Robert Pattinson Responds to 'Water for Elephants' Criticisms

Reviews have varied so far about "Water for Elephants", and Robert Pattinson is prepared for the worse. Talking to USA Today about his latest stint, Pattinson said he senses people will always compare his new roles to EdwardCullen, his character in "Twilight", and criticize his performance overall. 

"I always see these things like, 'Can he act or not?,'" he said. "It's like, I'm nothing like Edward. What do you think I'm doing in that? So (when a new role arises), everyone's like 'It's very different'." 

Telling the story of a veterinary school student Jacob who meets and falls in love with Marlena, a star performer in a circus of a bygone era, "Water for Elephants" was only given a 49% rating from movie review site Rotten Tomatoes. It says the film "has an evocative sense of its time and place but lacks the burning passions required to pull off this type of romantic weepie." 

While renowned critic Roger Ebert gave the movie three stars, calling the film "endearingly old-fashioned", the New York Times referred to it as "bland" and "monotonous". 

The pic was released on Friday, April 22 in 2,817 theaters across the nation. Fox 2000 estimated an opening weekend gross of $13 million to $15 million, particularly coming from female audience.