‘The Batman’ Holds Top Spot in Second Weekend with $66 Million
The Caped Crusader isn’t just cleaning up Gotham these days, he’s also cleaning up in cities from coast to coast as the Dark Knight’s latest big-screen outing, The Batman, easily held onto the top spot in its second weekend of release thanks to a lack of major new competition. Raking in $66 million in its sophomore frame, Warner Bros.’ bruise-black reboot featuring Robert Pattinson beneath the cowl continued to draw impressive audiences a week after the movie came out of the gate as the second-biggest North American debut of the pandemic era—behind only fellow comic-book crimefighter Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Playing in 4,417 theaters, the PG-13-rated tentpole managed a robust $14,942 per-screen average. The Batman’s second week take fell -50.7% from the previous weekend, but as hefty as that sounds, it’s actually not as steep of a drop-off as most recent superhero movies. Despite the flick’s lengthy, three-hour running time, it has already racked up $238.5 million domestically. One reason for the film’s brisk business may be the fact that it is Warner Bros.’ first theatrical exclusive since Christopher Nolan’s Tenet back in September 2020. In other words, if you want to see Batman square off against Paul Dano’s Riddler, you have to leave the house and buy a ticket (fans will not be able to watch the film on the HBO Max streaming service until it’s been on big screens for 45 days). The movie, which also stars Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and this week’s "Saturday Night Live" host Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, continued to clean up overseas as well, pulling in $224.7 million in its first ten days, bringing its two-week global cume to $463.2 million. It is scheduled to be released in the lucrative Chinese marketplace on March 18.
In the runner-up spot once again was Sony’s adaptation of the treasure-hunting videogame, Uncharted. The PG-13-rated film starring Spidey star Tom Holland took in just under $9.3 million in its fourth frame—a drop-off of -16.7% from the prior weekend. Playing in 3,725 theaters, Uncharted scored a $2,483 per-screen average. Its total domestic tally now stands at a hair less than $113.4 million. The movie continues to perform even better overseas, where it has piled on an additional $187.9 million so far, bringing its current global take to $301.3 million. That number should be goosed even higher when Uncharted finally gets unveiled in China this week.
Third place provided the weekend’s only real surprise—although it probably won’t come as much of a surprise if you have a music-loving tween living under your roof. Trafalgar Releasing’s concert event, BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage — Seoul: Live Viewing, a live-stream of one the hit K-pop band BTS’ sold-out shows in its homeland, scored a massive $6.8 million in 803 North American theaters on Saturday night (and Saturday night only), translating to an $8,500 per-screen average. No doubt accompanied by shrieks and hysteria, the film pocketed $36.2 million in 3,711 venues worldwide. We’re going to step out on a limb and predict that these BTS fellas might have a bright future.
In fourth, Channing Tatum’s Dog kept barking with $5.3 million in its fourth weekend—a dip of 12.6% from the previous frame. United Artists’ feel-good, PG-13-rated tale of an army ranger who travels cross-country with a military canine to attend the funeral of its former handler played at 3,407 locations and scored a $1,569 per-screen average. So far, Dog has dug up $47.8 million in North America and $6.4 million overseas (where it got a later start), putting its worldwide cume at $54.2 million.
Last but not least in fifth place was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which miraculously has still not finished outside of the top five since it debuted thirteen weeks ago. Sony’s superhero sensation tacked on $4.1 million over the weekend, a minor adjustment of just -9.8% from the previous session. In its third month in multiplexes, the PG-13-rated Tom Holland-starrer earned a $1,508 per-screen average at 2,702 locations. The film’s North American box office total is now $792.3 million. Overseas, No Way Home has stacked up a colossal $1.08 billion so far, putting its worldwide cumulative haul at just under $1.88 billion.
Finally, with the Oscars set to air on March 27, movie fans seem to be playing catch-up to see some of the more talked-about nominees before the statuettes are handed out. For example, this weekend three contenders in the top 20 saw week-over-week boosts in ticket sales: No. 12 Licorice Pizza popped +14%; No. 14 Belfast jumped +9.4%; and No. 16 Drive My Car got a +8.1% nudge.
Playing in 4,417 theaters, the PG-13-rated tentpole managed a robust $14,942 per-screen average. The Batman’s second week take fell -50.7% from the previous weekend, but as hefty as that sounds, it’s actually not as steep of a drop-off as most recent superhero movies. Despite the flick’s lengthy, three-hour running time, it has already racked up $238.5 million domestically. One reason for the film’s brisk business may be the fact that it is Warner Bros.’ first theatrical exclusive since Christopher Nolan’s Tenet back in September 2020. In other words, if you want to see Batman square off against Paul Dano’s Riddler, you have to leave the house and buy a ticket (fans will not be able to watch the film on the HBO Max streaming service until it’s been on big screens for 45 days). The movie, which also stars Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and this week’s "Saturday Night Live" host Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, continued to clean up overseas as well, pulling in $224.7 million in its first ten days, bringing its two-week global cume to $463.2 million. It is scheduled to be released in the lucrative Chinese marketplace on March 18.
In the runner-up spot once again was Sony’s adaptation of the treasure-hunting videogame, Uncharted. The PG-13-rated film starring Spidey star Tom Holland took in just under $9.3 million in its fourth frame—a drop-off of -16.7% from the prior weekend. Playing in 3,725 theaters, Uncharted scored a $2,483 per-screen average. Its total domestic tally now stands at a hair less than $113.4 million. The movie continues to perform even better overseas, where it has piled on an additional $187.9 million so far, bringing its current global take to $301.3 million. That number should be goosed even higher when Uncharted finally gets unveiled in China this week.
Third place provided the weekend’s only real surprise—although it probably won’t come as much of a surprise if you have a music-loving tween living under your roof. Trafalgar Releasing’s concert event, BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage — Seoul: Live Viewing, a live-stream of one the hit K-pop band BTS’ sold-out shows in its homeland, scored a massive $6.8 million in 803 North American theaters on Saturday night (and Saturday night only), translating to an $8,500 per-screen average. No doubt accompanied by shrieks and hysteria, the film pocketed $36.2 million in 3,711 venues worldwide. We’re going to step out on a limb and predict that these BTS fellas might have a bright future.
In fourth, Channing Tatum’s Dog kept barking with $5.3 million in its fourth weekend—a dip of 12.6% from the previous frame. United Artists’ feel-good, PG-13-rated tale of an army ranger who travels cross-country with a military canine to attend the funeral of its former handler played at 3,407 locations and scored a $1,569 per-screen average. So far, Dog has dug up $47.8 million in North America and $6.4 million overseas (where it got a later start), putting its worldwide cume at $54.2 million.
Last but not least in fifth place was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which miraculously has still not finished outside of the top five since it debuted thirteen weeks ago. Sony’s superhero sensation tacked on $4.1 million over the weekend, a minor adjustment of just -9.8% from the previous session. In its third month in multiplexes, the PG-13-rated Tom Holland-starrer earned a $1,508 per-screen average at 2,702 locations. The film’s North American box office total is now $792.3 million. Overseas, No Way Home has stacked up a colossal $1.08 billion so far, putting its worldwide cumulative haul at just under $1.88 billion.
Finally, with the Oscars set to air on March 27, movie fans seem to be playing catch-up to see some of the more talked-about nominees before the statuettes are handed out. For example, this weekend three contenders in the top 20 saw week-over-week boosts in ticket sales: No. 12 Licorice Pizza popped +14%; No. 14 Belfast jumped +9.4%; and No. 16 Drive My Car got a +8.1% nudge.
