THE PENGUIN is a hit.
THE BATMAN spinoff opened with 5.3 million viewers (including repeat airings) in the U.S. on HBO and MAX over the first 4 days after its premiere on September 19th. To put that into perspective HBO hits like the final season premiere of SUCCESSION and THE WHITE LOTUS second season premiere drew 4.9 million and 4.1 viewers respectively over the same timeframe. Also, the series had the biggest 4-day audience for a new show on MAX globally (where the streamer is available) since THE LAST OF US in January of 2023.
(UPDATE: Episode 2 of THE PENGUIN had 1.6 million viewers on Sunday 9/29/24 across HBO and MAX — a 17% increase from episode 1. Additionally, the debut episode had 10.4 million viewers after 11 days.)
So yeah, THE PENGUIN is a hit…and it says a lot about THE BATMAN and the future of Matt Reeves’ THE BATMAN EPIC CRIME SAGA (TBECS?)going forward. Could we be in store for another round of Batmania?
Make no mistake about it, THE BATMAN was a success in 2022 when it made its premiere in March of that year. It opened to very positive reviews and had a worldwide box office run of $772.2 million. Keep in mind that the film was released while there was still a COVID-19 pandemic hangover (people leery of returning to theaters) and it followed an unpopular version of Batman on film in the form of Ben Affleck (not his fault) and the Snyderverse/DCEU.
Impressive, BUT…
It wasn’t a Batman on film experience like BATMAN ’89 or THE DARK KNIGHT.
That’s not a knock at all on THE BATMAN. Like I said, it did really well and was an all-around hit. Being surrounded by the sort of cultural hoopla that came with Season 1 of the 1960s BATMAN TV series, BATMAN ’89, or THE DARK KNIGHT is rare. Those are organic happenings that, well, just happen.
Many of the people who watched and liked THE BATMAN back in ’22 likely tuned in to see the SAGA continue in THE PENGUIN (if they have MAX or HBO, of course). But I’d bet that some folks watched THE PENGUIN without seeing THE BATMAN. Remember, HBO is the home of some great and very successful prestige television like THE SOPRANOS, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, and TRUE DETECTIVE. As a result, perhaps THE BATMAN will retroactively get some new fans via THE PENGUIN which will ultimately lead to more interest in THE BATMAN: PART II.
(UPDATE: THE BATMAN has had a little over a 3% increase in views on HBO/MAX since the debut of THE PENGUIN.)
Based on the reaction to THE BATMAN since its release a couple of years ago and to THE PENGUIN right now, I WILL confidently predict that THE BATMAN: PART II will make more money than the film that kicked this whole thing off.
Will it pass a billion dollars? Quite possibly. (Though $1B+ is NOT the success line of demarcation.) Will it unleash Batmania IV upon the world? Probably not.
Look, I’m lucky enough to have lived through the previous 3 Batmanias…though I was only 1 back in 1966. But hell yes I’d like to experience it again!
Like I said, those things are organic happenings that cannot be inorganically created no how much publicity, artificial hype, want, and, of course, MONEY you throw at it. (Good luck with the new DCU WB/DC Studios!) BUT…
You never know because another Batmania experience is coming…one day. Here’s hoping this is the time.
I think we should all stay tuned. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
