Rival studios reach deal on Watchmen

Los Angeles: The superhero film Watchmen will be watched by audiences after all - and on time.

Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox settled their nearly year-long dispute over the movie on Thursday, the studios announced in a joint statement.

The movie will open in theatres as planned on March 6, the statement said. The exact terms of the agreement were not disclosed and will remain confidential.

The release date had been in doubt for months as each studio's attorneys grappled for an upper hand. Fox contended that Warner Bros shot the film knowing that it didn't have all the adequate rights. Warner Bros countered that Fox had lost its rights in the graphic novel and was owed nothing more than a right of first refusal.

At stake was a movie that has stoked the excitement of Watchmen fans and that Warner Bros. claims cost it $150 million (Dh551 million) to film and market.

Stalemate

Until recently, the studios appeared to be in a stalemate as protracted as the Cold War backdrop of the film's source material. But a Christmas Eve ruling by US District Judge Gary Allen Feess found that Fox did have at least a distribution stake in the film. Within days of that ruling, Warner Bros and Fox were in serious settlement negotiations.

While the studios agreed on little throughout the case, the statement released Thursday sought to end months of acrimony.

"Warner Bros. and Fox, like all Watchmen fans, look forward with great anticipation to this film's March 6 release in theatres," the statement said.