‘Batman: The Killing Joke’ Grossed Over $3 Million On Monday
As if Hollywood needed another reminder that the American adult animation market is underserved, Fathom’s special release of the R-rated Warner Bros. film Batman: The Killing Joke scored an amazing $3.175 million in its first day of limited release on Monday.
That figure was good enough for third place at the U.S. box office, behind only Star Trek Beyond and The Secret Life of Pets. However, since the Sam Liu-directed Batman film played in only 1,325 theaters, a fraction of the other movies in wide release, it actually scored the highest per-screen average of any film in the top ten with $2,396 per theater. That number is made even more remarkable by the fact that the film had only two screenings per theater yesterday.
Fathom had originally planned it as a one-night-only theatrical event, but there were so many sold-out screenings that they’ve extended the release to tonight as well, so there’s still time to catch the film in theaters.
Also notable, the U.S. box office included four animated features in the top ten yesterday: Batman: The Killing Joke, The Secret Life of Pets, Finding Dory, and Ice Age: Collision Course. Someone will need to do more research to confirm whether this is a first, but I can’t think of any other instance when there’s been this much animation in the top ten. This is truly animation’s year at the box office and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Batman: The Killing Joke was also made available for Digital HD download yesterday. The film will arrive on Blu-ray and DVD
