The Batman's China box office projections are much lower than anticipated. The film, which is the latest entry in the long-running DC Extended Universe, stars Robert Pattinson as the titular caped crusader and was directed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' Matt Reeves. It follows Batman tracking down a vicious serial killer during the early years of his career defending Gotham and features Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, and Colin Farrell as The Penguin, who will now officially be getting his own HBO Max series spinoff.
In the U.S., The Batman opened on March 4, 2022. It took in a domestic opening of $134 million, the largest of any DC film since Suicide Squad in 2016, as well as the largest of 2022 so far. As it heads into its third weekend, its standing total is $245.5 domestic (landing the film at the current #2 domestic slot for the year) with a cumulative $472 million worldwide. That's a solid week 2 take, but producers were likely hoping for the massive influx that a China opening usually provides for Hollywood blockbusters.
Per THR, right when Chinese box offices had started to open their doors to more Hollywood films, a COVID outbreak and the closures of 30% of Chinese cinemas has massively impacted prospects. The Batman was originally projected to take in between $25 million and $30 million in its initial release on Friday, March 18, but those numbers have fallen to somewhere between $15 million and $20 million. However, those predictions are especially shaky given the escalating situation in many of China's population centers.
Currently, there is no way of knowing how the situation in China will develop and if the box office will resuscitate at some point down the road. Between political and pandemic considerations, Chinese box office has been shaky since 2020 to begin with, but regardless, The Batman is taking a major blow. Although it had a strong opening weekend domestically, it will likely struggle to match the overall total of pre-pandemic Batman films like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($873.6 million) and The Dark Knight Rises ($1.1 billion).
All told, even if The Batman struggles in China, it may still be able to hold its own against the massive Batman hits of the past. Even if it doesn't, it seems likely that it will manage to keep its hold in the top 10 of the year. Even if the year's many upcoming MCU Phase 4 projects knock it down a couple pegs, as is entirely likely, this is still an extremely strong performance overall.
Source: THR
