Box office report: Batman v Superman drops to $52 million in second weekend
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is falling faster than a speeding bullet.
Warner Bros.’ superhero epic plummeted 68 percent in its second weekend, from $166 million to only $52.4 million. That’s a steep drop, and although Batman v Superman scored the seventh-biggest opening weekend of all time, it only earned the 26th biggest second weekend. After 10 days in theaters, Batman v Superman has earned an estimated $261.5 million domestically and $681.3 million worldwide.
Although Batman v Superman set records last weekend for the biggest domestic March opening of all time and the biggest worldwide superhero opening, there was some uncertainty as to how it would perform in its second weekend, especially with negative reviews and a lukewarm B CinemaScore. Still, Batman v Superman’s fall to earth is actually fairly similar to what Man of Steel did three years ago. When Zack Snyder’s first Superman movie hit theaters in June 2013, it opened to $116.6 million before falling 65 percent in its second weekend. The fact that Batman v Superman had a slightly steeper drop isn’t all that surprising, especially since Batman v Superman had worse critical reviews and a worse CinemaScore.
But it’s important to note that Man of Steel went up against two major new releases in its second weekend: Monsters University and World War Z, both of which knocked Man of Steel to third place. Batman v Superman didn’t have any competition in its second weekend, as the only major new release was the faith-based drama God’s Not Dead 2.
And God’s Not Dead 2 didn’t prove to be much of a threat: The faith-based drama only opened to $8.1 million. That’s less than what the original opened to back in 2014 ($9.2 million) — even though the sequel opened in 2,419 theaters and the first God’s Not Dead only debuted in 780.
As for the holdovers, Zootopia had another solid weekend, adding $20 million to its total. The critically acclaimed animated movie fell only 17 percent domestically in its fifth weekend, crossing $275 million domestic and $500 million international. Zootopia now has a domestic total of $275.9 million and $787.6 million worldwide.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 also held up fairly well in its second weekend, dipping only 38 percent to $11.1 million. The Nia Vardalos-starring sequel has earned $36.5 million domestically after 10 days.
And a second faith-based drama rounded out the top five, with the Jennifer Garner-starring Miracles from Heaven earning $7.6 million in its third weekend. Its domestic total is now at $46.8 million.
Outside of the top five, the Mike Epps-starring parody Meet the Blacks debuted to $4.1 million, and Eye in the Sky, the military thriller starring Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, and Alan Rickman, expanded into 1,029 theaters to also earn $4.1 million. Since opening in limited release four weeks ago, Eye in the Sky has earned $6.2 million domestically.
At the specialty box office, Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis biopic, Miles Ahead, opened to $122,751in four theaters for a strong per-theater average of $30,688. Richard Linklater’s new comedy Everybody Wants Some!! also opened on Wednesday in 19 theaters, earning $323,000 for the weekend with a per-theater average of $17,000.
Here are this weekend’s top five at the box office:
1. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice — $52.4 million
2. Zootopia — $20 million
3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 — $11.1 million
4. God’s Not Dead 2 — $8.1 million
5. Miracles from Heaven — $7.6 million