It’s hard to be denied that superhero movies do a very great job at the box office. The Batman, which opens in cinemas this Friday, is expected to have the highest opening weekend since Sony’s Spider-Man: No Way Home broke box office records in December. On the basis of cautious estimates, The Batman is just expected to gross between $100 million and $125 million in its opening weekend, nearly half of what No Way Home grossed in its first three days. However, there is a reasonable likelihood that it will debut at roughly $140 million.
Robert Pattinson plays the title character in this crime-fighting drama, which has a projected budget of $200 million and portrays the dark narrative of Bruce Wayne’s early days as the crime-fighting vigilante known as Batman. Bringing into play everything from New Hollywood films of the 1970s to Nirvana’s music to David Fincher’s serial killer thrillers as inspirations, director Matt Reeves has given a glimpse of a noir-inflected detective thriller that just so happens to be filled with DC characters.
By contrast, Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight set a record of $158 million in 2008. The Dark Knight Rises, its direct sequel from 2012, grossed $160 million in its first weekend. In 2016, Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opened to a higher (but more front-loaded) $166 million, while filmmaker Todd Phillips’ solo Joker film almost broke the $100 million milestones in 2019.
Loosely based on the success of Joker, Reeves’ reboot became the highest-grossing ever R-rated picture, earning more than $1 billion worldwide. After star Ben Affleck chose to withdraw from the project, The Batman was reworked as a stand-alone feature instead of being part of the ongoing DC Extended Universe as originally ideas —and maybe the start of a brand-new franchise.
Warner Bros. is placing a big bet on the picture and has already put in place two spinoff series for HBO Max – the first is a procedural about the Gotham City Police Department, while the second is a Scarface-style criminal thriller helmed by Farrell’s Penguin, the Penguin. In addition, two theatrical follow-ups are in the works.
In terms of HBO Max, the studio’s controversial decision to simultaneously release all of 2021’s movies on the streaming platform has caused it to repeatedly receive failed results. This led to numerous high-profile films flopping at the box office, including The Matrix Resurrections, The Suicide Squad, and Space Jam: A New Legacy. The Batman will not be available on HBO Max on the same day that the film is released in theaters, but it will be available 45 days following its theatrical premiere on HBO Max.
The Batman will hit theaters on Friday. Stay updated on Cinemazzi for further box office information.
