The protector of Gotham City is once again flying high atop the box office charts as Warner Bros./DC’s “The Batman”The film opened in a staggering $128.5 million from 4,417 theaters. It is only the second movie since the pandemic to have more than $100 million.
The Matt Reeves-directed blockbuster is set to be the biggest theatrical hit for Warner Bros. since the DC film featuring Batman’s nemesis, “Joker” was in theaters in fall 2019; and for movie theaters it’s a much-needed boost in business after theaters were closed in 2020 and spent much of the past year trying to get back on their feet as the box office recovered in fits and starts.
In fact, not only is this Warner’s best opening weekend since the $123 million openingOf “It” in September 2017, it is the first film that was not released by Disney or produced by Marvel Studios to break the $100 million opening mark since Universal’s “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”In summer 2018.
Globally, “The Batman”It is on a solid start to reaching $1 billion. The company has earned an estimated $248.5 million worldwide. After Sunday’s data is tallied, this number could reach $250 million. With $18.4m, the U.K. was number one overseas market. Mexico came in second with $12m and Australia third with $9.2m. The film will be released in Japan on Friday, March 18, and in China on Wednesday, March 18.
And it’s not like “Batman v Superman — Dawn of Justice,”The opening weekend was met with surprisingly low reviews and the number of visitors dropped sharply. “The Batman”Should have strong legs through March with great critical and audience reception. It has Rotten Tomatoes scores 85% critics and 90% audience, along with an A- on CinemaScore as well as a 4.5/5 overall rating via Postrak.
The release “The Batman”Imax also enjoyed a huge weekend, reporting a profitable quarter for its first time since the pandemic. Warner Bros. reports that $15 million of the film’s domestic opening came from Imax screens, accounting for 12% of the overall total. All told, premium format screenings account to 30% of all domestic business. “The Batman”This weekend.
While “The Batman” dominated the charts as expected, accounting for 80% of all theatrical revenue this weekend, Sony/Columbia’s “Uncharted”Still, the film reached a landmark in its third weekend in theaters. It crossed the $100 million mark domestically and became the fourth Sony movie to cross this threshold in the past six months.
MGM’s “Dog”Takes the No. 3 spot with $6 million in its third weekend to give the $15 million dramedy a domestic total of $40 million, while Sony/Marvel’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home”To make it $786 Million domestic and $1.86 Billion worldwide, $4.4 million is added after 12 weekends.
Completing the top 5 is 20th Century’s “Death on the Nile”With $2.7 Million in its fourth weekend, it earned a domestic total total of $37.1M and a global total total of $115M against a budget reported at $90M. Despite being disappointing at the boxoffice, it still grossed significantly less than its 2017 predecessor. “Murder on the Orient Express”Disney and 20th Century are allowing Kenneth Branagh, star/director of Star Trek, to create a third Poirot movie due to the absence of the core older demographic amidst COVID-19 issues. “Nile”The book received positive reviews from audiences and critics.