LOS ANGELES — Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice topped the foreign box office for a second consecutive weekend, racking up US$85.1 million from 68 territories and pushing the superhero film’s global haul to US$682.9 million.
That passes the lifetime gross of Man Of Steel, the most recent Superman film, which pulled in US$668
million worldwide during its 2013 run. In the US, however, Batman V Superman suffered a steep drop-off, falling 68 per cent in its second weekend to US$52.4 million in ticket sales.
Critics have piled on the film and word-of-mouth has been mixed. Warner Bros, the studio behind the US$250 million production, spent lavishly to produce and market the picture because it wants to kick off a series of interconnected movies based on DC Comics characters. The studio already has films based on the Flash, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League in the works and next summer brings Suicide Squad, a film about a team of super-villains.
Despite the frosty reception from reviewers, analysts argued that Batman V Superman is a hit for the studio.
“They’ll be crying all the way to the bank with US$700 million,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for ComScore.
In second place, Disney’s Zootopia captured US$30 million from 52 territories, bringing its global total to US$787.6 million. The film now ranks as the twelfth highest-grossing animated film in history. It has done particularly well in China, earning US$215.3 million and nearly matching its US$275.9 million domestic gross.
Hong Kong-Chinese action film The Bodyguard, snagged third place with US$25 million, while Kung Fu Panda 3 took fourth place with US$19.2 million. The latest Kung Fu Panda movie has generated US$463.9 million since it began its rollout in January. VARIETY.COM / REUTERS
