*So much for the critics.
Despite a slew of negative reviews, “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” mightily triumphed at the box off this weekend as it sits atop the competition.
According to Shadow & Act, the Henry Cavill–Ben Affleck-starring superhero epic brought in $170.1 million in domestic ticket sales. Coupled with an additional $254 million internationally, the total worldwide gross for the film’s opening weekend amounted to more $424 million.
With the highest domestic opening for a WB/DC Comics movie, “Batman v. Superman” beating out previous leader “The Dark Knight Rises,” which earned $160.8 million as well as “The Dark Knight” ($158.4 million) and “Man of Steel” ($116.7 million) – although not adjusted for inflation.
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Compared to the all-time superhero movie openings, “Batman v. Superman” ranks 4th, behind “Marvel’s The Avengers” ($207.4 million), “Avengers: Age of Ultron” ($191.2 million), and “Iron Man 3” ($174.1 million).
“Batman v. Superman’s” strong box office debut puts to be bed concerns of negative reviews hurting its chances of going over big upon its release. Although the film, which cost $250 million to make, scored a 29% critics rating, Rotten Tomatoes reports it gained the approval of moviegoers, who gave it a 73% audience rating. On CinemaScore, “Batman v. Superman” collected an impressive “B” grade versus the 44 % percent it got on Metacritic.
“The critics spoke and no one listened,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at comScore told TheWrap. “The audience is the ultimate decider of these things and the marketplace makes its collective choice. In this case the overriding factor is the emotional need to see the film and decide for yourself.”
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Competing against “Batman v. Superman” was the only other new film released this weekend, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.” The sequel, written by and starring Nia Vardalos, follows its 2002 hit predecessor and made $18.1 million to come in at No. 3 behind “Zootopia,” which collected $23.1 million for a domestic total of $240.5 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Now that “Batman v. Superman” is finally out, it remains to be seen whether it can continue dominating the box office as new films get set to arrive at theaters in the coming months. For April, “Batman v. Superman” has to contend with the family film “The Jungle Book” and the third installment of Ice Cube’s “Barber Shop” series, “Barbershop: The Next Cut,” (both come out on April 15) as well as the PG-13 fantasy “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” (April 22). Then there’s Marvel’s much anticipated “Captain America: Civil War,” which will provide more than a suitable bit of competition when it’s released on May 6.
So what say you? Does “Batman v. Superman,” deserve all the hate it’s gotten from critics or is it much better than what they say?
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