Warner Bros. and Fox released dueling statements on Watchmen Monday, with a status conference with the judge producing little in the way of additional guidance as to how last week’s ruling will affect the release of the film (see “’Watchmen’ Judge Rules in Fox’s Favor”).  For its part Warner Bros. indicated that it would continue to contest the case and release the film as scheduled.  “We respectfully but vigorously disagree with the court’s ruling and are exploring all of our appellate options,” the statement said.  “We continue to believe that Fox’s claims have no merit and that we will ultimately prevail, whether at trial or in the Court of Appeals.  We have no plans to move the release date of the film.” 

A Fox attorney said that the studio was seeking to stop the release of the film.  The studio’s statement said, “We are gratified by the recognition of our rights in the Judge’s order, which speaks for itself.”