After over a year of releasing movies to HBO Max, Warner Brothers has finally returned to theaters. The Batman released Friday, and now holds the biggest opening weekend box office of 2022.

The film grossed an estimated $128.5 million, according to the studio. Not only does that make it the biggest of the year (so far), but it's also the second biggest of the entire pandemic, second only to Spiderman: No Way Home. Compared to previous Batman films, this marks one of the largest openings for any of the Caped Crusader's flicks.

This is the first film of Warner Brothers to be released exclusively in theaters since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. At two hours and fifty-six minutes, it's one of the longest superhero movies ever made. The piece is currently being hailed as a critical success, with an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Starring Robert Pattinson as the titular character and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, The Batman is also said to be one of the darkest superhero films ever made. Critics have hailed Pattinson's gritty performance, and his choice to do away with Bruce Wayne's playboy side. Instead, the story follows an emotionally damaged, deeply flawed protagonist.

Not exactly a family-friendly flick, yet ticket sales survived. Some cite AMC's decision to raise the ticket price as the box office savior. Using New York theaters as point of reference, a regular ticket costs around $16.99. In contrast, The Batman charges $18.99. Uncharted starring Tom Holland has tickets at $18.49, and has since been surpassed by The Batman.

Studio executives are reportedly waiting to see how the hike affects overall sales before taking any action. It's unclear if this will become an industry standard, but both The Batman and its ticket price must hold up overseas in the foreign market before any definitive conclusion can be drawn.