Holy box office revenue, Batman!
Warner Bros.' "The Batman" has scored the second-biggest North American opening of the covid-19 pandemic, grossing $128.5 million domestically and $120 million internationally for a global cumulative of $248.5 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.
Since March 2020, only Columbia Pictures' "Spider-Man: No Way Home" -- which debuted at $260 million in December -- has posted a bigger domestic debut than "The Batman." Robert Pattinson's inaugural outing as the Caped Crusader soared above its already lofty expectations, which projected the superhero flick would collect $100 million to $125 million across North American screens.
Directed by Matt Reeves, the latest installment in the DC Comics franchise is also easily the most successful title of the pandemic for Warner Bros. -- which, until now, had been releasing films simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. In one weekend, "The Batman" has earned more money than the studio's most lucrative hybrid release, "Dune," did in its entire run.
It's also worth noting that the world's largest cinema chain, AMC Theatres, charged moviegoers extra to see "The Batman" compared with other titles playing in the same theaters at the same time. For example, an adult advance ticket for a Friday night showing of "The Batman" at the AMC Burbank 16 cost $19.49, while tickets for Sony's "Uncharted" were priced at $17.99 apiece at the same location.
"This is an excellent opening," said David Gross, a film consultant who publishes a subscription newsletter on box office numbers. "Keeping these series fresh -- moving characters forward, maintaining the storytelling quality, adding new worlds, new antagonists, new set pieces -- is as hard as any creative challenge in the business."
In addition to dominating the box office, "The Batman" generally fared well with critics, receiving a solid 85% rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. Even with a run time of 2 hours and 55 minutes, the DC tentpole garnered an A-minus from audiences polled by CinemaScore.
As the omicron variant surged in December, Warner Bros. was faced once more with a hard decision: Delay the release further or commit to the March opening. Under the advice of epidemiologists, in January they decided to go forward and start spending significant money on marketing.
"We knew the movie was exceptional. We knew fans would embrace it. But we didn't know what the pandemic would hold," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' president of domestic distribution. "Theater owners really stepped up and showed their showmanship ... it was really a collective win."
"The box office is back with a vengeance," said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore's senior media analyst. "This is a real turning point for the industry. The box office year has been moving in fits and starts. There have been some solid performances but no blockbuster breakout opener in 2022. This is great for movie theaters."
So how does Pattinson's stack up against his predecessors? It's the fourth biggest opening for a Batman movie in North America. As far as lifetime profits, only time will tell, but Batman as a $1 billion franchise is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Tim Burton's "Batman" starring Michael Keaton and released in 1989, made about $252 million in North America and just over $400 million worldwide. None of the Batman movies crossed $500 million worldwide until 2008. Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight," starring Christian Bale, broke the $1 billion mark, which repeated with "The Dark Knight Rises." The Ben Affleck/Zack Snyder era peaked with "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," which grossed $873 million worldwide.
Landing at No. 2 behind "The Batman" at the domestic office last weekend was Sony's "Uncharted," which added $11 million in its third weekend for a North American cumulative of $100.3 million. Completing the top five are United Artists Releasing's "Dog," which fetched $6 million in its third weekend for a North American cumulative of $40 million; "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which grossed $4.4 million in its 12th weekend for a North American cumulative of $786.5 million; and 20th Century Studios' "Death on the Nile," which drew $2.7 million in its fourth weekend for a North American cumulative of $37.1 million.