The plaudits may have been going to Morbius, which managed to overcome largely horrendous reviews to open to $84 million globally, but Matt Reeves’ The Batman has passed another significant milestone at the box office.
Robert Pattinson’s acclaimed debut as the Caped Crusader may have slipped back into third place on the domestic charts, but after a month in release, the first installment of what’s shaping up to be an expansive film and television BatVerse has crossed the $700 million barrier worldwide.
That makes The Batman just the fourth Hollywood title to hit theaters since the beginning of 2020 to achieve the feat, with the World’s Greatest Detective joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, Daniel Craig’s 007 swansong No Time to Die, and high-octane sequel Fast & Furious 9 in the rarefied air.
Reeves’ atmospheric reinvention of the Gotham City mythos has additionally ascended to fourth place on the all-time domestic rankings for DC, with Wonder Woman, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Dark Knight the only titles to have earned more on home soil.
It’s still back in seventh on the global front, though, but The Batman should have enough in the tank to pass Suicide Squad‘s $746 million, even if Wonder Woman‘s $821 million is starting to look out of reach. The billion-dollar optimism evaporated fairly quickly, but a three-hour epic soaring past $700 million in four weeks while the pandemic is still a major factor should be lauded as an impressive accomplishment for all involved.