14:58 h / 2022/03/08
New blockbuster The Batman has seen takings of $128.5m in North America making it the best opening weekend of 2022 by some margin
The film is only the second pandemic-era movie to exceed US box office takings of $100m in a single weekend, after Spider-Man: No Way Home achieved $260m at launch in December.
Positive reviews, a strong reception from ticket buyers and high anticipation to see the latest incarnation of the Caped Crusader have all addded up to a huge commercial success for Warner Bros. The film’s release is being heralded as the beginning of a post-pandemic blockbuster boom, with UK box office sales forecast to double this year to over £1bn for the first time since 2019.
At the international box office, The Batman earned $120m from 74 overseas markets, taking its global total earnings to $248.5m. This excludes Russia, the world’s 10th-largest market by box office revenues, where Warner Bros. has cancelled the movie’s release following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.