According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, is DC’s newest superhero flick and has now scored the second-best domestic debut of the pandemic era behind Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film is Pattinson’s first turn as the brooding crime fighter and it flew to a huge opening box office weekend, ranking in $134 million. It marks director Matt Reeves’ biggest opening so far and is only the second feature to cross $100 million at the box office since December 2019. 

Originally the opening was estimated to bring in $124 million on Sunday, but theatre traffic was much higher than expected, pushing the final number much higher. Overseas, the $200 million tentpoles opened to an estimated $124 million from 75 markets for a worldwide start of $258 million, making its earnings higher than expected internationally as well. The Batman’s early performance is all the more surprising considering it’s nearly three hours long and leans more towards the dark side. The film’s opening cements the supremacy of superhero narratives at a time when many other genres are struggling on the big screen. 

Despite the film having higher than usual ticket prices at AMC theatres, that didn’t seem to deter fans from coming in. On Friday, the film made $57 million, added onto the $21.6 million from Thursday previews and fan screenings. The film has been well received by critics and received an A- CinemaScore from audiences. Fans can see The Batman in theaters now.