Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: The Batman

  • Taking a Look Back at How ‘The Batman’ Reinvented The Riddler

    Taking a Look Back at How ‘The Batman’ Reinvented The Riddler

    Batman has possibly one of the best rogues galleries in comic book history, featuring characters like the Joker, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Bane, and, of course, the Riddler. Many of these villains have been adapted to live-action, and some even got the special treatment on multiple occasions; especially the Joker. There often has been a criticism that the redundancy is dragging down the potential of

    Matt Reeves may have taken that to heart when he began developing his take on the Batman mythos. Riddler is a character that has seen a few adaptions, which include the 1966 Batman series with Frank Gorshin, Batman Forever with Jim Carrey, and Gotham with Cory Michael Smith. The Batman, however, features a Riddler that is a vast departure from those who came before with Paul Dano playing a sadistic and ominous version that at times felt like he was an actor on a horror movie who showed up on the wrong set.

    One of the very first things you learn to understand about this Riddler is the horror film angle of the reinvention. We first see the character when the light from the television illuminates the figure in the shadows, reminiscent of Michael Meyers from the Halloween franchise. After that Riddler devolves into a Saw-inspired agent of chaos, who uses intricate devices like a rat maze mask and a bomb collar to torture his victims.

    The most notable inspiration here is that this Riddler seems to be inspired by the Zodiac Killer, the notorious serial killer that terrorized the United States in the late 60s. He is sporting an extreme cold weather mask as well as a German military parka with simple question mark symbols painted onto it. At the scenes of his crimes leaving behind ciphers for the police and Batman to communicate with them. Along with the greeting cards left behind, the real-life Zodiac was known to have done something similar with ciphers that were sent to the press so they’d print his messages for the country to read.

    This Riddler believes in Batman’s crusade of vengeance and is, ironically, inspired by him. Riddler doesn’t see him and Batman as foes, he sees them as partners. They are two sides of the same coin that Batman doesn’t realize until it’s too late. He thinks he’s doing the hard part of the job, the line Batman won’t cross to truly cleanse the city of its corruption and bring vengeance onto those who’d taken part in the city’s criminal underworld. The little cards left behind at the scenes of the riddled murder were not meant to be hints, but progress updates that Edward Nashton leaves behind so that he can fill Batman in on how the plan is going. Riddler believes this Batman would be able to catch on quicker and be safe within Arkham as the city is cleansed of its sins.

  • ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Overtakes ‘The Batman’ as 2022’s Highest Domestic Earner

    ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Overtakes ‘The Batman’ as 2022’s Highest Domestic Earner

    While all eyes are on Top Gun: Maverick‘s dominance over theaters, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness still held on tight to the second spot as it has pulled in $16.4M over the weekend. As such, the film has now managed to reach $370M at the domestic box office, which puts it at the top spot as the highest-grossing domestic release of 2022 so far. It has just barely passed The Batman‘s $369M and is currently on its way to passing $400M domestically.

    It has now reached $868.7M worldwide after pulling in another 22.9M overseas. It’ll continue to inch its way towards a potential $900M but some predict it could still pull in around $950M. Though with new arrivals like Top Gun and Jurassic World Dominion around the corner, we might see it slow down. Still, its’s 48% drop is actually lower than that of Captain America: Civil War and has shown some surprising legs after the initial harsh drop. It further hints at this film legging out like a horror film.

    It’s a considerable development that it legged out as it did, as earlier it seemed like it wasn’t going to hit $900M after that initial drop. While it’s not really possible for it to pass a billion, it’s not a measure of its success if you consider that it’s not even released in some key markets like Russia (for obvious reasons), China, Saudi Arabia, and more. So, it did perform quite well and is pulling through after some made theories on the MCU’s box office draw.

    Source: Twitter

  • Hall of Murphy: Episode 18 – ‘The Batman’ Sequel and CinemaCon

    Hall of Murphy: Episode 18 – ‘The Batman’ Sequel and CinemaCon

    At this year’s CinemaCon, Warner Bros. went all out teasing some of its upcoming feature films. Surprising many, we got a few footage descriptions and teases on what’s to come. Not just that but also the confirmation of The Batman sequel, which John and Joe dive right into with their speculation.

  • RUMOR: ‘The Batman’s Penguin Spinoff May Start Production in June

    RUMOR: ‘The Batman’s Penguin Spinoff May Start Production in June

    The Batman is all the rage right now with the film just recently hitting HBO Max and crossing $750 million at the worldwide box office. So far, it’s one of the year’s biggest hits. In its first week the film quickly became HBO Max’s second-highest streamed film ever, and its most-streamed DC film, topping the likes of The Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman 1984, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. The road doesn’t end there, however, as we’re set to return to Gotham city exclusively on HBO Max much sooner than we originally thought.

