Batman, despite pandemic, remains a box office draw

Poster for The Batman

The Batman, Warner Bros.’ latest take on the iconic comic book character, got off to a rousing start at the box office despite the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

The Matt Reeves-directed film generated an estimated $128.5 million at the U.S. box office (including preview showings), according to Exhibitor Relations Co. The company tracks box office data.

Globally, The Batman is on track for an opening weekend of $248.5 million, ERC said.

In 2021, Warner Bros. was used by owner AT&T to drive business to streaming service HBO Max. Warner Bros. would release movies at the same time in theaters and on HBO Max.

Since then, AT&T has agreed to combine its WarnerMedia properties (including Warner Bros.) with Discovery. That deal is expected to close later this year.

Regardless, when I saw The Batman on Thursday night, it was preceded by a Warner Bros. trailer emphasizing how its major 2022 releases would be “only in theaters.” That trailer suggested an apology for 2021.

The Batman’s opening weekend reinforces Batman’s prominence in Warner Bros.’s collection of movie properties.

The Batman goes even darker

The Batman poster

Minimal spoilers

The Batman, Warner Bros.’ latest take on its most popular comic book character, goes even darker than previous incarnations.

Prime example: The Riddler, the movie’s primary villain, has traded in his bright green outfits for a much darker uniform. Also, this version of the Riddler really enjoys killing his enemis.

Beyond that, scenes are relentlessly dark. Anyone who watches a matinee showing will really squint their eyes after they leave the theater.

Besides more darkness, Gotham City is even more corrupt than before. The mob has its fingers into everything and seemingly everybody.

Still, director/co-screenwriter Matt Reeves finds a way to make Batman (Robert Pattinson here) his own. For example, Reeves plays up Batman’s role as a detective.

In the comics, Batman was billed as “the world’s greatest detective” and we get at least some of that here. However, the Riddler provides one clue that Pattinson’s Batman is slow to pick up on. Many members of the audience will be ahead of the game.

Pattinson seemed to be an unusual choice to play Bruce Wayne/Batman. Supposedly, he and Reeves had disagreements during production. But Pattinson is just fine, although you’d think a rich guy like Bruce Wayne could afford a hairbrush.

Reeves wisely avoids a detailed flashback of how Bruce Wayne’s parents were killed. Those events are referenced but there are no falling pearls as some movies have depicted when Martha Wayne got killed.

Also, Reeves sets his story two years into Wayne’s career as Batman. The relationship between Batman and Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) is established when the movie begins.

One big plus for the movie is the score by Michael Giacchino. The composer has done scores for a number of Marvel films, including Spider-Man No Way Home. But Giacchino’s score for The Batman is nothing like that. His takes on two very different comic book characters are appropriate for each.

Is the movie flawed? At almost three hours, it’s too long.

At the same time, Reeves isn’t concerned with making Batman fit into a connected film universe. Everything is focused on Bruce Wayne, his personal issues, and a grim story.

The movie is worth seeing unless you hate comic book-based films on principle. It is ambitious. For me, it fell short. But fans of a dark, dark Batman will be enthusiastic. GRADE: B.

Tom Cruise exposes an entertainment fault line

Tom Cruise, who probably not smiling when he yelled at the MI:7 crew

This week, the U.K. tabloid The Sun came out with a story about how Mission: Impossible 7 star-producer Tom Cruise yelled at crew members concerning how they didn’t take proper precautions for COVID-19.

Cruise’s language (including “motherfuckers”) got most of the attention. But Cruise’s other comments probably were more far-reaching.

Hollywood, Cruise said, is “making movies right now because of us,” the actor said. “I’m on the phone with every fucking studio at night, insurance companies, producers, and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies.”

Mission: Impossible 7, being made back-to-back with Mission: Impossible 8, is one of the biggest movie projects being filmed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. M:I 7 already has had COVID delays.

Millions of dollars are stake. Also, the movie industry is in flux because of streaming services. Warner Bros., now owned by AT&T, is going all in on streaming. Warner Bros. entire 2021 film slate will debut in the U.S. on HBO Max while also showing on theaters.

As a result, M:I 7 has even more riding on its shoulders.

“Do you understand the responsibility that you have?” Cruise told crew members, according to a recording of Cruise obtained by The Sun. “Because I will deal with your reason. And if you can’t be reasonable and I can’t deal with your logic, you’re fired.”

M:I 7 isn’t the only major movie project affected by COVID-19. The Batman incurred delays after its star, Robert Pattinson, came down with the virus.

Still, Cruise as a star-producer, has gravitas on the subject. He’s the closest thing to an old-time movie star in the 21st century. At 58, his days as a leading man may be running out. His M:I film series has been underway since 1996.

What’s more, COVID-19 continues to ravage many regions around the globe. Many people don’t believe the virus is real, or isn’t that serious. It’s probably not what Cruise intended. But his sharply worded comments go beyond the entertainment world.

