Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice topped the foreign box office for a second consecutive weekend, racking up $85.1 million from 68 territories and pushing the superhero film’s global haul to $682.9 million.
That passes the lifetime gross of Man of Steel, the most recent Superman film, which pulled in $668 million worldwide during its 2013 run. Domestically, Batman v Superman suffered a steep drop-off, falling 68% in its second weekend to $52.4 million in ticket sales.
Critics have piled on the film and word-of-mouth has been mixed. Warner Bros. (TWX), the studio behind the $250 million production, spent lavishly to produce and market the picture because it wants to kick off a series of interconnected movies based on DC Comics characters. The studio already has films based on the Flash, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League in the works and next summer brings Suicide Squad, a film about a team of super-villains.
Despite the frosty reception from reviewers, analysts argued that Batman v Superman is a hit for the studio.
“They’ll be crying all the way to the bank with $700 million,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for ComScore.
In second place, Disney’s (DIS) Zootopia captured $30 million from 52 territories, bringing its global total to $787.6 million. The film now ranks as the twelfth highest-grossing animated film in history. It has done particularly well in China, earning $215.3 million and nearly matching its $275.9 million domestic gross.
Hong Kong-Chinese action film, The Bodyguard snagged third place with $25 million, while Kung Fu Panda 3 took fourth place with $19.2 million. The latest Kung Fu Panda movie has generated $463.9 million since it began its rollout in January.
Chinese crime picture Chongqing Hot Pot rounded out the top five, racking up $19 million.
