Warner Bros/DC’s The Batman has winged its way past the half a billion dollar mark worldwide to become the fourth highest-grossing studio release of the pandemic era. The global total is $505.8M through Wednesday, and there’s still plenty of gas left in the Batmobile.
The split on the critically praised, Matt Reeves-directed pic is $258.3M domestic and $247.5M through yesterday at the international box office.
Robert Pattinson’s turn in the Batsuit started offshore rollout early in Korea on March 1, and across its first weekend in 74 overseas markets bowed to $124.2M. This repped the top international opening of 2022, WB’s best pandemic-era offshore debut and its best internationally since Joker in October 2019 — as well as the 3rd biggest overseas pandemic-era debut in like-for-like markets behind Spider-Man: No Way Home and No Time To Die.
The global launch including domestic’s $134M was $258.2M, smashing WB’s pandemic-era records. The film also hit that benchmark across 62 individual markets including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Australia, Korea, Brazil and Mexico. The Batman further scored the biggest-ever debut for a DC film in seven markets and the biggest-ever opening weekend for a Warner Bros Pictures release in Iceland.
The Batman releases in China on Friday. In the early hours of the morning locally, it is currently atop the chart. A Covid spike has forced some cinema closures, however, which could impact the market.
Warner Bros Pictures Chairman Toby Emmerich said today, “We couldn’t be more thrilled to see people all over the world enjoying The Batman in theaters. Matt Reeves has delivered an extraordinary film that manages to honor the legacy of this global cultural hero while taking moviegoers into an experience that feels fresh and original. We congratulate Matt, Dylan, Walter, Chantal, Robert and Zoë, and the entire cast and crew on this wonderful benchmark.”
Starring alongside Pattinson are Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis and Colin Farrell. Reeves directed from a screenplay by Reeves & Peter Craig. Dylan Clark and Reeves produced the film, with Michael E. Uslan, Walter Hamada, Chantal Nong Vo and Simon Emanuel serving as executive producers.