After earning the second $100 million-plus opening of the post-shutdown era, Warner Bros./DC’s “The Batman” has posted an excellent second weekend box office total of $66 million, bringing its 10-day domestic tally to $238.5 million and $463 million worldwide.
This result means a weekend domestic drop of just 51%, giving “The Batman” a better second weekend hold than any of the top 5 highest grossing films of 2021; and considering the movie’s ability to beat projections, that hold could improve further after Sunday’s actuals are reported.
With this blistering pace, “The Batman” stays on track to reach $400 million in North America and potentially $1 billion worldwide, having already exceeded the domestic and global runs of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” as it joins “Spider-Man: No Way Home” as the only film in the past year to top $225 million domestically. Next weekend’s opening in China will go a long way in determining the ceiling for this extremely popular take on The Dark Knight.
With no new wide releases in theaters this weekend, “The Batman” took up an estimated 63% of all domestic revenue. The sole newcomer to the top 5 was not a studio film but an event release: “BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage,” a theatrical live streaming of the K-Pop group’s concert in Seoul that was screened Saturday in 800 cinemas with a premium ticket price of $35.
The extra cost did little to dampen turnout from the BTS Army, as the event grossed $7 million to become the highest grossing live cinema event in box office history and taking the No. 3 spot on the box office charts. Trafalgar Releasing handled distribution for the event, which is the fourth BTS concert since 2018 that the company has brought to theaters.
With a record $32.6 million grossed across 75 countries, the success of “BTS: Permission to Dance” comes as live events such as music concerts, Fathom Events’ long-running Met Opera series, and simulcasts of sporting events such as UFC pay-per-views and the League of Legends World Finals have received more attention among exhibitors as a means of boosting turnout beyond the theatrical slate.
In between Batman and BTS at No. 2 on the charts is Sony/Columbia’s “Uncharted,” earning a respectable $9 million in its fourth weekend to bring its domestic total to $113 million and crossing the $300 million mark worldwide.
MGM’s “Dog” is in fourth place with $5.3 million in its fourth weekend and a domestic total of $47.8 million. Completing the top 5 is “Spider-Man: No Way Home” with $4 million as the Marvel record-breaker closes in on $800 million domestic with $792 million grossed after 13 weekends.