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‘Batman V Superman’ Box Office Results Worse Than ‘Man Of Steel’?

By Stephen Jordan
Published on: 12:00 PST, Apr 8, 2016

Batman v Superman continues to deliver some upsetting news, aside from unimpressed critics and angry comic book fans. Bloomberg reports that BvS is still going to do well quite well at the box office, but the numbers may end up being lower than Zack Snyder’s previous film, Man of Steel. Warner Bros. seeing Batman v Superman underperforming at the box office is the last thing they need right now.

“I’m sure that it’s a bit of a disappointment,” Wade Holden, SNL Kagan analyst, said. “They were probably hoping for box-office numbers similar to Avengers: Age of Ultron, since Batman v Superman had DC’s three most well-known comic book heroes together in the same movie.”

Holden is most definitely referring to the Trinity: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Indeed, with the inclusion of these three powerhouse characters (that do transcend the comic book medium), Warner Bros. was probably expecting better financial results at this point. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is currently expected to fare worse than Man of Steel did in its third week, and it should reach nearly $297.2 million by Sunday.

None of this is to say that BvS underperformed to an egregious degree, only that it isn’t quite as much of a hit as the studio was hoping. After all, the studio does have a few things to certainly be proud of.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice debuted with $166,007,347 during its opening weekend at the box office. The film also went on to break a few more box office records for the month of March amid all of the harsh criticism the film and its director received. On the downside, the movie saw the biggest Friday-to-Friday drop ever for a superhero film during its second week of release, losing 69 percent of audience members.

“We’re not concerned with the drop,” said Jeff Goldstein, WB domestic distribution chief. “No matter how you slice it, to get to $52 million on any given weekend is an enormous accomplishment. We’re most focused on where we are in total. And our global number is huge.”

Warner Bros. has already announced that they will be moving forward with The Justice League movie, with Snyder still attached to the project. Some fans were so angry with the film and its director that there was an online petition created to get Snyder off of the film. The studio has also announced additional projects in their DCEU, so it’s safe to say that these box office numbers for Batman v Superman are not causing the studio too much stress. Whether or not fans will follow suit and feel the same way is a completely different conversation.

“They have to be pretty satisfied; they probably aren’t elated,” according to Matthew Harrigan, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities, speaking of the studio. Holden estimates that Batman v Superman would need to earn nearly $1.15 billion worldwide if it is going to be as profitable as Age of Ultron and other successful Marvel Studios films. Harrigan suggests that BvS will end its box office run with a worldwide total less than $1 billion.

The real test is going to be Suicide Squad, scheduled to be released this August. Ben Affleck’s Batman was already announced to have a role in the film, with many assuming that role would be small. However, Warner Bros. had some recent test screenings of the film, and it turns out Batman is in the film more than some may have guessed. Affleck was one of the elements that was most praised in reviews of the film, so it is a smart move for the studio to take advantage of this and have the Caped Crusader in the film.

[Photo via Warner Bros.]

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