Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Topics: Batman, DC Comics, Film and TV
Daisy Phillipson
The Batman raked in $128.5 million (£97.6m) at the domestic box office over the weekend, marking the biggest opening weekend of 2022 so far.
As reported by Variety, the DC flick – which stars Robert Pattinson as a moody iteration of the Caped Crusader – saw huge earnings in North America.
These were matched by a whopping $120 million (£91.2m) in international sales, resulting in an overall sum of $248.5 million.
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The Batman is only the second pandemic-era movie to surpass the $100 million (£76m) mark in one weekend, having first been achieved by Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Last week, it was reported that Warner Bros had pulled The Batman from its Russian release calendar following its invasion of Ukraine.
Elsewhere, amid a strong opening weekend and positive reviews, Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros, said: ‘It’s fun to see the public really embrace the movie.
‘Since the movie is three hours long, it became appointment viewing. That bodes well for its run on the big screen. It helps that the word of mouth is so strong.’
The Batman started out as a Ben Affleck solo vehicle for his version of the titular character. Although the actor was expected to direct and star in the movie, he dropped out of the project and the film ended up in Matt Reeves' hands.
The feature has been well received by critics and audiences alike, garnering an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside an audience score of 90%.
As well as Pattinson as the ‘Darkest Knight’, Zoë Kravitz stars as Catwoman, while Colin Farrell and Paul Dano portray The Penguin and The Riddler respectively.
Those behind the flick are working to ensure the storyline doesn’t end here.
Producer Dylan Clark who told Empire last year: ‘As the first standalone Batman in ten years, the hope is we can lay a foundation that you can build stories upon.’
Pattinson told the publication: ‘I’ve made a kind of map for where Bruce’s psychology would grow over two more movies. I would love to do it.’
The Batman, which hit cinemas on Friday, March 4, is the first of a planned trilogy, with the sequel already in development and two spin-off shows coming to HBO Max.
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