After six weeks of release, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is about ready to wrap up its theatrical run. While it still likely has a few million dollars to add to its overall take, the additional revenue will not be enough to overtake any other superhero films at the global box office. This means Dawn of Justice will finish up as the seventh highest grossing superhero movie of all time. To be sure, it has made quite a bit of money, but there are several other films that did more.
To reach the top tier of superhero movies today, you really need to break the billion dollar mark, as the top five movies in the category have done so. According to Box Office Mojo, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hasn’t gotten there yet, and at this point it’s all but impossible that it will do so. While the superhero team-up/fight was able to break the top ten it was not able to overcome the top performers in the MCU, nor was it able to outdo either of Batman’s last two cinematic outings. The current ranking is:
1. Marvel’s The Avengers - $1.519 billion2. Avengers: Age of Ultron - $1.405 billion3. Iron Man 3 - $1.205 billion4. The Dark Knight Rises - $1.084 billion5. The Dark Knight - $1.004 billion6. Spider-Man 3 - $890.9 million7. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - $863 million
Much of the success that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice did achieve can be chalked up to the international movie audience. The film actually sits in the number 11 spot for the genre if only North American numbers are taken into account, although, it’s close enough to movie’s like Guardians of the Galaxy that it may still be able to overtake them before leaving theaters entirely. One movie not on the international list that Batman and Superman won’t be able to take down in North America is Deadpool, meaning that Dawn of Justice will also finish up no better than the number two superhero movie for the year.
To be sure, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice made a lot of money. Considering how impacted the genre has become, finishing inside the top 10 should be viewed as an achievement. Overall it’s a very good sign for the new DCEU as it’s likely that future films will be able to build on this success. None of Marvel’s early films, as successful as they were, are nearly as high on this list but they were able to build to Iron Man 3 and Avengers level numbers. If past is prologue, then DC is in for some big box offices down the line. (Right?)
What do you think of the box office success of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? Do you think that Justice League will be joining The Avengers in the billion dollar club?
