Following a $38.8 million opening day on Friday (plus Thursday night previews), it looks like Zack Snyder's Justice League will debut with $94.4 million in its opening weekend, which by all accounts, is a severely disappointing turnout for Warner Bros. as they attempt to take their still-burgeoning DC Films Universe to the same heights their rivals over at Marvel Studios reached five years ago with The Avengers.
Internationally, Justice League collected just around $43.3 million on Friday ($15.1M in China), bringing its current foreign total to $70.7 million. Combined with the $38.8 million domestic haul from Friday, the film now stands at approximately $109.5 million worldwide. On its current track, Justice League should be dangerously close to topping $200 million internationally by the end of the weekend, meaning its worldwide total will likely surpass $300 million by Monday, at the latest.
The massive team-up film, which is the fifth entry in the DC Extended Universe, carries with it an estimated budget in the $300 million range (post-reshoots) and was initially hoping to secure an opening weekend somewhere between $110 million and $130 million, but that all seems to be out of the realm of possibility now - although, if we're being optimistic, with a strong push tomorrow, a $100 million opening could still happen, it's just not very likely, so it'd be best to temper your expectations.
While reviews (40% RottenTomatoes; 46 Metacritic) and word-of-mouth (B+ CinemaScore) have been considerably better than they were for two of its predecessors, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and David Ayer's Suicide Squad, it looks like Justice League was still unable to escape the dark shadows cast by those two critically-reviled disasters. It also appears as though the presence of Gal Gadot's fan-favorite Wonder Woman, who broke out in epic fashion this past summer, did very little, if anything, to sway audiences to go see the latest offering from DC Films, which might suggest the studio might've needed a little more of the Man of Steel in their marketing campaign.
Even if Justice League does somehow miraculously top $100 million, it will still be the lowest opener in the entire DC Extended Universe, following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($166.0M), Suicide Squad ($133.6M), Man of Steel ($116.6M), and Wonder Woman ($103.2M), which is shocking, to say the least, especially considering that this film brings together six of DC's greatest heroes ever on the big screen for the very first time in cinematic history.
Additionally, the film received some very unexpected (but, welcome) competition from Lionsgate's critically-acclaimed drama Wonder, which is expected to pull in an outstanding $25 million to $27 million in its debut, more than good enough for a 2nd place finish. The Stephen Chbosky-helmed Oscar-hopeful stars Julia Roberts (Money Monster), Owen Wilson (Cars 3), Jacob Tremblay (Room), Izabela Vidovic (Supergirl), and Mandy Patinkin (Wish I Was Here) in key roles.
Meanwhile, Marvel's latest blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok falls to third after two straight weeks at the top of the food chain with a solid $20 million, bringing its domestic cume to just around $250 million. Worldwide, the Taika Waititi-directed feature, which starred Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson, and Cate Blanchett, should be crossing the $700 million mark any day now, if it hasn't already. Ragnarok is already the highest-grossing Thor film and is well on its way to becoming the eighth-highest grossing film in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe by the start of next week.
So, what do you guys think? Sound off with your thoughts below!
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Justice League features:
Directors: Zack Snyder & Joss Whedon
Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman
Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman
Amy Adams as Lois Lane
Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash
Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman
Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor
Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth
Diane Lane as Martha Kent
J.K. Simmons as Commissioner James Gordon
Billy Crudup as Dr. Henry Allen
Kiersey Clemons as Iris West
Amber Heard as Mera
Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko
Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta
Joe Morton as Dr. Silas Stone
Julian Lewis Jones in an undisclosed role
Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf
Justice League unites in theaters November 17