Just yesterday, we learned that director Matt Reeves is hard at work on the various spinoffs that take place within the same universe as The Batman. He offered an update on the Gotham PD project that was rumored early on, which has now evolved into a haunted house-inspired series that’ll explore Arkham Asylum. Yet, in a recent interview with the Happy, Sad, Confused Podcast, he used a different wording on the project stating that it’s “put on hold.”
One thing that we’re not doing that I was gonna do… So, there’s the Gotham police show, which, that one actually is put on hold. We’re not really doing that.
Matt Reeves
What makes this so interesting is that in his quote on the Arkham spinoff, he pointed out that the GCPD project ended up evolving into the new spinoff. Yet, from the sound of this, it may hint that he’s still interested in tackling a project that focuses on the police department stuck in one of the worst cities on the planet. There’s a lot of potential with these spinoffs that are eyeing an HBO Max release, but we still have no time window when we might expect them. The version with the code name Gotham Central seemingly got shelved when Terrence Winter left the project as its showrunner. So, we’ll see if it’ll make a comeback at some point.
Never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth, as The Batman‘s final numbers have found their way online and surprised many with the film’s Sunday dropping by 21% from Saturday, which is way lower than its initial 35% estimate. As such, it pulled in $34M and now stands at a strong $134M opening weekend rather than the initially reported $128M.
These numbers further solidify The Batman as Warner Bros.’ strongest opening since the pandemic started, and is Matt Reeves‘ biggest opening for any of his releases. The big question remains just how strong its legs are going to be, especially with the confirmed April release on HBO Max. Their 45-release window strategy will open up some new challenges but could set the standard for the future of cinema.
Still, a 10% drop from the expectations is quite astonishing, and that is for a very genre-defining take on a superhero film. Batman is a very popular character, but it seems like a sign that people were waiting for this kind of film to offer something unique. It seems that even the almost three-hour runtime wasn’t going to scare anyone off, and it’ll be interesting to see how strong its second weekend might be.
We’ve entered a new age where film release windows will be quite a bit shorter than they were in the past. While Warner Bros. is moving away from the day-and-date simultaneous release model, they still are working with a new 45-day release window moving forward. One of the first affected by it is The Batman, which had many wonders when they might expect it to release on HBO Max exactly. Luckily, WarnerMedia CEO JasonKilar has outright confirmed its exact release date on Vox’s Recode podcast. In it, he confirmed that it will release on April 19th on the service.
Think about when movies would show up on HBO, which is eight to nine months after theatrical premiere. The Batman is going to show up on day 46 on HBO Max.
Jason Kilar
It’s not going to be the only film to release within this schedule, as Kilar further highlighted that it’ll affect other big DC tentpole releases, such as Black Adam, and The Flash.
I feel really, really good knowing that The Batman, and Black Adam, and The Flash, and Elvis, and a whole host of other movies, are literally going to be showing up on day 46 on HBO Max in a variety of territories all over the world. That is a very, very big change that I don’t think people appreciate, and I feel really good about it.
Jason Kilar
It’s uncertain how this might affect the film’s box office, as quite a few releases tend to make a lot during their runtime. Yet, the pandemic has shown that the latest release doesn’t truly impact the films too strongly, but it also depends on whatever the release is. It still seems like a possible $1 billion might be in its future, but we’ll see what happens once it releases digitally.
The Batman has finally been released in theaters, and it may have given us the most atmospheric take of Batman and Gotham City on the silver screen. Luckily, it seems that artist Jaime Jones has shared some of his work that helped set the design for Matt Reeves‘ take on the iconic city alongside designer James Chinlund. The designs are great, and you can see a lot of the influences that would find their way into the final product. I do wish we got a shot of Batman hanging above a misty Gotham like the first image, but there’s always the potential sequel to further explore different corners of the city.
A few of my paintings for The Batman. Working with designer James Chinlund on Gotham City was an amazing experience! pic.twitter.com/djrGayua7y
This new take on the iconic Caped Crusader has opened up many new avenues to explore, especially with its unique take on the character and its world. Here’s hoping that we get many more atmospheric shots as we explore more of Gotham City in potential sequels and the spinoffs. While we got a good look at the city, it does feel like we’ve only scratched the surface, especially with the tease of an Arkham Asylum spinoff in development.
The Batman is just the beginning of a brighter future for a new cinematic universe primarily focused on the Caped Crusader and his colorful cast of supporting characters. One of the first confirmed projects was one focused on Gotham P.D. but we did hear rumors that it may have gotten a new focus. It seemed like the project was going to explore Arkham Asylum rather than the usual police storyline. We only had the project name to go by at the time, but director Matt Reeves has finally confirmed the new direction.
