Box Office: ‘The Batman’ Scores $128 Million, Second-Biggest Pandemic Debut

variety.com:

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterHoly ticket sales, Batman!Robert Pattinson’s pitch-black superhero adventure “The Batman” collected a mighty $128.5 million in its box office debut, marking the best opening weekend of 2022 by a landslide.

But what is more impressive: it’s only the second pandemic-era movie to cross the $100 million mark in a single weekend, a feat first achieved by “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which launched last December to a historic $260 million.Thanks to positive reviews, strong reception from ticket buyers and high levels of intrigue to see Pattinson’s moody take on the Caped Crusader, “The Batman” is shaping up to be a commercial winner for Warner Bros.

That’s good news because the studio shelled out a hefty $200 million to produce the film and spent many millions more in marking and distribution costs.

Bringing Batman to the big screen doesn’t come cheap, and achieving profitability won’t be easy. “The Batman” also likely benefitted because the comic book adaptation is playing exclusively in theaters.