The Batman is streaming free on HBO Max – and its first week has beaten some major Warner Bros. blockbusters.
Per Samba TV's figures (reported by Deadline), The Batman brought in 4.1 million Smart TV US household views in its first week streaming. That's more than Wonder Woman 1984 (3.2 million), The Suicide Squad (3.5 million), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2.2 million), Dune (2.3 million), and The Matrix Resurrections (3.2 million). But, it's not enough to beat Mortal Kombat, which brought in 4.3 million viewers, meaning the Caped Crusader claims second place in the overall ranking of theatrical movie first-week views.
Of the films The Batman beat, all bar the HBO Max exclusive Snyder Cut were theatrical day-and-date releases, following Warner Bros.' 2021 release strategy (Wonder Woman 2 debuted in December 2020). This year, though, the studio has returned to theatrical exclusives, and new releases will have a 45-day window in theaters.
The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight, who goes up against Paul Dano's Riddler. Colin Farrell co-stars as the Penguin, while Zoë Kravitz is Catwoman, Jeffrey Wright is Jim Gordon, and Andy Serkis is Alfred Pennyworth.
A sequel to The Batman hasn't been officially confirmed just yet, but Pattinson has revealed the villains he'd like to see in the sequel. "I'd love to do something like Court of Owls," he commented, adding, "There are elements of The Batman which are kind of horror and I think it really feels quite new for Batman."
The next DC movie to release is DC League of Super-Pets, which lands this July 29. In the meantime, check out our roundup of 2022's major movie release dates for everything else coming our way.
