Matt Reeves’ The Batman trilogy is on track to surpass Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy at the box office, depending on the success of the next Robert Pattinson-led DC movies. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is a critical and commercial phenomenon that continues to influence the superhero movie genre to this day. Batman Begins marked a drastic change in the way comic book movies are made, representing the transition between the genre’s early days and its golden age today. Just three years later, the record-breaking The Dark Knight set the standard for live-action comic book adaptations.
The Batman repeats some of the qualities that made the Dark Knight trilogy so popular, such as its realistic approach to Batman’s lore, multiple cerebral villains facing Batman simultaneously, and an emphasis on Batman’s friendship with James Gordon. Yet, Matt Reeves’ The Batman is different enough from Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy to make an impact of its own. Despite being released parallel to Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton’s appearances in The Flash, The Batman was a hit with audiences and critics, earning positive reviews and impressive box office numbers.
The Batman’s Box Office Is Higher Than Batman Begins
The Batman’s Worldwide Earnings Leave Batman Begins In The Dust
Matt Reeves’ The Batman made $772 million worldwide, beating the first installment in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Batman Begins, which gathered $373 million in 2005. Taking inflation into account, Batman Begins earned around $600 million in today’s dollars — considerably lower than The Batman considering the little competition it faced back in 2005. The Batman isn’t part of a cinematic universe or any expansive franchise, and it was developed from the DCEU’s canceled Batman solo movie originally starring and directed by Ben Affleck. Its critical and commercial success is clear proof of its standalone quality.
Like every theatrical movie in the past few years, The Batman‘s box office was also affected to some degree by streaming. Streaming provides easier home access to recently released movies than DVDs, and much sooner. The Batman was available on Max just over a month after its theatrical release, as opposed to Batman Begins‘ 4-month window between theaters and home media. Yet, The Batman managed to gather the 2024 equivalent of around $172 million more than Batman Begins.
How Much The Batman 2 & 3 Need To Make To Beat The Dark Knight & The Dark Knight Rises
The Batman Part II and Part III May Need To Be Their Respective Years’ Top-Grossing Movies To Surpass Nolan’s Trilogy
The Batman‘s worldwide earnings promise a record-breaking run at the box office for its sequels, possibly surpassing The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. However, beating The Dark Knight is a much bigger challenge than beating Batman Begins. In 2008, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight quickly became a cinematic behemoth, earning over $1 billion and claiming the fourth spot on the list of highest-grossing movies in history at the time. Four years later, The Dark Knight Rises earned $1.08 billion thanks in part to The Dark Knight‘s popularity.
Movie | Worldwide Box Office | Worldwide Box Office (w/ Inflation) |
|---|---|---|
Batman Begins | $373 million | $600 million (approx.) |
The Dark Knight | $1 billion | $1.45 billion (approx.) |
The Dark Knight Rises | $1.08 billion | $1.48 billion (approx.) |
The Batman | $772 million | – |
Taking inflation into account, The Dark Knight‘s $1 billion is equivalent to around $1.45 billion today, and The Dark Knight Rises‘ $1.08 billion is equivalent to around $1.48 billion. It might be difficult for Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman – Part II and an eventual The Batman – Part III to match — let alone surpass — those numbers. Theatrical earnings have struggled to match pre-pandemic numbers in the last three years, and top-grossing films like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick, and Barbie have all been aided by external factors such as nostalgia or a special release date.
Will The Batman Trilogy Earn More At The Box Office Than The Dark Knight Trilogy?
The Batman May Only Match The Dark Knight Trilogy’s Box Office With One Franchise Trick
The Batman – Part II and The Batman – Part III might not be able to match The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises‘ box office by merit of quality alone. Theatrical releases aren’t bringing the same earnings as they did in previous years, and the superhero genre is currently going through significant changes. The DCU is set to reboot DC’s live-action projects after the DCEU’s critical and commercial flops, and the MCU is switching gears after Phases 4 and 5 failed to meet expectations. Whether widespread “superhero fatigue” is real is still up to debate, but the high competition within the genre is unquestionable.
The DCU will also introduce its own Batman, who will star in Andy Muschietti’s The Brave and the Bold concurrently with Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight in The Batman – Part II and The Batman – Part III. Batman is popular enough to warrant two simultaneous movie adaptations, but these might be too much for casual moviegoers. In order to match the Dark Knight trilogy’s numbers, Matt Reeves’ The Batman franchise might also need to count the profits from streaming series like The Penguin and other spinoffs.
The Batman
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The Batman Part II
Batman Begins
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The Dark Knight
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The Dark Knight Rises
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