The Batman earned $128.5 million in North America during its opening weekend, making it the second-largest debut of the pandemic era behind Spider-Man: No Way Home’s $253 million launch in December and the biggest opening of 2022, according to Variety.
The 3-hour, Matt Reeves-directed film made an extra $120 million USD from 75 territories overseas for a worldwide total of about $248.5 million USD after just five days in theaters.
The Robert Pattinson starring film’s box office success was fueled by a younger male demographic: more than 65% of ticket buyers were male, and more than 60% of attendees were between the ages of 18 and 34, according to Variety.
Following his appointment to the president of Warner Bros. Motion Pictures, Reeves was the first person Toby Emmerich hired to direct a superhero film.
“You have to buy into the idea that Batman is like Hamlet. He’s such a rich character. And that the only reason to do it is if you find a different swim lane and a Batman that’s true to the DNA, but is a different interpretation,” Emmerich said in a statement via The Hollywood Reporter. “From the very beginning, Matt consciously made sure that the character and the story he was telling was different than anyone that had been told before.”
Aside from Pattinson, The Batman features Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Andy Serkis as Bruce Wayne’s valet Alfred Pennyworth, and Colin Farrell as the Penguin.
“It’s fun to see the public really embrace the movie,” Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros., said. “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.”
