The Disney+ Sci-Fi Comedy Makes Alien Invasion Feel Real
Despite having a solid cast and creative team behind it, the sci-fi comedy The Watch was a rare miss from frequent collaborators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Of course, that doesn’t mean the film is unwatchable by any means. If you want to check out this alien invasion film for yourself, it’s currently streaming on the Hulu section of Disney+, which requires you to have access to both streaming services.
The Watch Pits Regular Joes Against Aliens
The Watch came out in 2012 and was directed by Akiva Schaeffer with a script by Jared Stern, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg. It had a great comedic cast that included Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade in the lead roles. The movie follows this foursome as they form a suburban neighborhood watch group that uncovers an alien plot to take over the world.
Different Perspective On An Invasion
The ground-level alien invasion facing off against a neighborhood watch gives The Watch an interesting angle you don’t usually see in alien invasion movies. The effects are solid too, with frequent creature actor Doug Jones playing the main alien villain. Of course, Stiller, Vaughn, Hill, and Ayoade are hilarious, as always.
A Box Office Bomb
But a talented writing team and a great cast of comedic talents do not always lead to a great movie. That’s the case with The Watch, which fails to live up to its interesting premise or the creative team that worked on it. The film was critically panned, and it ended up being a box office bomb, making only $68.3 million against its $68 million budget.
Constant Rewrites
It probably didn’t help that the movie changed hands a few times, with producer Shawn Levy originally viewing it as a project for a teen market with a script from Jared Stern. However, The Watch would change directors and stars between 2009 and 2010, eventually changing to a more adult-oriented film with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s rewritten script. Often, a film’s quality can be affected when the creative direction gets changed this many times.
Impacted By A Real-Life Tragedy
The Watch also needed to change up its marketing campaign in 2012. The tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin by Neighborhood Watch member George Zimmerman led the studio to change its name from The Neighborhood Watch to The Watch. One early trailer was also removed from Florida theaters that included a scene of Hill shooting finger guns at teenagers.
Revamped Marketing
Posters that featured a neighborhood watch sign with bullet holes were also removed. Ultimately, Fox would focus more on the sci-fi parts of the film in the replacement marketing campaigns for The Watch. However, Fox did not end up changing the planned July 27 release date for the film.
Will It Find An Audience On Streaming?
With that being said, having to change the marketing tactics for The Watch is hardly the cause of the movie not doing well at the box office. The fact that the film didn’t get great reviews undoubtedly caused lower ticket sales, along with the fact that the Summer Olympics were kicking off that same weekend. Of course, films can always find a second life on streaming, so you can check out The Watch over on the Hulu section of Disney+ if you’re interested.