The GCDP thing, that story has story has kinda evolved. We’ve actually now [moved] more into the realm of exactly what would happen in the world of Arkham as it relates coming off of our movie, and some of the characters… almost leaning into the idea of… it’s like a horror movie or a haunted house that is Arkham.
Matt Reeves
The horror themes seem quite promising, especially if they fully embrace the insanity that is Arkham in the comics. That is not all, as the director has also teased the direction the project will go and hinted that we might get a bit more from his rogue’s gallery in the series.
The idea, again the way that Gotham is a character in the movie, I really want Arkham to exist as a character. You go into this environment and encounter these characters in a way that feels really fresh. And so in our work on Gotham, that story started to evolve, and it started feeling [like], ‘Wait, we should really lean into this.’ And then that’s kinda where that’s gone
Matt Reeves
There were teases of Batman’s first year has already introduced some familiar villains into this universe, and it’s unclear if these series will all build up into a united storyline, or if they are all acting as separate projects to further explore the universe that this version of the Dark Knight lives in. No matter what direction Reeves‘ vision might be heading towards, the film already gave us a promising starting point and hopefully we’ll find out sooner rather than later when we might expect the new series.
Robert Pattinson has been vocally interested in his excitement to expand The Batman as a franchise. While he mainly talked about turning it into a trilogy, it seems that he’s gotten a taste for blockbuster releases with his recent work in them. In an interview with Variety, the actor has revealed that he’s also actively interested in appearing in a sequel for Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune.
I love those “Apes” movies so much. There’s only been two movies — well, three now — where I wanted to do a sequel: the “Apes” movies, “Sicario” and “Dune.” I saw both of the “Apes” movies in the cinema and I just thought what he could do with mo-cap was just so unbelievable. If he could do that with a monkey’s face, then he can get a performance out of me as well.
Robert Pattinson
After the success of the first entry, Villeneuve‘s space opera and desert planet epic were fast-tracked for a sequel, as the director already mapped out the trilogy he wants to tell. After an interview with the director hit the web that he may already be eyeing to add Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen into the sequel. As such, he may be a potential role for Pattinson if they are already busy casting. We only have the confirmation that the original cast will return. So, we might get some hints later this year as they prepare for production.
It’s not The Dark Knight: I feel like we need to get that out of the way. It isn’t flawless either, nor is it the game changer you’d expect from a director of Matt Reeves’s caliber. What it IS is a grounded take on Batman during a time period we haven’t yet explored on film, and the first two acts are brilliant in that respect. Colin Farrell is money, John Torturro is excellent, and Zoe Kravitz is downright cat-like as Selina Kyle. I love that they had Selina be Falcone’s daughter: it worked in the comics and it worked here. However, Paul Dano tries really hard to chase Heath Ledger’s performance for some parts, although he redeems himself at the end with his monologue in Arkham. Having watched it twice, it now is apparent that the Riddler’s plan was that the GCPD would arrest Wayne for being Batman, put him in Arkham with him, and then they’d be safe from the flooding. In that respect, he failed, but I had to watch it a 2nd time to figure that out so I left my first watch thinking he won. The third act was uneven, and the introduction of Barry Keoghan as the Clown Prince of Crime doesn’t do enough to save it in much the same way Sinestro’s heel turn at the end of Green Lantern didn’t save that film. The difference being the two acts work really well here, with it feeling equal parts Departed and Saw. My gripes with it are that Reeves doesn’t appear to gibe much time to Bruce Wayne (focusing the spotlight on Batman in this is either a choice or just the struggle of directing a exciting portrayal of the billionaire playboy philanthropist), and that there are literal shot for shot remakes from TDK. Namely, the shot of the sniper rifle overlooking the town square is lifted from when Bale is trying to save the Mayor and Gordon gets shot and the Riddler taking out the folks in power almost exactly like The Joker did. Also, you can’t say comic-accurate doesn’t work in this universe he’s crafting, and then have Bats inject himself with Venom. Those are my issues with it, but I give it a 4/5. The third act prevents it from being a classic, but it smokes The Dark Knight Rises and Batman Begins.
Anthony Canton III
The Batman is a film that spoke to the kid in me who read the Long Halloween. There are elements of Year one as well and those are mixed together seamlessly by Matt Reeves. Is it an incredibly long movie? Sure, but the movie’s length doesn’t take away from the story they told here. Robert Pattinson did a tremendous job playing a Batman who had no interest in being Bruce Wayne. It’s a character development that should be exciting going forward. Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, and John Turturro all have exceptional chemistry with Batman. They really make the film sizzle throughout. Finally, Paul Dano deserves his flowers for making this version of the Riddler as scary and intelligent as possible. This movie had tension, suspense, and great nods to the comics. The most important thing this movie accomplished was it gave some runway for this Batman/Bruce Wayne to grow and not make him fully formed from the jump. I look forward to future installments with different sets of villains as they set up No Man’s Land. The Batman gets a 9.5/10 from yours truly.
