• Box Office

World Box Office, March 7 – 13, 2022: BTS Vs. Batman

The news wasn’t that The Batman stayed on top – no surprise there – but that BTS Permission to Dance on Stage – Seoul: Live Viewing, which showed domestically one time on Saturday only, landed third and earned $6.84 million.

Globally, the live stream of the phenomenally popular K-pop group’s Seoul concert in cinemas earned $32.6 million.

Fans of BTS did not balk at the $35 ticket price in the United States and Canada. They trooped en masse to two showings in over 800 movie houses, many of which played to sold-out audiences. BTS Permission to Dance on Stage – Seoul: Live Viewing reportedly even defeated The Batman in more than 50 North American locations.

The live-streamed screening of BTS’ concert at the Olympic Stadium, the band’s first in-person Seoul show in over two years, smashed event cinema records worldwide. Shown in more than 3,500 movie theaters in over 70 countries, BTS Permission to Dance reportedly also played to mostly full venues.

Back to the Caped Crusader, Robert Pattinson’s acclaimed The Batman held well as it raked in $66.6 million

After its day-and-date strategy last year, Warner Bros. has learned a lesson. The studio, which enjoyed its biggest opening in the COVID-19 era last weekend, thanks to Matt Reeves’ well-received take of DC Comics’ popular hero, will keep its releases in cineplexes for 45 days before streaming them on HBO Max.

Uncharted, Tom Holland’s commercially successful follow-up to his Spider-Man: No Way Home, collected $9.2 million for a second-place finish.

Channing Tatum’s Dog, which picked up $5.3 million, followed the third-ranked BTS concert film. With its $4.1 million earnings, Spider-Man: No Way Home managed to still be in the top five after 13 weeks.

The rest of the top ten were, in order: Death on the Nile ($2.5 million); Radhe Shyam ($1.8 million), an Indian romantic drama set in the 1970s and directed by Radha Krishna Kumar; Sing 2 ($1.6 million); Jackass Forever ($1.1 million); and Scream 5 ($445,000).

Internationally, The Batman, which also features Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, Andy Serkis, Peter Sarsgaard, and John Turturro, bowed at number one in Japan with $3.2 million. The movie continued to perform solidly in the United Kingdom, Spain, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, and Brazil.

The 13th live-action incarnation of Bruce Wayne hit the $400 million ($463.2 million, to be exact) global benchmark with millions of dollars in ticket sales awaiting in China when it opens on March 18. Box office analysts are optimistic that The Batman is poised to become the next billion-dollar earning film.

Uncharted, also an offshore hit, nabbed $11.2 million for an international total of $187.9 million. The action-adventure, also starring Mark Wahlberg and Antonio Banderas, has a global tally so far of $301 million.

IMAX is also a winner with the release of The Batman since many moviegoers prefer to see the three-hour film on the large-screen format. So far, The Batman’s IMAX offshore tally stands at $14.2 million.

Bruce Wayne and his caped alter ego face competition next weekend when The Lost City, a romantic-adventure-comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, with Brad Pitt and Daniel Radcliffe in supporting roles, debuts.