Despite the presence of Robert Pattinson, The Batman wasn't a sure-fire bet ahead of its release earlier this month.
Spider-Man: No Way Home might have proved that cinemas can still be packed for the latest blockbuster, but with the marketplace is still recovering from an unprecedented couple of years, it wasn't clear if the enthusiasm would be there for yet another Batman outing.
Strong reviews certainly added to the hype for Pattinson's DC debut, yet The Suicide Squad was equally well-received last year and didn't make its mark at the box office. Now that we're three weeks into its run, we can assess whether The Batman has been a hit.
So with a recent milestone hit at the worldwide box office, let's delve into The Batman's box-office figures to date – and what still might be achieved.
As of March 20, The Batman stands at a strong $600.4 million worldwide, with roughly an equal split across its US box-office haul ($300 million) and its overseas tally ($300.4 million) to date.
The numbers are more impressive when you consider its domestic total marks it as the second-biggest reboot behind Spider-Man: Homecoming, as well as the fourth-biggest reboot worldwide behind Man of Steel, The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Homecoming (via Forbes).
Following its China release this past weekend (more on that in a bit), The Batman has now landed in all major markets worldwide. It'll now be relying on holdover performances to boost its box-office haul, and looks set to end around the $800 million mark.
While it might seem like a disappointment that the movie won't hit the $1 billion mark like Joker did, it's still an impressive performance that has overtaken every other solo Batman debut. Should there be a sequel, there would be hope that this series could match the $1 billion performances of The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.
Morbius arrives in cinemas next week to provide some comic-book competition, but The Batman should still tick along nicely in the next few weeks with minimal direct rivals. The market starts to skew more family-orientated ahead of Easter with the likes of Fantastic Beasts 3, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and The Bad Guys.
Against those titles, The Batman can still work as adult-focused counter-programming which bodes well for a healthy final gross. What will be a disappointment though is that it won't have China to really boost those numbers.
The movie opened with $12.1 million in China, which does mark the biggest debut this year for a Hollywood release in the market. However, it's not a remarkable number as a Covid spike in China has led to around 43% of cinemas being temporarily closed, affecting The Batman's opening (via Deadline).
It's unlikely to bounce back from that soft bow to even come close to the China totals for the likes of Justice League ($106 million) and Wonder Woman ($90 million), let alone Aquaman's mammoth $292 million.
So, as mentioned before, The Batman will be relying on other markets holding well in the coming weeks. The good news is that it does seem to be the case globally at this current stage in its run.
In the US, the movie has been top of the box-office chart since its opening on March 4 and only dropped a relatively slim 44.8% in its third weekend. Overseas, it's retaining top spot in the likes of Australia ($21.4 million), the UK ($43.4 million), Mexico ($24.8 million) and France ($19.3 million).
A bountiful return in China would have been nice, but The Batman is still a box-office hit without it. While The Batman 2 has yet to be officially confirmed, you don't need to be the World's Greatest Detective to figure out it should be a sure thing.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