Mary Maerz
Overall, I really enjoyed it. At the same time, it didn’t redefine Batman cinema for me and I’m perfectly fine if I could not ever see it again. The visuals and score, unsurprisingly could be incredible. While it was stunning at times, it kind of hit the same note at all times. It was very cohesive, but pretty monotone. For me, that’s why it felt way too long—I’m not against 3 hour movies, but I felt a bit defeated when I realized there was still another 30 minutes left. I would have brought more snacks in hindsight.
I liked the supporting cast more than I expected to, which is saying a lot because I was expecting them to be good. Robert Pattinson was great, but I have no idea how someone gets “best Batman ever” out of that. He just did not have the specific presence enough to be irreplaceable in this movie. And that is not a shot at Pattinson, but more of a comment on the script and the way this movie portrayed Bruce Wayne/Batman.
The Riddler was great in the first act, I felt like he disappeared completely in the middle, and then flopped a bit in the final act. While the build up of the character is awesome, but his end game sort of erased his “grounded serial killer” attitude and turned him into a much cornier and pretty average comic book villain. I think a lot of the nuance was lost when his motivation and final move were revealed.
Overall, I’d give it a 7.5/10. But it seems like it’s easier to talk about the negatives when I’ve heard that it was the greatest comic book movie of all time for years. It was good and extremely well-made with its cinematography and score in particular, which is a very standard take. It knew how to be dark, grungy, and delightfully uncomfortable. And it did what it did well a lot. Zoë Kravitz stood out more than anyone, and I really really enjoyed Jeffrey Wright. Like all movies, it was not perfect and not for everyone. I do not personally think it will singlehandedly change the genre, but it’s great that it adds a relatively unique vision to the conversation.
Charles Murphy
For the time being, The Batman is going to remain a riddle to me. Wonderfully acted and beautifully shot, the film left me with some questions and concerns about the future of the character. I appreciated the patience with which director Matt Reeves set up the film’s mystery; I never felt like I was bored nor that the film wasted time. That patience gave the film time to show a side of Batman that hasn’t been properly explored in live-action films and I enjoyed it. Robert Pattinson’s pensive Batman might be my favorite version of the character so far, though further viewings of the film will be necessary before I can really be sure. The film gave him some great Batman lines (the your blood or mine one was a favorite) and provided a wonderful foil in the from of Zoe Kravitz’s Selina Kyle, who certainly had an impact on the Caped Crusader. Between his “loss” to the Riddler and his time with Catwoman, Batman will be forever changed and the film ends with the hint that when we next see him, he’ll be a very different man, and that fits wonderfully with where the character is in his journey.
My concern is that, for a film that is meant to be a jumping off point for a decade worth of Batman-related content, it feels VERY narrowly-inspired. Watching this film, it’s easy to get the idea that Reeves’ model of Batman was developed by reading the works of Frank Miller and Jeph Loeb. While each of those writers brought something absolutely fascinating to the character, honing in on their takes could potentially mean forsaking some of the other things that have truly defined the character over 83 years of stories. Could Ra’s al Ghul exist in this world designed by Reeves? If not, a wealth of stories and characters that come from that corner of mythology can’t either. Could any of the more fantastical characters exist here? If not, another corner of what has defined Batman over the years can’t be explored. Reeves’ Gotham seems like a bad place with bad mob guys and dirty cops, and if that’s all it is, I don’t care to see more of it. I want to see Clayface. I want to see Robins, all of them! Those things all seem like they’d take a huge leap from where Reeves feels comfortable. Had this been a one-off and not a film meant to kickstart a whole universe of spinoffs and sequels, I think I would have enjoyed it more.
John Sabato
After three viewings of The Batman, it is everything I’ve wanted to see in a Batman film. We have a Batman that lives by his code, who is vehemently against the use of guns and killing. Pattinson embodies Batman perfectly and is the first to truly embrace the world’s greatest detective aspect of the character. Every single one of his supporting characters and antagonists are perfect and feel definitive to me. Jeffrey Wright as Gordon works incredibly well alongside Batman; Zoe Kravitz is the perfect parallel to Batman; Colin Farrell’s Penguin was hilarious. Paul Dano’s Riddler, however, was a fantastic reinvention of a character who has previously only seen quite goofy adaptions. Dano especially shined in the scene between him and Batman in Arkham. Overall, while at times I do think the film could drag a bit, and it is long, the third act really shined for me and by the end I just wanted it to keep going. The thought of having to wait so long for a sequel is killer.
