Everyone knew that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was going to win last weekend’s box office battle. This big-budget behemoth went relatively unchallenged its opening weekend (no offense, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2). But in light of its mostly critical reviews, would it have the muscle to win again?
Well, the results are in. And we now can say definitively that, weak reviews notwithstanding, Batman v Superman is no joker.
The superhero flick froze its competitors in their tracks and cobbled together a pot of gold worth an estimated $52.4 million. Certainly, there’s no riddle to why Batman v Superman continues to hold sway over the moviegoing public: It’s Batman! And Superman! One would have to be mad as a hatter to not see the appeal in that.
Still, even this victory was a bit two-faced. While Batman v Superman has now collected a seriously impressive $261.5 million in North America (and $421.4 million globally), the flick did suffer a steep 68% drop, leaving its ability to catch Deadpool as the year’s biggest superhero flick (Captain America: Civil War pending, of course) a bit in doubt. Yes, these are strange days indeed when a one-two punch like that might straggle behind a foul Marvel afterthought. You might even say bizarro.
Meanwhile, Disney’s Zootopia continues to hop around the box office’s top echelons. The animated flick collected another $20 million this week, bringing its five-week total to $275.9 million. That’s a lot of lettuce.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 slid into third place with $11.1 million, pushing God’s Not Dead 2 to fourth in its opening weekend. The latter flick—the follow-up to 2014’s surprise hit God’s Not Dead—struggled to keep pace with the pace set by its surprise hit predecessor. The original GND made $9.2 million in its opening weekend. The sequel, opening in three times as many theaters, earned just $8.1 million.
Is it possible that the movie fell victim to a bizarro problem of its own? Oversaturation? While Christian audiences have been historically been underserved, this spring has seen a bevy of quality faith-based movies hit theaters, from Risen to The Young Messiah to Miracles From Heaven—which, incidentally, earned $7.6 million to close out the Top Five. Could it be that, after starving for entertainment so long, this spring has brought a little too much manna?
Final figures update: 1. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, $51.3 million; 2. Zootopia, $19.3 million; 3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, $11.2 million; 4. God’s Not Dead 2, $7.6 million; 5. Miracles From Heaven, $7.3 million.
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