Despite having been postponed twice, Matt Reeves’ The Batman smashes pandemic box office records on opening weekend. It earned over $134 million in over 4,400 theaters domestically, along with $124.2 million internationally. This is a grand total of $279.8 million worldwide.
The Batman
From Warner Bros. Pictures comes Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” starring Robert Pattinson in the dual role of Gotham City’s vigilante detective and his alter ego, reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne. Bruce has two trusted allies: Alfred, played by Andy Serkis, and Lt. James Gordon, played by Jeffrey Wright. Bruce Wayne ultimately encounters characters such as Selina Kyle, played by Zoë Kravitz, Oz, aka The Penguin, played by Colin Farrell, Carmine Falcone, played by John Turturro, and Edward Nashton/aka The Riddler, played by Paul Dano.
Matt Reves’ The Batman has also become the highest-grossing film of Warner Bros. pandemic-era releases, surpassing Dune at $109 million, Godzilla vs. Kong at $100 million, and The Suicide Squad at $26 million. Furthermore, it comes in second place as the highest pandemic-era grossing film, with Spiderman: No Way Home taking the lead at $260 million on opening weekend. Regardless of the DC-Marvel rivalry, The Batman contributes to the continuing success of the comic book genre in the new decade.
Even half a year ago, The Batman had already received high praise from test screening audiences nationwide. According to MovieWeb back in August 2021, audiences responded with high praise, as fans said it “had everyone screaming, everyone gasped…like it was a big NO WAY for everyone.” There was certainly a concern that the postponing of the release date would create less of a buzz as time went on. Fortunately, the worry was proved wrong as fans flocked to the theater over the weekend.
According to Ethan Zack at Looper, The Batman cost over $200 million to produce, placing third for most expensive Batman theatrical film, right behind Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice (2015) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
Other sources at Screenrant state that the Batman budget far exceeded its original production cost. Based on previous sources from October 2021, the original cost was to be around $100 million. It looks that the extra $100 million paid off in the long run along with keeping the film at a PG-13 rating, resulting in a more diverse group of moviegoers in the age range. With the film already earning more than half of its cost, it will certainly profit off more in the coming weeks, as is predicted by Variety.
The Temple of Geek Podcast discusses The Batman in more detail. However, if you have yet to see the film, then read our spoiler-free review here.
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