmen wasn't anything other than being what it was. Watchmen is not a story that lends itself well to film. It can't be re-imagined and retain its integrity, nor can it be dumbed down for the same reason. There isn't a series of origin stories that can be cherry picked into a movie version, nor is there a central narrative voice that carries the story from start to finish. Instead you have a series of participants and view points for the end of the world as it is known. It sounds compelling on paper and Snyder did a masterful job of acting on the story's integrity, but the moving parts of the story itself cannot be so easily plied to the big screen. Watchmen is an art-house comic, but could it haven been made as an art house movie?

No, because even fewer people would have seen it.

I think that Dr. Manhatten needs to cock-slap the American public with his big blue wiener for being so stupid! We all know that the 18% of adults who saw "Witch Mountain" without children look at "Watchmen" and they know it's too complicated for them. They have to, otherwise why not go? Not perfect, but certainly has more rational thought than the trash that came out this weekend. The general public, who go to this drool to escape their financial problems or what have them, are afraid to see a movie that challenges them to take a good hard look at the world they live in. They'd rather see Kevin James bum around on a motorized scooter than see a dark, story-heavy film about miscast superheroes. *sigh*