Watchmen may have done respectable box office during its first weekend, but what sort of business is it going to do in its second week? If the following stories are to be believed, not very well. Christopher Borrelli at The Chicago Tribune is reporting that at least one-fourth of the audience at the screening he attended last weekend walked out, apparently having walked in unaware what type of movie they were going to be shown:

A father accompanied by antsy young boys shifted uncomfortably with every splatter of brain, sank lower into his seat at the arrival of a nude Dr. Manhattan's fully exposed Little Dr. Manhattan and finally bolted with the kids during the fairly explicit sex between Night Owl and Silk Spectre. (This movie is rated R, people.) It's hard to say when the trickle became an exodus, but maybe a quarter of the theater walked out.

He's not the only one. The site PopTen is reporting similar walkouts as well:

Everyone got in their seats - anticipation was high - squeals of excitement - the movie starts - silence - everyone is holding their communal breath - then someone yells “this fucking sucks” - a chorus of grunts and shutup - 15 minutes later it happens again, but this time the shutups are more like harumphs - Twenty or so people walk out - Wash - Rinse - Repeat 3 more times. It was really strange how vocal the anger was. Has this happened to anyone else?

There were a few walkouts at the screening I attended, but nothing close to the 1/4 some people are quoting. I did, however, notice a dad bring his 10-year-old son and sit in the front row. I don't know if they stayed through the whole show, but my god, I hope not.