Time Warner's 'Batman V. Superman' Takes Steep Box Office Drop In Second Weekend

Last weekend's record-breaking debut of Warner Bros. TWX "Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice" was not without controversy. Analysts wondered if the film's abysmal reaction from critics would eventually impact the movie's future earnings, despite a strong start. This weekend it looks like audiences may have given executives some possible answers. While investors won't know the long term success of the company's new DC Connected Universe of films until future editions come out, the short term profitability is getting clearer. This weekend the film handily repeated its pole position status but not before falling nearly 70% week-to-week. Nobody expected the film to put up the same stellar numbers as last week but to plunge by this much in such a short time puts that initial reaction back into the forefront. Despite pocketing another $52 million and pushing its domestic total to $260+ million, a 68% drop doesn't inspire confidence in future earnings. The movie is seeing a similar international decline with a slip of 67% even as its global haul creeps over $680 million. However Warner Bros. is firing back by reminding investors the film is already higher than the entire run of other Marvel branded films including "Ant-Man," "Wolverine" and both "Thor" movies. The question becomes if that momentum will carry to future films or if the studio let a major opportunity slip through its fingers. Investors will know a lot more when "Suicide Squad" opens this August.