Soft Chinese Opening for The Batman, but $500M Crossed Globally

 As one of the first mainstream superhero movies in a long while to gain a Chinese release date, it was inevitable that all eyes would be on the Chinese reception of The Batman. Regrettably, state concerns about a new COVID outbreak in the country have led to a softer overall uptake than expected. All the same, the new superhero romp has managed to cross a critical $500M milestone in global takings, and remains strong on performance. Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A, unpacks some figures for us.


                                          Brandon Blake

Slow Start

In many ways, it’s unfortunate that the release won’t get to truly test itself against the current Chinese movie consumption trends honestly, with the disease outbreak clipping its wings. 35% of Chinese cinemas, majoritively in key markets like Shanghai and Shenzhen, are now temporarily shuttered to help control the spike. Despite this, it has delivered a strong score on local ratings platforms, and is currently predicted to close at around $30M taken overall in the country. Under the circumstances, it certainly could be worse. 

$500M Reached Globally

As we’ve looked at before, a strong Chinese release is no longer a prerequisite for great global performance overall, and The Batman continues to show that trend. As of Wednesday last week, we saw the film cross a critical milestone to reach $500M globally, around half of that from the domestic market. While it’s still a little early to predict takings over $1B, the possibility is definitely still there, too. A lot will depend on how well it holds up as the opening rush for tickets fades.

 

Still, it has held up remarkably well as the unofficial successor to the runaway reception of Spider Man: No Way Home at the end of last year, and continues to bolster the idea that a theatrical recovery is well underway. It also holds up reasonably well against earlier installments in the franchise, despite the still-difficult post-pandemic landscape. Things could definitely be worse in the Bat-verse.

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