‘The Batman’ Passes ‘Aquaman,’ ‘Joker’ And ‘Spider-Man 3’

The Batman earned another $1.325 million on Thursday (-9% from Wednesday and -46% from last Thursday), bringing its domestic cume up to $338.1 million in just 28 days. That puts it above the raw domestic lifetime cumes of Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Aquaman, Joker and Spider-Man 3. With (ideally) a fifth-weekend gross of around $11 million for a $341 million 31-day cume. At a conventional rate of descent, it should end up with around $375 million domestic by the end, give or take continued legs and/or an HBO Max debut on April 19.

So, inflation notwithstanding (that can be another post and the movie isn’t done yet), the Robert Pattison/Zoe Kravitz actioner is already the fourth-biggest DC flick ever behind Wonder Woman ($412.5 million), The Dark Knight Rises ($448 million) and The Dark Knight ($533 million). It’s Warner Bros.’ sixth-biggest unadjusted domestic grosser behind the three aforementioned DC flicks, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II ($381 million) and American Sniper ($350 million). It’s in rare company, especially among DC/Marvel flicks and franchise-starters, even if it ends up closer to $350 million than $400 million.

Among non-sequel superhero flicks, it’s behind only (for now) Deadpool ($363 million), Wonder Woman ($412.5 million), Captain Marvel ($427 million) and Black Panther ($700 million). Among DC/Marvel comic book superhero movies, it sits behind Deadpool, Spider-Man 2 ($373 million), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($390 million), Spider-Man: Far from Home ($390 million), Spider-Man ($402 million), Captain America: Civil War ($408 million), Iron Man 3 ($409 million), Wonder Woman, Dark Knight Rises, Avengers: Age of Ultron ($459 million), The Dark Knight, Incredibles 2 ($608 million), The Avengers ($623 million), Avengers: Infinity War ($679 million), Black Panther, Spider-Man: No Way Home ($800 million) and Avengers: Endgame ($859 million).

It’s the biggest-grossing straight-up reboot at the North American box office, although Spider-Man 1 version 3.0’s $881 million total (including $116 million in China) will be a bridge too far. Its unadjusted domestic earnings are past the likes of Man of Steel ($291 million), Amazing Spider-Man ($265 million) and Star Trek ($256 million). Whether it can do what those franchises could not namely sustain a multi-film franchise, is an open question. I’m optimistic, as all the elements are in place (strong reviews, solid buzz, decent legs, actual in-theater profitability, etc.) to justify a sequel.

I’m less convinced that the second Matt Reeves installment will “break out,” if only because A) we’ve already had Batman vs the Joker (presuming he even goes that route) as the follow-up hook and B) Batman Begins ended with just $205 million domestic and $371 million worldwide, giving it lots of ground to make up. Still, a figure akin to Venom: Let There Be Carnage (-14% from Venom sans China) or Deadpool 2 (-13% from Deadpool not counting Once Upon A Deadpool) would be fine with a comparable budget. What do you do for an encore?

I hope the next chapter gives us a more fully-formed Bruce Wayne, one who becomes a public figure and uses his fortune for more than just funding his crimefighting adventures. As a general rule, comic book superhero movies live or die by the non-masked alter-ego. Think Toby Maguire as Peter Parker, Chris Reeves as Clark Kent or Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. I don’t hate Green Lantern, but I do think Ryan Reynolds was cast for Green Lantern versus Hal Jordan. Pattinson barely spends any time as Bruce Wayne, which is another factor that makes its commercial success unconventional.

I wasn’t thrilled that this new Batman movie was populated by villains (Falcone, Penguin, Catwoman and Riddler) whom we had already seen in previous Dark Knight flicks. I am hopeful that Reeves will keep Barry Keoghan’s Joker inside Arkham walls, using him as Hannibal Lecter-type secondary character. The Joker may be more bankable than Batman. Suicide Squad earned $725 million worldwide while Joker earned $738 million overseas without from China. However, you can keep the character in the marketing materials without centering him as the main antagonist. If the new baddie scares the Joker, we’ll be scared too.

There is value in offering up new-to-cinema villains. The likes of Ventriloquist, Professor Pyg, or Rupert Thorne (who was the main baddie in Tom Mankowitz’s unproduced early-80 Batman screenplay) could stay within the “real world crime melodrama” template established by The Batman. Conversely, the likes of Man-Bat, Mad Hatter or Clayface could let the franchise’s freak flag fly and assure audiences that they’ll see something different beyond “Batman versus the mob.” Batman has the best rogue’s gallery in comics, there’s little reason to obsess upon the holy quartet of (as popularized by the classic 1960’s television show) Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman.

But if there is value in bringing more of Batman’s rogues to the silver screen, there’s even greater usefulness in bringing aboard the Bat-Family. Yes, I’m talking Robin (hopefully a Dick Grayson or Timothy Drake a little younger than mid-90s Chris O’Donnell), Batgirl (Leslie Grace or someone else, depending on how explicitly they commit to the whole separate universe concept), Spoiler, Orpheus, Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead from Birds of Prey or someone new) and others that have debuted after I stopped regularly reading the books. Robin is as much a part of the Batman mythos as the Joker.

This will give WB the chance to grab a bunch of promising young (and potentially diverse) talent and offer up something we’ve never really seen onscreen before, a Batman flick that’s a superhero ensemble movie. The Mission: Impossible films, The Fast Saga and the James Bond franchise grew in popularity when they embraced ensemble casts. The Batman could similarly benefit. Moreover, the inclusion of these other costumed crimefighters over the next movie or three will give this Batman franchise a “cinematic universe” unto itself, with every character ripe for a theatrical or HBO Max spin-off feature film or television show.

The Batman will pass $700 million worldwide this weekend, with the $754-$773 million totals of Venom, Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy in its grasp. We’re getting a sequel, but WB has the luxury of not having to rush out an announcement to create the impression of commercial success. No matter what happens, I hope the next installment is something more original (at least in terms of the movies) than “lone wolf Batman faces off against the Joker.” There’s an 83-year comic book history to explore. There’s no need to stick with just the stories running from 1986 to 1999.