It’s no surprise The Batman cleaned up at the box office for another weekend. The month of March has been slow for other major releases, but that doesn’t take away from the dominant force that is the latest DC outing. Yet, this weekend’s box office has another major talking point: anime films & their rise.
Yes, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 took the number two spot this weekend, coming in right behind The Batman’s $36 million for the weekend. The new anime film from Crunchyroll and Funimation brought in what THR describes as a “better-than-expected” $17.7 million. Many sources are crediting the anime’s popularity and the perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes as the reason for its success.
Anime films are currently having a moment in the United States; 2018’s Dragon Ball Super: Broly made a splash, so has the My Hero Academia anime films, and 2020’s Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train currently sits at $454,779,627 worldwide, with over $49 million from the domestic box office. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and its nearly $18 million opening weekend shows that this niche is only growing, and the rise of anime films will help this special market.
Going back to the dominant DC film, The Batman brought in $36 million this weekend, which brings its domestic total near $300.1 million. With this, the global total for the film is nearing $600 million. It could continue to bring in money as it’s the only major superhero film on screens until Morbius attempts to dethrone The Batman.
For the rest of the box office: Uncharted placed third with $8 million, the new A24 horror X made a modest $4.4 million for a fourth-place spot [read our review here], and Channing Tatum’s feel-good film Dog took fifth with a $4.1 million weekend.
The Lost City, another Channing Tatum film that included Sandra Bullock and Brad Pitt this time, looks to be the next contender for Batman’s number spot. Will the throwback-style action-comedy win over crowds, or will The Bat reign over everyone once again? You can read our review of The Lost City here.
