INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

‘Batman V Superman’ Forecast For A Weak Opening Weekend

By Nick Younker
Published on: 12:06 PST, Feb 26, 2016

Batman V Superman may have been getting all of the superhero hype over the past six months with the pending release of their first ever combined, feature-length action film. But forecasts are now showing that it will fall quite far short of the Marvel powerhouse team-ups.

According to Deadline, the DC Comics-based Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice superhero team=up film is only forecast to bring in between $100 – $140 million on its opening weekend, which is Easter weekend. When compared to other powerhouse films in the same genre, that is relatively weak. But when compared to any other film, that is a gigantic opening.

But fans should also know that the estimate might be a conservative one, considering it is from rival studios and there is obviously something at stake for them should it succeed. But based off those projections, that number is still quite lower than other major comic book-based films.

Just take into a consideration what similar films have pulled in over the past five years. According to Box Office Mojo, the all-time leader on the comic book adaptation list is Marvel’s The Avengers, which pulled in $207 million in its opening weekend. Of course, in a close second is Avengers: Age of Ultron, which pulled close to its predecessor with $191 million.

As a matter of fact, Marvel characters have the top three spots. But DC had broken through early with their Dark Knight films. The first one opened at $158 million in 2008, and the second one opened at $160 million in 2012.

So it might seem as though Batman’s presence on the film may do well to bring it some extra numbers. But Superman’s numbers have not looked real good over the past several years.

Man of Steel opened at $116 million in 2013, and Superman Returns opened at $52 million, but it did so in 2006 when the price of admission was lower.

There is certainly no doubt that the star power is there for Batman V Superman, with Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck playing the titular roles. There is also good reason to believe that the franchise power is there for the DC characters. The universe has legions of devoted fans that take to the internet every day and voice their thoughts and predictions on the film.

But that might not be enough for Batman V Superman to overpower the opening weekend records that it seeks to flesh out. Although, to be fair, the $200 million range for opening weekends has only recently been a thing for all films. Fans can thank inflation and the internet for the bloated numbers on the Marvel films, as well as the Star Wars film.

The real question here to ask is whether or not forecasts are always accurate? Batman V Superman could indeed be the other movie that passes Marvel on the opening weekend throne, although it is unlikely to unseat the recent Star Wars, which currently reigns at $247 million.

Here’s the thing. Batman V Superman, just like Deadpool, has been forecast in a shaky period of moviegoers. Deadpool was only forecast to take in approximately $65 million in its opening weekend. But low and behold, that movie smashed the record and brought in $135 million, and it is still breaking records at the time of this writing.

So the industry professionals have been way off with their forecasts as of late, and there is a good chance that Batman V Superman could sail away with the box office and break The Avengers record. It has already been done twice by other films, which includes Star Wars and Jurassic World.

[Image via Warner Bros.]

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