It hasn’t been an easy time for the theatrical industry, with the two-year anniversary of the COVID-19 crisis fast approaching, and business is still struggling to find and maintain any great level of consistency.
On the plus side, audiences can always be relied on to turn up for blockbuster comic book adaptations in their droves, and that’s been proven true yet again by The Batman. Matt Reeves’ reboot has exploded out of the blocks with an estimated $128 million debut, which could end up exceeding $130 million once the final numbers have been crunched.
That makes it the biggest first frame of 2022 by far, Warner Bros.’ top earning debutant of the pandemic by a massive distance, and only the second title since the end of 2019 to hit three figures behind Spider-Man: No Way Home. Ironically, The Batman likely would have made a lot more had the epic 176-minute running time not reduced the number of screenings able to be held per day.
Riding a wave of buzz and expectation among fans, not to mention the critical acclaim that greeted the Dark Knight’s latest reinvention, we were all expecting The Batman to pull in these kinds of numbers. That doesn’t make it any less impressive, though, and the DC extravaganza comes bearing so much pressure that people are already debating whether or not it’s got the legs to make it to a billion dollars.
The international numbers will be arriving shortly, and The Batman will be at least a quarter of the way there after only three days on the big screen, so we’ve got every confidence it’ll become the first feature starring the Caped Crusader not directed by Christopher Nolan to reach that threshold.
