The Batman‘s opening weekend box-office draw is testament once more to the fact that the movies are suited and booted and kicking their way back into action, since having fallen victim to the pandemic. According to this weekend’s figures, Warner Bros.’ newest entry in the Caped Crusader canon scored the second-highest grossing opening weekend since 2019, hot on the tail of Spider-Man: No Way Home, raking in a whopping $128.5 million in total, after a $43.2 million gross on Saturday, which represented a 24% drop compared to the film’s strong Friday and preview draw (beating Batman Begins’ 2005 $48 million figure in its 3-day opening weekend).
With a more than impressive overseas haul of $120 million, The Batman is the industry’s strongest international debut so far this year and Warner’s biggest box office gross since 1019’s Joker. It also marks the studio’s best foreign debut to date since the pandemic set in, with this figure not including China. Warner Bros. also pulled the film’s release in Russia following last week’s invasion of Ukraine.
The tentpole release is also an all-time best for filmmaker Matt Reeves flying past Dawn of the Planet of the Apes which grossed $73 million domestic and a global total of $104.3 million.
Commenting on the success, Jeff Goldstein, the president of Warner Bros. domestic distribution said, “It’s fun to see the public really embrace the movie. Since the movie is three hours long, it became appointment viewing. That bodes well for its run on the big screen. It helps that the word of mouth is so strong.”
Another factor that undoubtedly played in favor of the release was the fact that the comic book adaptation was released exclusively in theaters. This marked a change in tack for Warner Bros. which released its entire 2021 film slate on a day-and-date basis on HBO Max, with The Batman being the studio’s first exclusive theatrical release since Christoper Nolan’s “Tenet” – which also starred Robert Pattinson. Having said that, audiences won’t have to wait all that long for the digital release as “The Batman” is slated to arrive on HBO Max in 45 days.
