HOLLYWOOD, March 28, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — As predicted, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” topped the box office with $171.1 million its debut weekend.
The film, which stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot, broke two box office records. The first was for the largest March opening weekend record domestically and as the largest domestic opening ever for Warner Bros.
And, according to Box Office Mojo, this is also the largest Easter opening, topping the $147.1 million brought in by “Furious 7” in 2015 as well as the largest opening for a film based on a DC Comics property, a record previously held by “The Dark Knight Rises” at $160.8 million.
So far, “Batman v Superman” has a worldwide haul of $424.1 million dollars.
But will the superhero film have legs to stay in the top slot?
Industry insiders are cautious to say, due to negative critical reviews. The film scored a below average 29 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and no film with a rating lower than 63 percent on the site had ever opened over $150 million, Box Office Mojo is reporting.
Dropping to the No. 2 slot is Disney’s “Zootopia.” The animated family film earned $23.1 million over the Easter weekend. The film has a total worldwide take of $696.7 million in its four weeks in release.
Universal Pictures’ “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2,” premiered in third place with a domestic total of $18.1 million. The sequel, starring Nia Vardalos and Tom Corbett, has worldwide sales of $26.1 million.
“Miracles from Heaven,” starring Jennifer Garner, dropped a notch to fourth place. The faith-based film took in an additional $9.5 million Easter weekend, bringing the film’s domestic total to $34.1 million for its two-week run.
“The Divergent Series: Allegiant” drops to fifth place with $9.5 million over the weekend. The third film in the “Divergent” series is under-performing with a domestic total of $46.6 million and a worldwide tally of $118.4 million.
