Though Batman Vs. Superman sits at a dismal 29% at Rotten Tomatoes (I’ve seen it there as low as 28%), it continues to buck the trend of lower-rated movies not performing very well at the box office.
Just today saw word that Batman Vs. Superman has netted over half a billion dollars — in five days.
Now it’s learned Batman Vs. Superman is performing even better than WB had expected, and it’s also seeing repeat business.
Fortune has an article offering forth various explanations for the success of Batman Vs. Superman where comments are made from Jeff Goldstein, WB’s executive vice president of theatrical distribution.
Performed Higher Than Expected
“That’s about $100 million more than we thought we’d ever get,” admitted Goldstein. “I can’t believe we hit a number that large.”
Goldstein also commented on the negative reviews, but who really cares what the critics have to say anyway, right?
“Some critics were unduly harsh,” said Goldstein. “But there’s no question the audiences felt differently. They made up their mind and voted with their feet. So there is a disconnect between what the audiences felt and the critics wrote.”
Goldstein also admits there was a pressure with launching the Justice League movie universe, but that they do believe in all the properties, which includes movies for Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg and Green Lantern.
“Going into this, we had such high expectations. We really believe in the property. And not just in Batman and Superman but the whole story arc of the DC Universe,” said Goldstein. “Did I feel the pressure of multiple movies? Of course! Here we are launching this movie and it’s the start of a whole story arc for a bunch of movies. And you go, ‘Wow, that’s a pretty bold move to do that.’”
Repeat Business
Regarding repeat business for Batman Vs. Superman, Fandango has the numbers offering it’s pretty high and better than most movies (Star Wars: The Force Awakens was around 42%).
“Fandango is seeing 30% more repeat business for Batman v Superman than the company sees for a typical blockbuster,” said Fandango’s vice president of communications Dana Henry Benson, “and sales for the movie continue to be strong today.”
Goldstein also offered that 5-10% of the opening weekend gross was a result of fans going to see Batman Vs. Superman numerous times.
“You can’t gross this kind of business without people coming back,” Goldstein said. “The math isn’t there.”
My Thoughts
I’m actually going to see Batman Vs. Superman myself for a second time tomorrow. I’ll admit, the movie is far from perfect, and I wish they did Superman right, but I was pretty happy with Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and the Justice League cameos. I also want to see what a second viewing does regarding Eisenberg for me, whose Lex Luthor performance seems to be the most controversial part of the entire movie. Plus, Zack Snyder let loose new details following the release of movie (I’ll talk about those spoilers below). I also think, in part, why Batman Vs. Superman is seeing repeat business is because of all the online chatter. Lots of fans have been arguing back and forth, the buzz is definitely there, and I’m hearing people are not only going to see the Dawn of Justice for a second, but even a third time and more.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is now in theaters.
Spoilers
With my first viewing of Batman Vs. Superman, I didn’t know that:
The photographer was Jimmy Olsen
Cyborg was created with a Mother Box
Lex saw one of Darkseid’s generals
Patrick Wilson voiced the president
I also want to watch the Superman vs. Batman fight again (I didn’t first realize Batman used lead-based gas grendades, etc.)
And honestly, I want to watch Gal Gadot in her Wonder Woman costume again (just being honest).
