“The new Batman” can be said to be a movie released under pressure, it is not only to save Gotham City in the movie, but also save the major theaters outside the big screen. However, according to the film company’s forecast on March 6, the “The New Batman” led by “The Twilight Saga” (The Twilight Saga) star Robert Pattinson has already earned $128.5 million since its release. The North American box office gave a good start to the film market in 2022.
The original comics of “Batman” have a history of 80 years, and this series has been put on the big screen many times, leaving many classics. Warner Bros. once estimated that The New Batman would gross in the $90 million range in its first week, which now appears to be conservative. “The New Batman” is the highest-grossing film opening in 2022 and the second-best debut since the coronavirus pandemic. The best premiere since the COVID-19 pandemic is Spider-Man: No Way Home, which opens in December 2021 with a staggering $260 million.
Last weekend, “The New Batman” officially hit 12,500 screens in 4,217 theaters in North America. However, on March 1st and March 2nd, the official also held some fan meetings, and on March 3rd, there were also some screening activities, with a total of regarding 3,300 games. As of March 4, “The New Batman” has grossed $57 million at the box office.
In addition, the global box office of “The New Batman” also reached 120 million US dollars, which brings its global box office total to 248.5 million US dollars. However, due to the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Warner Bros. has decided to suspend the release of “The New Batman” in Russia, and said the company will closely monitor the development. In addition to Warner Bros., several other major companies have made similar decisions.
So far, the reviews for The New Batman are generally positive. Director Matt Reeves and co-writer Peter Craig set The New Batman in the second year of Bruce Wayne’s incarnation as Batman. Corruption is rampant in Gotham City at this time, and some famous villains have not yet appeared, but Gotham City has a serial killer, Batman played by Pattinson and Gordon played by Jeffrey White must find the mysterious ” The Riddler” (played by Paul Dano).
The New Batman is an ill-fated movie. It was originally planned to be released in June 2021, but has since been delayed several times due to the new crown epidemic.
The New Batman cost $200 million to make alone, with marketing and distribution costs in the millions. In addition to this film, Warner Bros. has several sequels already on the agenda, and an HBO Max spinoff is also in the works.
In December 2021, due to the ravages of the Omikron virus, Warner Bros. had to face a difficult decision – whether to continue delaying the release time or release it as originally planned in March. However, in January of this year, at the advice of epidemiologists, Warner Bros. decided to release it as originally scheduled and began to invest heavily in marketing.
“We know it’s a great movie, and we know fans will love it, but we don’t know what the impact of the coronavirus will be,” said Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. “However, the major theater chains are very enthusiastic and show their promotion ability… This is really a win-win situation.”
“The New Batman” is also the first movie released by Warner Bros. to be released in theaters alone in more than a year. In 2021, Warner Bros. will adopt an “online + offline” model, and simultaneously release the movies “Dune” and “Suicide Squad” in theaters and on the HBO Max platform. Although this practice has increased online revenue on the HBO Max platform, it has not helped the box office and theaters.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at film site Comscore, said: “This time the box office has ushered in a retaliatory increase. This is a real turning point for the industry. The box office performance of the film industry has been mixed this year. Some movies have performed well, but there have been no breakthrough blockbusters. The box office performance of “The New Batman” is a good thing for the theater.”
As for whether Pattinson’s version of “The New Batman” can surpass the box office of its predecessor, it currently appears to be only the fourth-highest-grossing “Batman” movie in North America. As for how much it can gross at the box office, only time will tell. However, the “Batman” series has become a big IP of 1 billion US dollars, which is only a phenomenon that has only occurred in recent years.
The first Batman movie, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton, was released in 1989 and grossed $252 million in North America and just over $400 million worldwide. Since then, several sequels have failed to break the $500 million mark. It wasn’t until 2008 that “Batman: The Dark Knight,” directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale, broke the $1 billion box office. So the original team struck while the iron was hot and launched The Dark Knight Rises, reaping the favor of a wave of fans. And in the era of Zack Snyder and Ben Affleck, the biggest hit was Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which grossed $873 million worldwide. . (Fortune Chinese Network)
Translator: Park Sung-gyu
Batman has his fair share of pressures, from saving Gotham to saving movie theaters. And while they’re both still decidedly works in progress, “The Batman,” starring Robert Pattinson, managed to give a little glimmer of hope to both by grossing $128.5 million in North America, according to studio estimates on March 6.
The latest relaunch of the 80-year-old comic book character is well above Warner Bros.’ conservative estimates going into the weekend, which had the film pegged for a debut in the $90 million range. It’s the best opening of 2022 and the second best of the pandemic, though it’s more than $100 million shy of “Spider-Man: No Way Home’s” still unbelievable $260 million opening weekend in December.
“The Batman” opened last weekend exclusively in theaters in 4,217 locations on over 12,500 screens in North America. There were some fan events on March 1 and March 2 leading into March 3 pre-shows in regarding 3,300 locations. All told, by the close of March 4, “The Batman” had already grossed $57 million. No other major studio dared compete with their own new film.
Internationally, “The Batman” earned $120 million, bringing its global total to $248.5 million. Warner Bros. halted its release in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, saying that the company would monitor the situation as it evolves. Many major studios made similar decisions with their films.
Reviews have been largely positive for this new iteration of the caped crusader. Director Matt Reeves and co-writer Peter Craig set “The Batman” in Bruce Wayne’s second year of donning the cape. Corruption is rampant in Gotham and some well-known villains are not yet fully formed, but there’s a serial killer afoot and Pattinson’s Batman and Gordon, played by Jeffrey Wright, are on a mission to find the mysterious Riddler (Paul Dano).
It’s been a long road for “The Batman” to make it to theaters. The original plan was for it come out in June 2021, but that was pushed several times due in part to COVID-related production shutdowns.
The film cost around $200 million to produce, not to mention the millions spent on marketing and distribution. And a lot is riding on “The Batman,” with future films and an HBO Max spinoff series both planned.
As the omicron variant surged in December, Warner Bros. was faced once more with a hard decision: Delay the release further or commit to the March opening. Under the advice of epidemiologists, in January they decided to go forward and start spending significant money on marketing.
“We knew the movie was exceptional. We knew fans would embrace it. But we didn’t know what the pandemic would hold,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ president of domestic distribution. “Theater owners really stepped up and showed their showmanship … it was really a collective win.”
“The Batman” is also the first movie in over a year that Warner Bros. has released exclusively in theaters. In 2021, the studio adopted a hybrid release strategy debuting films from “Dune” to “Suicide Squad” in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously, which may have helped streaming subscriptions, but not the box office or movie theaters.
“The box office is back with a vengeance,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst. “This is a real turning point for the industry. The box office year has been moving in fits and starts. There have been some solid performances but no blockbuster breakout opener in 2022. This is great for movie theaters.”
So how does Pattinson’s stack up once morest his predecessors? It’s the fourth biggest opening for a Batman movie in North America. As far as lifetime profits, only time will tell, but Batman as a $1 billion franchise is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Tim Burton’s “Batman” starring Michael Keaton and released in 1989, made around $252 million in North America and just over $400 million worldwide. None of the Batman movies crossed $500 million worldwide until 2008. Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” starring Christian Bale, broke the $1 billion mark, which repeated with “The Dark Knight Rises.” The Ben Affleck/Zack Snyder era peaked with “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which grossed $873 million worldwide.