UPDATE (Dec. 17): The Sun is out with another story saying that five crew members quit Mission: Impossible 7 after Cruise yelled at the crew about the need to meet COVID-19 safety procedures.

Warner Bros.’s Batman PR problem

Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill in a Batman v Superman poster

UPDATE (July 22): Ben Affleck said at the San Diego Comic Con today he’s still playing Batman, according to numerous reports.

Among the outlets reporting on Affleck’s remarks: COLLIDER.COM, the New York DAILY NEWS and THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

It was the latter, in a story on Friday, that said Warner Bros. was ready to ease Affleck out of the role.

ORIGINAL POST (July 21): Just when Warner Bros.’s DC Extended Universe seems to get on track, it’s undergoing a public relations problem during the San Diego Comic Con.

You remember when the DCEU finally was getting good PR? It was just last month when Wonder Woman generated both ticket sales and positive reviews.

Just weeks later, the buzz is that Warner Bros. (aka “Mr. Warner,” this blog’s nickname for the studio) is getting ready to ease the current Batman, Ben Affleck, out of the role. At least’s that’s according to a story by Kim Masters in The Hollywood Reporter.

Affleck got top billing in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That movie introduced Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. It did good (but sub $1 billion worldwide) business while getting terrible reviews.

Still, Affleck’s Batman created a buzz. First, it was the actor would write, direct and star in a solo Batman movie titled The Batman. Then, well, he wasn’t going to direct after all.

A new director, Matt Reeves, was hired. Initially, the buzz was that Affleck’s script would be used. Then, this month, the news came out that Affleck’s script was being jettisoned and things would start over.

Now, Affleck himself may be out. Here’s an excerpt from The Hollywood Reporter story:

(A) source with knowledge of the situation says that the studio is working on plans to usher out Affleck’s Batman — gracefully, addressing the change in some shape or form in one of the upcoming DC films. Exactly when and how that might happen has yet to be determined, but it would be wise to bet against Affleck starring in The Batman.

The thing is, the massive San Diego convention has become a forum for studios to promote upcoming films, and not just movies based on comic books.

Justice League is the next DCEU film and a followup to Batman v Superman. It’s supposed to address some of the faults (i.e. too gloomy) present in the 2016 film.

In Batman v Superman, Affleck, who turns 45 on Aug. 15, played an older Batman. It was very much influenced by the 1986 mini-series The Dark Knight Returns by writer-artist Frank Miller. In that story, Batman comes out of retirement.

We’ll see how all this turns out. Still, it’s doubtful Mr. Warner appreciates the “Affleck is out” buzz generated by The Hollywood Reporter story.

The DC Comics movie jinx may have been extended

Batman v Superman poster

In the space of about an hour, the internet flared up when Variety reported that Ben Affleck won’t direct a Batman solo film as well as starring in it.

The question is whether this marks another extension of the seeming jinx surround the DC Comics movie universe.

Variety quoted from a statement from the actor and studio Warner Bros. that said it was a joint decision for Affleck to concentrate on acting in the movie.

“It has become clear that I cannot do both jobs to the level they require,” Affleck said in the statement. “Together with the studio, I have decided to find a partner in a director who will collaborate with me on this massive film.”

It didn’t take long for stories to emerge saying the situation was more complicated.

Affleck was star-writer-director of Live by Night, a period gangster drama that bombed. The Hollywood Reporter’s story on the subject had this passage.

One insider says that Live By Night’s poor performance caused Affleck to rethink his approach to his projects after the film bombed with just $18.9 million at the box office.

Two DC Comics-based movies (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad) were Nos. 8 and 9 in the U.S. and Nos. 7 and 10 globally, according to Box Office Mojo. Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman was in both.

Yet, both movies got terrible reviews. And despite Batman v. Superman generating $873.3 million worldwide, it was considered a disappointment that it didn’t have $1 billion in box office. Meanwhile, rival Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Civil War broke through the billion-dollar mark.

DC/Warners has been doing a mid-course correction, promoting Geoff Johns, a veteran comic book writer, into a key position for the films.

Johns has promised more optimism in the DC movies compared with Batman v. Superman, where Batman spent much of the film trying to kill Superman. Johns and Affleck co-wrote the script for the solo Batman effort, titled simply The Batman.

Warners is releasing two more DC-based movies this year with Wonder Woman and Justice League. There has been a lot of buzz about The Batman, including how it was being moved ahead of a planned Justice League sequel, according to Digital Spy and other outlets.

The studio has a lot riding on its DC Comics movies. As a result, the films are getting a lot of scrutiny. Other planned films have had delays, but Batman is the flagship.

Until The Batman signs a new director and begins filming, people are going to wonder if DC/Warners is ever going to match Marvel’s film success.