Hunter Radesi
If Matt Reeves did anything right in The Batman, it was the atmosphere. There’s been a lot of comparing this film to The Dark Knight, once considered the definitive take on the character, and in this regard, Reeves blows Nolan out of the water. From the film’s opening moments, it plays with the iconography of Batman and Gotham in ways that make you fear the vigilante and his city right alongside its fictional inhabitants. It often feels like a Black Series comic come to life, teetering on the edge of brooding noir and cornball camp. A lot of the film is what I’ve always wanted to see in a Batman adaptation, with secrets of Gotham unearthed and the protagonist used as both a true detective and a force of nature. However, it’s not without its flaws. Parts of the overlong plot tend to lose their steam, and some baffling choices are made in regards to the Batman mythology. Overall, the film is a beautiful take on the character with room for improvement in an inevitable sequel.
Joseph Aberl
The Batman is a curious piece that echoes David Fincher‘s noir era of storytelling. In his second year, Robert Pattinson‘s take on Bruce Wayne is damaged and lost to his own obsession with vengeance. The film plays strongly with those emotional ties and intersects it with a strong noir mystery that keeps you on your toes throughout. The sound design is what truly grips you in, especially with some shots focusing primarily on the threat that is Batman. The use of shadows for the character in making it believable why criminals fear him is a standout moment and may be the character’s best on-screen introduction. Yet, I will say the soundtrack does tend to feel like it is on repeat at times and doesn’t truly stand out as it could’ve. A lot about this film relies on subtlety to focus on the atmosphere it creates rather than becoming a pure fan-pleasing film. Still, it may be one of the best adaptations of the comic’s version of the character and a great start into what may be a very unique franchise.
The Batman has secured the second-best opening weekend behind Sony and Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: No Way Home. The latest film from Matt Reeves is looking to bring in around $128 million in its opening weekend, following a $43.2 million Saturday. Of course, as it is still early in the day, the film’s opening could rise to $130 million depending on how Sunday progresses.
The Batman marks the biggest opening for Warner Bros. during the pandemic era, as well as the best opening for Reeves, coming in above Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which opened to $73 million. More impressively, however, The Batman‘s opening weekend is currently the best domestic opening for the year. The film’s opening numbers are all the more impressive given its nearly three-hour runtime.
Regarding The Batman, Toby Emmerich, president of Warner Bros. Motion Pictures, spoke highly of Reeves and his vision for the film. “You to buy into the idea that Batman is like Hamlet. He’s such a rich character. And that the only reason to do it is if you find a different swim lane and a Batman that’s true to the DNA, but is a different interpretation,” he said in a statement to THR. “From the very beginning, Matt consciously made sure that the character and the story he was telling was different than anyone that had been told before.”
Here’s a cute little gag from the team over at The Boys. As the show heavily deals with a group of normal people taking on corrupted superheroes, the release of The Batman seemed like a perfect time for some cheeky cross-promotion. As such, their marketing team seemingly whipped up a few character posters that are heavily inspired by the DC character’s long history in cinemas. The Female gets the most recent adaptation based on The Batman while Mother’s Milk gets the 1989 treatment. You can check out the clever posters right here:
It’s a clever idea to not only promote the upcoming season but also pay tribute to the recent release. A little disappointed they didn’t do this with other superhero films that have been released since the series started, but perhaps it gave them a taste for the idea and we’ll see more in the future. There’s still no new trailer for the upcoming season, as most of the attention has gone to the animated spinoff Diabolical. That might get some screentime for another few weeks before we get a new look at what’s to come. We’ve already had quite a lot teased with some heavy promotion of new characters. So, we’ll see if Homelander is about to give the spotlight to someone else soon.
UPDATE: It looks like there’s been an update on the numbers, as the final cume for Friday has arrived with $57M. While it’s only $2M higher than the previously reported number, it does bump The Batman to a potential $120M.
Just yesterday, we learned that The Batman took in around $21.6M in its Thursday previews. In total, the film has now made $55M if you include Friday’s box office numbers in the domestic market. As such, it’s definitely on its way to passing $110M over the weekend, but it’s still possible that it could go higher. As such, the film is now the sixth highest opener for March, just behind Alice in Wonderland‘s $116.1M. It’s a strong start for the 2022 box office and is now on its way to becoming the biggest performer for Warner Bros. with a theatrical release since 2019’s Joker, which opened with $96.2M.
In the pandemic, the film will still fall short of Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s $121.9M but it’ll still take the second-best spot. As pointed out by Deadline, even with non-pandemic times it’s an incredible opening and worthy of praise especially given that the film is also one of the longest releases during these times. At this rate, it’s safe to say that Matt Reeves‘ first foray into Batman may already be on its way to join the $1 billion club by the end of its runtime. It’s only unclear how the 45-day theatrical window might hurt it in the long run.
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