Despite harsh reviews from critics, Warner Bros. “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" had a record-setting weekend at the box office.
The highly-anticipated film took in an estimated $170.1 million, becoming the biggest opening weekend for a pre-summer release.
That wasn’t the only record it shattered. The film had the biggest opening for an Easter weekend (beating the $147 million “Furious 7” made in 2015), the largest domestic opening for Warner Bros.(previous record was set by “Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows, Part 2” at $169.2 million in 2011) and the largest opening for a DC film (beating The "Dark Knight Rises" $160.9 million from 2012).
Entering the weekend, the film was overwhelmingly bashed by critics; it currently has a 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But early estimates had the movie making $27.7 million during Thursday preview screenings.
The film’s audience was largely male (66 percent) with crowds skewing slightly between the ages of 18 and 34.
Figures from overseas were also positive. "Batman v Superman" became the biggest opening ever for Warner Bros. in China with $57.1 million dollars in just three day.
After topping the domestic box office for the last few weeks, Disney’s "Zootopia" slid to second place with another $23.1 million. So far the film has earned a total of $240.5 million. Internationally the animated film has taken in $456.2 million.
Universal Pictures’ "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" took third. The film, a follow up to the 2002 hit, earned an estimated $18 million.