    HBO Max will bring us back to the world of The Batman will the upcoming limited series following Oswald Cobblepott as he rises to power in Gotham’s darkest hour and the death of Carmine Falcon, becoming The Penguin we’ve all come to love. It seems production on the show may begin a lot sooner than we anticipated as a listing has revealed that the series will start on June 15th in Los Angeles.

    There has been no official word on this start date and a lot of details are still murky on the project. As it’s something that can also change, it’s unsure if they’ll stick with this production start. We have yet to get any new casting, as well as hear who may be directing this series or any specific episodes. This news comes just a few days after Warner Bros. and Matt Reeves took to the CinemaCon stage to announce that a sequel to The Batman is in development with Reeves returning to write and direct, with Robert Pattinson set to don the cape and cowl once again.

    Source: FTIA

  • BREAKING: ‘The Batman’ Sequel Officially In Development

    BREAKING: ‘The Batman’ Sequel Officially In Development

    Back in March, the world was introduced to Matt Reeves‘ take on Gotham City and the Batman mythos with the fittingly named The Batman. The film was a resounding hit, finding universal praise from fans and critics alike. Not only did it manage to bring in over $750 million at the worldwide box office, but now it’s also dominating on HBO Max, quickly becoming the most-watched DC film in its first week with 4.1 million households streaming the film. With success like that, a sequel announcement to the film was only a question of time.

    At the Warner Brothers panel during CinemaCon, Reeves is also confirmed to return to direct the upcoming sequel. Robert Pattinson will, of course, return as the caped crusader, but the plot details of the film are still unknown. Still, it seems that they plan to have the team from the first entry return for the sequel that’ll continue Bruce Wayne’s story of realizing what it means to be a symbol for his city.

    We might still have to wait a bit until we get our first look or even tease what the sequel will be about, but it seems likely it’ll build upon the ending of the first film as Gotham is flooded. Batman having to save civilians while a new threat shows its fangs would make for a unique backdrop and challenge in a Batman film.

    Source: Twitter, Variety

  • Theater Owner Chief Announces the Death of Day-and-Date Releases

    Theater Owner Chief Announces the Death of Day-and-Date Releases

    There have been quite a few discussions since the start of the pandemic on what exactly the future of cinema looks like. The Batman‘s success in theaters and as a strong HBO Max addition seemingly added some momentum to the full recovery of cinema. It’s been rough since the pandemic started in 2020, but family and indie films are finally gaining some momentum again as that audience is slowly creeping back into theaters.

    As CinemaCon is currently ongoing, which is all about the “cinematic experience,” the National Association of Theatre Owners chairman John Fithian made a broad statement during his address. He believes that the day-and-date model has now died as they move forward in a more traditional direction, especially highlighting piracy as a reason.

    I am pleased to announce that simultaneous release is dead as a serious business model, and piracy is what killed it. When a pristine copy of a movie makes its way online and spreads, it has a very damaging impact on our industry.

    John Fithian

    Warner Bros. was one of the few to truly embrace the day-and-date model, as every release for the entire year got that special treatment. Now, they are still embracing a digital next model with a 45-day release.

    When analyzing title after title it becomes very clear that spikes in piracy are most drastic when a movie is first available to watch in the home: it doesn’t matter if its available via premium video on demand or subscription video on demand,” said Fithian. “Robust theatrical windows protect against piracy. If a major title that people are clamoring to see in theaters is released too quickly to the home and then pirated, the temptation to stay home and watch pirated films becomes greater for many potential moviegoers.

    John Fithian

    He goes on to highlight the issue of piracy without giving concrete examples. Still, their main focus will be on 2022 and moving forward, as the potential of this year’s releases offers a lot more box office momentum. One could argue that the topic is quite a bit more complex, especially given the personal investment in the medium also painting the full picture. Yet, the piracy issue has definitely left its impact on the industry, especially with the lack of Chinese releases.

    There’s no true answer and the model may not truly be dead, especially as streaming services start to crack on piracy concerns moving forward. Netflix’s recent fall will also bare its fangs moving forward, but the streaming market is definitely not something of the past. We’ll see if 2022 might be our first return to 2019 numbers, especially building upon the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Batman.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘The Batman’ is HBO Max’s Most-Watched DC Film in its First Week

    ‘The Batman’ is HBO Max’s Most-Watched DC Film in its First Week

    The Batman has seemingly set a new record for HBO Max when it joined the service back on April 18th. In its first week, Samba TV has analyzed that 4.1M households have watched the film. What makes this stand out is that it beat out many of the day-to-date releases from last year. It now has outpaced other recent DC releases The Suicide Squad (3.5M) and Wonder Woman 1984 (3.2M). Not only that, but it has also outpaced The Matrix Resurrections (3.2M) and Dune (2.3M) but still takes second place as Mortal Kombat remains at the top with 4.3M.

