411 Box Office Report: The Batman Reigns For Third Week, Tops $300 Million

The Batman stood watch atop the box office for a third weekend in a row as it crossed the $300 million domestic mark. The DC blockbuster retained its position at the top spot this weekend as it raked in another $36.8 million, complementing last week’s very good 50% drop with a 45% drop this week. The weekend marks Warner Bros’ third-best third weekend of all-time, behind only The Dark Knight’s $42.6 million and Wonder Woman’s $41.2 million.

The Matt Reeves-directed superhero film has also now crossed the $300 million mark domestically, becoming only the second film of the pandemic to do so after Spider-Man: No Way Home. The Batman has totalled $300.1 million stateside and a stellar $598.1 million worldwide, making it a hefty hit for Warner Bros. and a likely franchise starter. There is still a question as to whether the film will cross the $400 million mark in the US but it’s not impossible, and either way this movie is bringing in plenty of profit for the studio.

Anime came in at the runner-up position, with Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie claiming the #2 spot for the frame. The FUNimation franchise’s first feature film is just the latest example of anime finding greater success in the US theatrical space, following in the steps of last April’s Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train ($22.8 million.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 benefitted from the genre’s devoted following, but also strong critical reviews. The film has a 100% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes (you can see our own Jeffrey Harris’ review here) and that helped drive its box office numbers. The film is also scoring big overseas, where it has $112.1 million in Japan and Korea for a $129.8 million worldwide take so far. Anime tends to be very frontloaded so this one will probably top out at $35 million to $40 million, but it’s a big hit for the studio.

Uncharted continued its overperformance this weekend as it nosed down just 14% in its fifth frame $8 million. The video game adaptation is now up to an exceptional $125.9 million domestically and $337.3 million worldwide, a feather in Sony and Naughty Dog’s cap. The Tom Holland-led movie is looking likely to top $140 million in the US once it’s done, marking a hit for the studio.

Coming in at #4 was Ti West’s slasher film X. The 1970s-set A24 film brought in $4.4 million, at the high end of its expected $3 million to $5 million take. The film marks the House of the Devil director’s first wide release and is a solid number for an inexpensive genre film.

X had overly high expectations from a small segment of the audience after it debuted to rapturous reviews at SXSW earlier in the week. But like many A24 films, this was a movie that was being targeted at a niche crowd. And there’s nothing wrong with that; that’s how the independent studio tends to market their films, because they produce movies that are often quite polarizing. X is no different, with no CinemaScore but PostTrak recording a much lower positive score from audiences (68%) than the critics (96% on RT). RT’s audience score is a quite decent 78%.

X is not going to break any records for A24, but it will be a solid enough performer. The studio’s last wide release, 2021’s The Green Knight, managed a 2.55 multiple amid the summer delta COVID-19 surge. X should be able to top that, and a $12 million finish seems likely. No word on the budget of this film but that should be enough for some profit.

Channing Tatum’s Dog eased 21% in its fifth weekend. The animal road-trip drama brought in $4.1 million, bringing its totals to $54.2 million domestically and $62.1 million worldwide. For a $15 million production budget, those are big numbers and mark quite the success. Dog is now targeting a $62 million domestic total by the time it closes out.

Spider-Man: No Way Home wasn’t hurt much by its digital release this past week, as it dropped just 21% to $3.2 million in its 14th weekend. The Sony/MCU film has now grossed $797.5 million domestically and $1.884 billion worldwide, and is on course to cross $805 million domestic before it exits theaters. The budget was $200 million.

Death On the Nile continues to fight through as it was down a very good 30% in its sixth weekend. The mystery film brought in $1.7 million, bringing its totals to $43.6 million domestically and $130.7 million worldwide. Considering how low this film opened, it is performing quite admirably and while its $90 million budget means its still on track to lose money, it’s determined to minimize the amount for 20th Century Studios. The stateside total should end around $48 million.

Opening at #8 spot was Focus Features’ crime drama The Outfit. The Mark Rylance-starring movie about a tailor pitted against a group of mobsters brought in $1.5 million, performing slightly above expectations. Focus gave this low-profile but well-reviewed film (91% on RT) a limited release in 1,300 theaters and it did quite well, considering.

The Outfit had a difficult road to follow this weekend, as the film was targeted at an older audience who have been more hesitant to return to movie theaters. The pandemic has been littered with older audience-aimed disappointments from the aforementioned Death On the Nile to Cyrano, House of Gucci, Nightmare Alley and more. Focus decided to keep this one’s opening low and it paid off. There’s no word on the budget but if The Outfit can deliver some numbers overseas when it eventually hits there, it should be in fine shape.

The Hindi-language film The Kashmire Files opened at #8 with a very solid $1.5 million. The Vivek Agnihotri-directed drama based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits brought in a decent opening for Zee Studios. Like most Indian films it will disappear from the top 10 quickly but any US money is just a cherry on top of the likely worldwide gross.

Sing 2 closed out the top 10 by once again having the lowest drop in the top 10. The animated sequel was off just 8% in its 13th weekend to $1.5 million. The film has a fantastic 7.1 multiple of its opening, and now stands at $158.5 million domestically and $376.5 million worldwide. It should be able to end its run at around $162 million in the US. The budget was $85 million.

The Batman may finally fall from the #1 spot next weekend as it faces off with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum in The Lost City. The action-romcom is expected to gross in the $20 million range, which should put it in tight competition with the DC film. It is the only new wide release next weekend.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. The Batman – $36.8 million ($300.1 million total, $598.1 million WW)
2. Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie – $17.7 million ($17.7 million total, $129.8 million WW)
3. Uncharted – $8 million ($125.9 million total, $337.3 million WW)
4. X – $4.4 million ($4.4 million total, $4.4 million WW)
5. Dog – $4.1 million ($54.2 million total, $62.1 million WW)
6. Spider-Man: No Way Home – $3.2 million ($797.5 million total, $1.884 billion WW)
7. Death On the Nile – $1.7 million ($43.6 million total, $130.7 million total)
8. The Outfit – $1.5 million ($1.5 million total, $1.5 million WW)
9. The Kashmir Files – $1.5 million ($1.5 million total, $1.6 million WW)
10. Sing 2 – $1.5 million ($158.5 million total, $376.5 million WW)