Published Feb. 22, 2022
Synopsis
Distributor: Warner Bros. | Release Date: 3/4/22 | Runtime: 176 Minutes
Batman ventures into Gotham City's underworld when a sadistic killer leaves behind a trail of cryptic clues. As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator's plans become clear, he must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued the metropolis.
Screening Notes
First, let’s tackle everyone’s biggest anxiety…is Robert Pattinson going to be a Christian Bale or a George Clooney kind of Batman. I’m VERY relieved to report that Pattinson surprisingly plays a pretty cool Batman. He’s brooding, complicated, serious and jarringly physical/brutal. Similar to Roger Craig’s reboot of James Bond, Pattinson puts his own unique spin on the character, which makes for an exciting Batman reboot…and I’m sure, will leave audiences very much looking forward to his next film in this franchise.
Past Batman films (as well as most Justice League films) have always been “dark” stories, filled with fear, death and some pretty sinister characters. The imagery is gloomy, taking place mostly at night, where somehow it is always raining, making each scene seem so tragic and everyone unhappy. The Batman storyline is no different, it is a DARK…DARK…DARK movie.
The runtime is 176 minutes BUT the story is fast-paced, well-told and time moves quickly…audiences may not feel good about the fate of humankind, but they will not be looking at their watches.
Boxoffice Estimate
So goes The Batman, so goes the fate of the industry’s Q1’22 boxoffice performance…no pressure! The first five (5) Batman films averaged a $46M opening weekend; the last two (2) $160M. Other recent Justice League films have averaged a $94M opening, led by Batman v Superman with $166M. The 176-minute runtime is an exhibitor’s worse nightmare and will prevent a “grind” schedule; a single print will struggle to turn more than three (3) really good showtimes a day and megaplexes will have to rely on multiple prints to generate significant grosses. The good news, I don’t see much of a COVID-factor impacting business.
Taking all the above into consideration, particularly the lengthy runtime, I just can’t see the film opening to the $135M to $185M some analysts are predicting…I would LOVE for this to be the case, and the quality of the film is such that it’s sure possible, but my thinking lands between $96M to $118M, going on to generate a total gross between $322M and $394M…a 3.3x multiple.
Watch the Trailer
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