Lately, we’ve been used to seeing Marvel movies like Eternals find success at the box office and in the streaming realm. However, one particular Caped Crusader is breaking some crazy records in the name of DC. Robert Pattinson’s newest version of Gotham’s favorite vigilante Matt Reeves' The Batman recently went to streaming after an exclusive 45-day theatrical run (during which the Robert Pattinson-led film found box office glory). And now, the superhero flick is seeing some fantastic numbers on HBO Max.
According to Deadline, in its first week streaming on the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned platform, The Batman has pulled in over 4 million views. That is a massive number, especially when considering it spent over a month in theaters first and has drew in plenty of moviegoers through that release.
The latest Dark Knight-centric film currently sits at over $350 million in just the United States alone and has earned over $750 million worldwide. Those are impressive numbers on their own but, when you add in the over 4 million views this past week on HBO Max, it begs the question of how much the film would have made if it wasn’t promised to stream after its exclusive theatrical window.
HBO Max has been the landing place for the bulk of Warner's top movies since DC’s Wonder Woman 1984 back in December 2020. The pandemic transformed the film industry for a time as, in 2021, the massive film studio simultaneously released productions in theaters and on the streamer. While filmmakers like Christopher Nolan were not happy with this arrangement (with the deal even resulting in a Matrix-related lawsuit, the films did see varying degrees of success on the platform.
Films like WW1984, Dune, and The Suicide Squad pulled some great numbers, thanks to viewers who opted to watch them from home rather than in a theater. The simultaneous release strategy proved to have its merits, though The Batman raked in big numbers than the aforementioned movies.
Matt Reeves' flick stands at 4.1 million views after its first week, while Wonder Woman 1984 and Suicide Squad had 3.5 million and 3.2 million views, respectively. Dune, which had larger box office success than both of those superhero adaptations, had just 2.5 million views in its first week on HBO Max. At this point, Mortal Kombat is the only Warner Bros. release to beat The Batman in first-week views, as it scored 4.3 million.
It should be said that a sum of these numbers are surely from fans who did previously see The Batman in theaters and also opted to watch at home as well. Repeat viewings were inevitable, especially since fans are still finding new clues left in the film by director Matt Reeves. Still, the records the film is breaking are pretty impressive, considering the previous Warner Brothers films its beat out in terms of viewership. Which reminds, I think I need to set aside some time to revisit the three-hour film myself.
Whether you want to watch The Batman for the first time or rewatch it for the umpteenth time, you can do so with an HBO Max subscription.
