Matt Reeves’ long-awaited The Batman hit theaters recently and is quickly becoming one of the year’s most notable films. Still, while successful, its opening weekend earnings are falling short of Christopher Nolan’s iconic Dark Knight films.
The Batman opened to $128.5 million at the box office, falling shy of The Dark Knight‘s $155 million and The Dark Knight Rises‘ $160 million. However, the special circumstances surrounding its release should also be taken into consideration, making its successes that much more noteworthy. For example, The Batman is only the second film in the pandemic-era to cross the $100 million in its first weekend. The first being the hugely successful Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton/Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as Lt. James Gordon, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as Gil Colson, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth and Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin. It features new takes on classic figures from the Batman mythos, including Riddler.
Reeves and Dano drew inspiration from the real-life Zodiac killer for the film’s take on the Riddler. The director previously explained, “The premise of the movie is that the Riddler is kind of molded in an almost Zodiac Killer sort of mode, and is killing very prominent figures in Gotham, and they are the pillars of society… These are supposedly legitimate figures. It begins with the mayor, and then it escalates from there. And in the wake of the murders, he reveals the ways in which these people were not everything they said they were, and you start to realize there’s some kind of association.”
As for the Batman himself, the film follows the Dark Knight in his second year of crime-fighting. Reeves was not interested in presenting audiences with yet another depiction of the superhero’s origin story. In fact, the Batman director recently explained that the film was more about the origin of the Caped Crusader’s rogues gallery. “Selena Kyle’s not yet Catwoman, and the Penguin is not yet the kingpin, and the character that you’re referring to is not yet the character that you’re referring to, but it is in fact him,” he said.
The Batman has been well-received by critics and audiences and has several spinoffs in development. Two are currently confirmed, with one centering on the Gotham City Police Department, while the other focuses on The Penguin.
The Batman is playing in theaters now.
Source: Variety
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