"The Batman" off to great start; crosses $250 million mark at box office [details]

Everybody is in awe of the newest superhero epic drama in town. Robert Pattinson-starrer "The Batman" is off to a great start worldwide. Despite tough competition with several other releases, the film grabbed $134 million in North American theatres over the weekend, above Sunday's estimates of $128.5 million.

Directed by Matt Reeves, fans are in awe of Pattinson's performance as an exceptionally moody caped crusader in this DC series. The story revolves around the earlier days of 'world's greatest detective,' Bruce Wayne, how he tackles corruption in Gotham city and wins the fight against serial killer Riddler (Paul Dano). The star cast also includes ZoA Kravitz as Catwoman, Andy Serkis as Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth, Colin Farrell as the crime-lord Penguin and Jeffrey Wright as Gotham City's police chief James Gordon.

The Batman at box office

The film's opening is ranked as the best of 2022 and even crossed the $100 million mark in its first weekend. The $200 million-budgeted film is going strong in the international market too. In India, the film collected Rs 22 crore on its first weekend. The global collection stands at $124 million from 74 overseas markets. The total collection stands at $258,208,624 million, according to reports.

After Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Warner Bros production is the only pandemic-era release to have grossed such high figures. Following the thumping response from fans, the production giants have decided to keep all its releases exclusively in theatres for 45 days before putting it up in OTT. The streaming rights for The Batman has been grabbed by HBO Max.

Coincidentally, AMC Theatres and other major chains have hiked the ticket price ranging from $1 to $2, which seems to have benefited the movie collection. The move is aimed as an attempt for theatre operators to bridge the pandemic-related wreckage.

"This is all quite novel in the United States, but actually, AMC has been doing it for years in our European theatres," AMC's CEO Adam Aron said during the company's recent earnings call. "Indeed, in Europe, we charge a premium for the best seats in the house, as do just about all other sellers of tickets in other industries - think sports events, concerts and live theatre, for example."