Kapow! Profits for Batman v Superman to be lower than Superman alone

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, is poised to conquer the box office for the third straight weekend. But beneath the cape, tights and superhero armour lies a mere mortal.

Batman v Superman, one of the most expensive films ever made, is on pace to produce a US$278 million profit for Warner Bros. once home video, television and merchandise proceeds are tallied, according to SNL Kagan analyst Wade Holden. That’s less than the estimated US$300 million the studio earned from Man Of Steel. It’s also evidence that Warner Bros. has more work to do to make its DC Comics division the unbreakable superhero film business it needs.

“I’m sure that it’s a bit of a disappointment,” Holden said. “They were probably hoping for box-office numbers similar to Avengers: Age of Ultron, since Batman v Superman had DC’s three most well-known comic book heroes together in the same movie – Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.”

DC characters are a cornerstone of Warner Bros.’ film slate through 2020, along with Lego features and a new wizard series from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. The studio, part of Time Warner, is banking on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to serve as a launching pad for 11 more films and help win over fans who have flocked to Walt Disney’s Marvel films.

To be sure, Batman v Superman set a record for a DC Comics movie and marked the studio’s second biggest debut ever, after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, according to Box Office Mojo. It also topped the previous record for a March weekend debut in North America, set by the The Hunger Games in 2012, a possible reflection of pent-up demand among hardcore fans of DC Comics.