Justice League opens with $96m

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Warner Bros.-DC’s costly Justice League has dominated the North American box office but fallen well short of expectations with a $96 million opening weekend at 4,051 locations.

It’s a decidedly gloomy result for the tentpole, which had been forecast by the studio just prior to the weekend to open in the $110 million range. Instead, “Justice League” is launching with only the eighth largest opening of 2017. It’s not even in the top 50 domestic openings of all time, ranking 53rd behind “Fast and Furious 6.”

“For every macro budget superhero movie the stakes are incredibly high and with that comes an enormous pressure to exceed all expectations and for DC, this has never been more true,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore.

“In the wake of the much-needed home run that was ‘Wonder Woman,’ the momentum was with the brand and great expectations placed on the very broad shoulders of ‘Justice League’ to keep that train moving.”

Dergarabedian noted that the movie will gross $285 million worldwide this weekend and that initial reception among audiences is positive. The overall CinemaScore was B+ with males comprising 58% of the audience while females gave the movie an A-, as did moviegoers under 25.

Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. domestic distribution president, said there were several positive signs such as a 28 percent hike in business from Friday to Saturday and the start of Thanksgiving vacations this week.