IsBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’s bad word of mouth catching up with it?Zach Snyder’s epic battle of the titans trampled box office records last weekend, despite poor reviews and a mediocre CinemaScore, but the superhero smackdown is on track to plummet as much as 70 percent in its second weekend. That fall is one of the biggest drops for a marquee superhero film (edging out the 69 percent fall off posted byX-Men Origins: Wolverine).
Batman v Superman will easily remain in the No. 1 spot, earning $15.3 million from 4,256 theaters on Friday for a projected $50 Million second weekend gross. Significant second weekend drops are relatively common for fan-driven films, which are often frontloaded with an audience eager to see the film as soon as possible.TheTwilight Saga: New Moonfell 70 percent, whileHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2dropped 72 percent in its second frame. However,Harry Potternotably had to face off againstCaptain Americain its second week, whileBatman v Supermancurrently has no significant competition at the box office, plus the added benefit of a Spring Break boost with a notable amount of K-12 school and colleges on break. By way of comparison to some other major superhero sequels,Avengers: Age of Ultronfell 59 percent andThe Dark Knight, 53 percent.
Despite the drop off, Warner Bros. has little cause for concern asBatman v Supermanhas already grossed $554 million globally ($224.4 domestically), taking down a number of box office records in its path, including the biggest opening for March, Spring, and Easter weekend, as well as the top spot for a DC Comics film, a Zack Snyder Film, and edging outDeadpoolfor the top 2016 releases to date. It has also already surpasedAnt-Man($519.3M),Thor($449.3M),Captain America($370.6M) andWolverine($373.1M), andBatman Begins($374.2M), and is on track to overtakeMan of Steel($668M).
The rest of this weekend’s marquee is fairly lowkey. Originally, 20th Century Fox hadKeeping Up With the Jonesesand Weinstein Co./Dimension/Blumhouse hadAmityville: The Awakeningset for this date, but both films were later rescheduled, leaving the frame free from major studio releases.
The unsinkableZootopiaremains strong in a distant second with an estimated $20.7 million in its fifth weekend, after a $5.6 million Friday brings its domestic gross to $261 million.Nia Vardalos' romantic comedy sequelMy Big Fat Greek Wedding 2will take third with around $11 million in its second frame, earning Universal $2.8 million on Friday. The final two Top 5 slots are rounded out by faith-based films. Pure Fix Entertainment’s sequelGod’s Not Dead 2took home $2.9 million from 2,320 theaters in its first day of release, and is heading toward a slightly under-target $8.4 million weekend total. Sony’s Miracles From Heaven takes the fifth spot with a projected $7.5 million in its third weekend.
Batman v Superman
$15,350,00
$5,581,000
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
$3,420,000
God’s Not Dead 2
$2,952,422
Miracles from Heaven
$2,150,000
