Warner Bros. Pictures‘ Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opened to $170.1 million domestically over Easter weekend in 4,242 theaters, an average of $40,100 per theater. That means the film has broken the record for best pre-summer opening, surpassing The Hunger Games‘ $152.5 million from March 2012. It is also the largest domestic opening for Warner Bros. Pictures ever (previous record was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2‘s $169.2 million from 2011), the widest release pre-May, the largest Easter opening (previous record was Furious 7‘s $147.2 million from 2015), the largest opening for a DC film (previous record was The Dark Knight Rises‘ $160.9 million from 2012), and the biggest March opening ever (previous record was The Hunger Games‘ $152.5 million from March 2012).
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice marks the sixth-highest domestic opening ever, passing up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2‘s $169.2 million and trailing Iron Man 3 in fifth place with $174.1 million.
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The film, which cost a reported $250 million to make before marketing, brought in $27.7 million from Thursday previews, a new Easter record, passing up Furious 7‘s $15.8 million from last year. $18 million of the $170.1 million total came from 272 IMAX screens, which marks the largest Easter opening for IMAX as well. Globally, Batman v Superman earned $36 million from a record 945 IMAX screens. It’s the third-highest opening for IMAX ever, trailing just Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ $47.5 million and Jurassic World‘s $44.1 million. The film received a B CinemaScore from audiences.
The Zack Snyder-directed film stars Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, with Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane returning from Man of Steel, joined by Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, Holly Hunter as Senator Finch, as well as Scoot McNairy, Callan Mulvey and Tao Okamoto.
You can read our two reviews by clicking here and here. Photos from the various premieres can be viewed here, and you can also view all our previous coverage of the film here.
In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante, fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.
Also, 20th Century Fox’s comic book adaptation Deadpool earned $5 million in seventh place its seventh weekend in theaters. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, Ed Skrein and Brianna Hildebrand, the movie has now brought in $349.5 million in North America on a budget of just $58 million. Internationally, Deadpool has now earned $396.4 million for a worldwide total of $745.9 million.
