Perspective is something we often lose when discussing massive Hollywood blockbusters these days. For example, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" dominated the box office in its first weekend, taking down $166 million domestic last week. But despite the high totals, both fans and critics alike have expressed their displeasure with the movie (though perhaps it's not quite as bad as we all think). Now, like a bad hangover, Warner Bros. is feeling the delayed effects.
"Batman v Superman" dropped a massive 68 percent in its second week in theaters, earning "just" $52.4 million this past weekend. Typically, blockbusters like this drop anywhere between 55-60 percent between Weeks 1 and 2, so "Batman v Superman's" dramatic decline is a cause for concern.
WB shelled out a reported $250 million in production costs (with some rumors hinting the total was closer to $400 million) and an additional $150 million in marketing for Zack Snyder's superhero team up. As of this writing, the movie has made $261.45 million domestic and a total of $682.85 million worldwide. That's good enough for a profit, but the launching pad for the DC Extended Universe likely won't eclipse $1 billion like the studio had expected.
The underwhelming performance is especially worrisome for WB as "Batman v Superman" was intended to generate buzz for further DCEU films like this summer's "Suicide Squad" and next year's "Wonder Woman" standalone movie, not to mention the upcoming two-part "Justice League" series.
"Sometimes the bigger they are the harder they fall," Paul Dergarabedian, comScore's senior media analyst, said. "This is often what happens when you have films that rank in the top 10 debuts of all time."
While drops like this aren't unprecedented, they usually aren't as steep. Snyder's "Man of Steel" fell 64.6 percent in its second weekend while "The Dark Knight Rises" dropped 61.4 percent. Rival Marvel, considered the gold standard in shared cinematic universe building at the moment, hasn't escaped this trend either. Disney's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" saw a 59.4 percent drop and Fox's "X-Men: Days of Future Past" tumbled 64.2 percent.
Still, 68 percent is nothing to gloss over. That number puts "Batman v Superman" in the company of all-time failures such as last year's "Fantastic Four" reboot and 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." Curiosity pushed the film to a dominant opening weekend, but the negative reviews have clearly impacted the film's legs at the box office.
We'll see what effects, if any, this has on the future of the DCEU.
Follow Brandon Katz at @Great_Katzby