    Even in comparison to the original release, the film has managed to pass Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which managed to pull in 2.2M US households in its first week. It’s a big showcase of the new model, as not only did the film pull in $754M worldwide but became the service’s second most streamed film. It’ll be interesting to see if future releases will also enjoy a similar trend with the 45-day release window.

    Though, we have to keep in mind that this data is from an external analyst. They don’t include mobile views. So, the numbers could be quite a bit different and the placements may be different, but we’ll never know until the streaming services ever release the full numbers. Still, it offers us some insight into how these projects are performing and what may or may not break these newer models that are still going to dominate the market moving forward.

    Source: Deadline, Box Office Mojo

  • ‘The Batman’ Digital Release Ends ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Five-Week Dominance

    ‘The Batman’ Digital Release Ends ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Five-Week Dominance

    It looks like Spider-Man: No Way Home’s reign of the digital market has now also slowly come to an end. After dominating the top position for five weeks in a row, it has now been toppled to the third spot. The Batman has now taken the top spot of Vudu’s home entertainment chart, as shared by Fandango’s Erik Davis. There have been hints that the latest DC film has also been a massive player over at HBO Max, where the film landed not too long ago.

    It’s no surprise that the film would dominate as much as it did, especially with the fanfare it received upon its release. The 3-hour film is also perfect for those that wanted to break it up into pieces and were a bit shy about checking it out by spending that much time in a theater. Families with kids definitely used the chance to finally catch up on it, as they could also watch it in installments. It’ll be interesting to see how long it’ll hold on to that top spot moving forward.

    Dog joining at the second pot is an interesting addition, as the Channing Tatum film did manage to get quite an audience upon its release. Sing 2 is the only other film to hold on as long as Spider-Man did in the top ten. Jackass Forever is a fitting strong performer for home releases, especially with its level of absurdity being perfect for those not sure what to watch.

    Source: Twitter

  • Matt Reeves Confirms Newly Spotted Riddler Easter Egg

    Matt Reeves Confirms Newly Spotted Riddler Easter Egg

    The Batman has found its way to HBO Max and with it, eagle-eyed fans have been on the hunt for any possible Easter egg they may have potentially missed out on while watching it in theaters. One that stood out is that people noticed that Paul Dano‘s Riddler can be spotted living opposite the Iceberg Lunge at the half-hour mark. Considering the ending, this would be quite the giveaway if people noticed early but it’s hard to truly make out.

    Luckily, director Matt Reeves took to Twitter to confirm that this is in fact Riddler in that apartment. It sticks out that it’s the only room highlighted with someone looking out the window. The fact the film includes hints at some later revelations is a great eye for detail from the director and his creative team.

    ho knows what other hints and secrets the film is hiding. The Riddler has not only left a lot of clues for Bruce Wayne, but it seems Reeves did the same with his movie. So, with its arrival on HBO Max, we’ll surely see what other secrets might find their way online now that they can easily skim it for any detail possible.

    Source: Twitter

  • HBO Max Brasil Announces ‘The Batman’s Release for Next Week

    HBO Max Brasil Announces ‘The Batman’s Release for Next Week

    Even before The Batman hit theaters, there was the word making the rounds that under HBO Max’s new deal, the film would release at some point in April. It was hinted at that it might be within the 45-day window and would eventually get confirmed. Now, HBO Max Brasil has taken to its official Twitter account to announce that The Batman will hit its streaming service for no additional cost as of April 18th.

    While the US account has yet to tweet the announcement, it does seem likely that it’ll release worldwide on the same date. It also coincides with the overall digital release that was planned for that time window. It’ll definitely cut into the film’s overall performance and maybe halt it from reaching the $800M it was currently building up to.

    Still, this is a big win for those that haven’t had the chance to visit theaters, as the pandemic is still an issue worldwide. Plus, those that are a bit hesitant about sitting through a 3-hour film might now have their chance to break it up into pieces for their viewing comfort.

    With the expansion of Matt Reeves‘ Batman-Verse moving forward on the service, it also makes sense they’d want to make it it’s permanent home moving forward. It’ll be interesting to see if it picks up a large audience when it hits the streamer just like The Suicide Squad did during its initial release. Here’s hoping that we’ll also get more announcements for the untitled Penguin-focused series to build up on the momentum.

    Source: Twitter