The Batmanofficially made its long-awaited debut this past weekend, with projections indicating the Warner Bros. film would bring in roughly $115 million by the end of its opening weekend. However, the Caped Crusader had alternative plans, earning $128 million in the domestic box office, the second-biggest debut for a film throughout the pandemic.Spider-Man: No Way Home, which generated $253 million over its premiere weekend, is the only film to post a better opening number.
WhileSpider-Mansits upon the pandemic throne,The Batmanhas claimed early rule over 2022 with its debut performance. The $128 million total is the highest opening number to be generated by any 2022 film, beating the year’s previous highest earner, which was Tom Holland’sUncharted. The treasure hunting adventure earned $51 million by the end of its weekend and currently sits at $100.2 million after three weeks.The Batmanis shaping up to be a significant achievement for Warner Bros. and director Matt Reeves, making the most of the $200 million it cost to produce the film.
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The Batmanended its Friday opening with a $57.1 million total but saw its Saturday performance bring in a slightly lower $43.2 million total. Sunday saw another dip as the film accumulated $28.2 million by the weekend’s closure, bringing the official domestic box office total to $128 million. Despite the regression throughout the weekend, theRobert Pattinson-led filmperformed well and showcased the pulse still present within the movie-going experience. Internationally,The Batmanended the weekend with a $120 million total, bringing its official global number to $248.5 million.
Anticipation drove audience fever to be immersed within the experience, resulting in the outstanding opening numbers, but the positive reception the film received equally played a part in attracting moviegoers to theaters. The film obtained an 85% from Rotten Tomatoes, not far removed from the audience’s score, which currently sits at 90%. CinemaScore gave the film an A- grade, which is enough to get most interested to see Robert Pattinson’s take on the iconic hero. Many were skeptical aboutthe casting of Pattinson, fearful that theTwilightheartthrob would not be able to tackle such a heralded role, but it’s clear that his performance has been more than satisfactory.
The Batmanhas quickly posted the best opening for Warner Bros. during the pandemic, and the best for Reeves, beating his previous highDawn of the Planet of the Apes,which earned $73 million. The Caped Crusader handily won the weekend, topplingUnchartedfrom the throne it held the previous two weeks. TheTom Holland-led adventureended its third box office week in second place, generating $11 million.Dog, also on its third box office week, finished in third with a $6 million total.Spider-Man: No Way Homeended its twelfth box office week in fourth, accumulating $4.4 million, followed byDeath on the Nile, which ended its fourth box office week with a $2.7 million total.
Despite the hesitation around casting and the film’s PG-13 rating,The Batmanhas exceeded expectations and has lit a fire the box office hasn’t seen sinceSpider-Man: No Way Home. Alongside Pattinson, the project stars Paul Dano, Zoe Kravitz, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, and Jeffery Wright. It will be interesting to see how well the film performs in the coming weeks, especially with the release of other notablefilms looming on the horizon. Nevertheless,The Batmanhas provided a spark and pushed Warner Bros. down a path to make some significant noise this year.
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