The Watch (2012 film)

The Watch
The Watch
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Akiva Schaffer
Written by	Jared Stern; Seth Rogen; Evan Goldberg
Produced by	Shawn Levy
Starring	Ben Stiller; Vince Vaughn; Jonah Hill; Richard Ayoade; Rosemarie DeWitt
Cinematography	Barry Peterson
Edited by	Dean Zimmerman
Music by	Christophe Beck
Production; companies	21 Laps Entertainment; Dune Entertainment
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	July 27, 2012;
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$68 million
Box office	$68.3 million

The Watch (previously known as Neighborhood Watch)^[3] is a 2012 American science fiction action-comedy film directed by Akiva Schaffer and written by Jared Stern, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg. It stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade. The film follows Evan (Stiller), Bob (Vaughn), Franklin (Hill), and Jamarcus (Ayoade), a group of neighbors who form a suburban neighborhood watch group. When they uncover an alien plot threatening the world, they are forced into action. This was the final film role of R. Lee Ermey, who died on April 15, 2018.

The film began its development in 2008 under producer Shawn Levy as a teen-targeted project written by Jared Stern. Between 2009 and late 2010 it saw different directors and stars join the project until November 2010, when it moved in a new direction under Rogen and Goldberg (who rewrote the script for an adult audience). Filming began in October 2011 in the state of Georgia, concluding in January 2012.

The film's marketing campaign was affected by the February 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood-watch member. As a result, the campaign was refocused on the alien premise instead of the film leads and the film's title was changed from Neighborhood Watch to The Watch. Released on July 27, 2012, the film was a box-office bomb, grossing just $68.3 million on a $68 million budget (with marketing and distribution costs taken into account). The film was also met with generally negative reviews, with critics focusing on the plotting, frequent "vulgar and offensive" jokes and numerous product placements. However, Hill and Ayoade's performances were more positively received.

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