There’s no stopping The Batman.
The Warner Bros. and DC hit movie placed number one at the box office for the third consecutive weekend, grossing $36 million for a superhero-like domestic total of $300.1 million and nearly $600 million worldwide after earning another $49.1 million overseas for a foreign tally of $298.
One downer: With 43 percent or more of theaters closed in China because of another COVID-19 surge, Batman debuted to a lowly $12.1 million. Before the closures, it had been tracking for a $25 million-plus debut.
Matt Reeves’ Batman was only down 45 percent in North America, as well as overseas. (It didn’t hurt that there no new major Hollywood studio releases.)
That landscape will change next weekend when Paramount opens the Sandra Bullock–Channing Tatum action-adventure The Lost City, which held advance screenings on Saturday night, with more than two-thirds of showings sold out.
Coming in No. 2 behind Batman in North America was the Japanese anime offering Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which did a better-than-expected $17.7 million from 2,340 locations thanks to perfect 100 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and great exits, especially from kids. Crunchyroll and Funimation distributed the film in North America. Directed by Sunghoo Park, the film is a prequel to the hugely popular Gege Akutami-created Jujutsu Kaisen series.
Uncharted came in No. 3, earning $8 million from 3,700 theaters to hit a hearty $125.9 million for Sony, which is also reporting that Spider-Man: No Way Home has all but crossed the historic $800 million mark domestically with a total through Sunday of $797.5 million. The studio didn’t fare as well by Stage 6’s supernatural thriller Umma, which opened to $917,000 from 800 theaters.
Globally, there was more good news for Uncharted, which took in another $19 million to cross the $200 mark internationally and finish Sunday with a worldwide tally of $337.3 million. Like Batman, it was hurt in its China debut by cinema closures with a $10.4 million opening.
A24’s new horror film X placed No. 4 after opening to a better-than-expected $4.4 million from 2,886 theaters. Ti West directs X, a slasher pic about a group of young people terrorized while shooting a porno.
Channing Tatum’s Dog rounded out in the top five in its fifth weekend, earning $4.1 million for a meaty domestic total of $54.2 million for MGM and United Artists Releasing.
Focus Festures’ opened the suspense thriller The Oufit in 1,324 theaters, grossing $1.5 million. The well-reviewed film scored strong audience exit scores to currently rank at No. 9
March 20, 8:50 a.m.: Updated with international numbers.
Source: Hollywood
