The Batman has delivered the highest opening weekend box office for a DC movie since 2016’s Suicide Squad. The Batman is a new reboot of the Dark Knight saga that promises a fresh take of his adventures in Gotham City, focused more on Batman’s detective skills and exploring his reputation as “the world’s best detective”. Matt Reeves serves as director, co-producer, and co-writer.
The Batman skipped day-and-date release
The Batman was originally scheduled to be released theatrically on June, 25th 2021 before being pushed back to a new date on October 1st, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it eventually settled for a theatrical release on March 4th, 2022. Unlike the slate of Warner Bros. releases last year, however, The Batman did not receive a day-and-date release, opting for an exclusive theatrical release and only appearing on HBO Max on April, 19th 2022.
This decision to return to an exclusive theatrical release model has seemingly paid off. Deadline reports The Batman box office has soared to become Warner Bros.’ best opening for a DC movie since 2016’s Will Smith-led Suicide Squad. The Batman has delivered a $128M+ opening weekend so far, with a very good chance it could rise to $130M by Monday morning. It’s a very impressive feat for not only the studio but the director himself. Matt Reeves’s previous peak was with Dawn of The Planet of The Apes, which had a $73M opening. The Batman also marks Robert Pattinson’s return to 100M+ opening weekends since his Twilight Saga day. On top of that, The Batman has the best opening weekend of 2022 so far.
Matt Reeves took over after Ben Affleck left
Reeves was chosen as the director of the film in 2017 after Ben Affleck dropped out. There was initially a long list of big-name directors short-listed to helm the film, including George Miller and Ridley Scott. Matt Reeves became the frontrunner, however, and was expected to work from Affleck’s script, but Reeves, a longtime Batman fan, instead chose to focus on his own vision. Reeves only agreed to join The Batman after he was guaranteed creative freedom.
The Batman’s box office performance is only further proof audiences are ready to start going back to theaters. The streaming boom might already be the standard, but it seems unlikely studios will discard the exclusive theatrical windows any time soon considering the profits it guarantees. Following the mammoth success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Batman is just another example of theatrical exclusivity paying off. Unfortunately, the trend appears to only be favoring big tentpole flicks like superhero movies, as smaller comedies and dramas aren’t yet seeing the same level of success at the box office as they did prior to the pandemic. Still, Warner Bros. is no doubt pleased with their decision to release The Batman exclusively in theaters, and it will still benefit HBO Max when it drops there in a month’s time.
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