One of the first screenings of The Batman went viral when moviegoers were given something they hadn’t bargained on as the cinema was invaded by real bats. The video taken by one of those watching the movie was uploaded to Twitter after a fluttering sound was heard, and real bats began flying around the room. While there are many movies that have been shown in 4D, with special effects enhancing the experience, this was not supposed to be one of them and completely unexpected to those in attendance.
The Batman finally arrived in cinemas after a long delay caused in one way or another by the Covid pandemic. Starring Robert Pattinson in the title role, the movie is kick-starting a whole new Batman franchise away from the DCEU, where Ben Affleck and now Michael Keaton are to be found, and from its opening weekend box office performance and reviews it seems that everyone wants a piece of the Matt Reeves movie, including the mammals the film shares a name with.
In the shared video, which quickly headed towards having 1 million views since it was posted, the lights are on in the cinema and the movie has been paused while the bats were being removed from the screening. The camera user tries to keep track of the blurry black shapes as they move across the room near the ceiling. While filming the poster says, “I’m at The Batman movie, and there are bats at the movie.” The voices of others in the screening are clearly heard also in disbelief at what they were seeing.
The Batman Has Surpassed Expectations Both in Reviews and Box Office Takings On Its Opening Weekend
Even if other showings of The Batman may not have included a real-life bat appearance, the film has been a massive hit for moviegoers, pulling in a worldwide gross of around $250 million and quickly gaining itself as one of the highest-reviewed Batman movies ever. Considering the amount of doubt the original casting of Pattinson in the role had, the film has picked up momentum over the last six months as more and more footage was released, along with some very early comments after an unexpected screening at DCFandome last year.
Alongside its $128 million domestic haul, the film opened in 74 international territories to take an additional $120 million. The film saw the biggest audience turnouts in the U.K. ($18.4 million), Mexico ($12 million), and Australia ($9.2 million). However, while the movie will not be playing in Russia after Warner Bros. pulled the release following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the film will open in China on March 18th, which should see another boost to the film’s takings.
Matt Reeves has made it clear that although he has been fully focused on making The Batman the best stand-alone movie it could be, there are plenty of spinoffs and movies to come from the new franchise, the first of which will be a TV series focusing on Colin Farrell’s Penguin that will be heading to HBO Max.