AMC Theatres sold more than 4M tickets for The Batman globally on its opening weekend from Thursday through Sunday, marking the company’s third-bestselling weekend since cinemas reopened in summer 2020.
AMC also claimed a 29 percent market share of the film’s domestic earnings, higher than their percentage for the other biggest film of the pandemic era, Spider-Man: No Way Home.
(While the company didn’t specify which two weekends sold more tickets than this past frame since summer 2020, based on overall box office numbers, it seems more than likely it was the first two frames of No Way Home in mid- and late-December.)
In an unprecedented experiment, AMC introduced a $1 surcharge for all showings of The Batman across all locations. While prices have previously varied by showtime, such as nighttime showings costing more than afternoon ones, such a “universal” surcharge across all showtimes for a single film is unprecedented in the U.S. The practice has long existed in Europe.
The company also held several promotions tied to the film, including:
- Introducing a NFT (non-fungible token) tied to the movie for fans who bought a presale ticket by February 14.
- Hosting a special screening for AMC stock investors on March 2, several days before the film’s official release.
- Offering a collectible popcorn container tied to the film for $27, which the company claimed in a press release sold out this weekend.
AMC also comprised the top three highest-grossing domestic locations for the film, and eight of the top 10:
- #1: AMC Burbank (California) with $301,688
- #2: AMC Lincoln Square NY with $289,318
- #3: AMC Empire NY with $252,838
- #5: AMC Orange LA with $201,935
- #7: AMC Boston Common with $184,000
- #8: AMC Citywalk Stadium LA with $179,812
- #9: AMC Garden State NY with $177,710
- #10: AMC Grove LA with $176,715
Overall, across all circuits including both AMC and others, the film earned a $128.5M domestic opening and a $248.5M global debut.
“The Bat-Signal went out at AMCs around the world and did moviegoers ever show up in response to see The Batman at an AMC theatre,” company Chair and CEO Adam Aron said in a press release. “Congratulations to our partners at Warner Bros. and DC on the biggest movie event so far in 2022.”
Share this post