This past weekend a war of attrition was waged, but it wasn’t only Batman against Superman, it was film critics vs. fanboys. The general consensus among critics is that Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a stinker. Be it too long, the story too convoluted or not enough Batman actually versus Superman, the first big event movie of 2016 still had no problem taking the weekend and breaking a few records in the process. If the estimated U.S. total of $170 million sticks it will be the biggest opening for a Warner Bros. release, besting the $169 million opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. For the month of March, BvS‘s opening shattered the $152 million netted by The Hunger Games as well as Best Easter Opening weekend (former holder of the milestone was Furious 7 with $147 million).
Overseas, the comic-book release is raking in money faster than a speeding bullet with more than $254 million earned.
While it seems foolish to open anything opposite BvS, Universal pushed forward with a sequel to the 2002 hit comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Opening on a little more than 3100 screens, the comedy finished with $18.1 million. That total is better than any weekend of the previous Greek Wedding. Then again that comedy was a word-of-mouth sensation playing 52 weeks in theaters and finishing with $368 million worldwide. The sequel most likely won’t finish anywhere near that total, but it should net a small profit for Universal Studios before it hits the home market followed by endless plays on TV.
Disney’s Zootopia shot past $600 million worldwide over the week as it now closes in on $700 million. At the rate it’s going, Disney will make it to $1 billion earnings in record time. Meanwhile, Allegiant takes a mighty tumble from No. 2 to No. 5 with $9.5 million (a weekend-to-weekend drop of 67% in attendance).
Batman v Superman may have had a monster opening, but Deadpool is still printing money as it adds another $5 million to bring the U.S. total to $349 million (worldwide the number is even higher: $738 million!). Also, Roadside Attractions’ Hello, My Name is Doris and Bleecker Street’s Eye in the Sky round out the top ten after expanding their theater counts for their third weeks in release.
On tap for the weekend we have God’s Not Dead 2 (seriously?) and Meet the Blacks. Batman v Superman will take the weekend in a walk with probably something in the $60-70 million range. Full top 10 below.
01. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – $170 Million
02. Zootopia – $23.1 Million ($240.5M)
03. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 – $18.1 Million
04. Miracles from Heaven – $9.5 Million ($34.1M)
05. The Divergent Series: Allegiant – $9.5 Million ($46.6M)
06. 10 Cloverfield Lane – $6 Million ($56M)
07. Deadpool – $5 Million ($349.4M)
08. London Has Fallen – $2.9 Million ($55.6M)
09. Hello, My Name is Doris – $1.7 Million ($3.2M)
10. Eye in the Sky – $1 Million ($1.7M)
