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WARNER Bros' dark new film The Batman has soared to the top in North American theaters to become the year's first film to exceed US$100 million (RM418 million) in its opening weekend, industry analysts said Sunday.
The latest in a growing collection of Batman films – this one a particularly gloomy version, starring English actor Robert Pattinson – took in an estimated US$128.5 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period, Exhibitor Relations reported. The movie cost an estimated US$200 million to produce.
Sony's Spider-Man: No Way Home is the only other pandemic-era film to surpass the US$100 million mark in its opening weekend, analysts said. It logged a resounding US$260 million in ticket sales when it opened in December.
The Batman has the Caped Crusader tracking down a serial killer (Paul Dano) while battling crime, corruption – and his own demons. It also stars Zoe Kravitz, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis and Colin Farrell.
Sony adventure film Uncharted, starring Tom Holland as an Indiana Jones-style treasure hunter, slipped from chart-topper to a distant second, taking in US$11 million – even as its domestic total passed US$100 million.
Metro Goldwyn Mayer's buddy comedy Dog placed third, taking in US$6 million. Channing Tatum plays a war-wounded US Army Ranger who agrees to drive Lulu, a dog injured while working with the military in Afghanistan, to her former handler's funeral.
In fourth was persistently popular Spider-Man, with US$4.4 million in domestic ticket sales in its 12th week out. Its international earnings are now just north of US$1 billion.
And in fifth, down one spot from last week, was 20th Century's murder mystery Death on the Nile, at US$2.7 million. It stars Kenneth Branagh (who also directs) as the quirky Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in this latest take on the 1937 Agatha Christie novel. – AFP, March 7, 2022
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