'Justice League' Opening Weekend Projections Drop

With the film bringing together some of the biggest heroes in the DC Comics roster, Justice League could have been the biggest blockbuster of the year, but early reports are claiming the film might not break $100 million in its opening weekend.

Earlier this week, Justice League was tracking to earn roughly $110 million in its opening weekend, with The Hollywood Reporter now citing that the film might only take in $95 million based on its Thursday night $13 million earnings. These numbers will make Justice League the clear winner at the box office this weekend, but also make it the lowest opening yet of any of the films in the DC Extended Universe.

This past summer, Wonder Woman opened to $103 million, while last year's Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice took in $166 million domestically and Suicide Squad took in $133.7 million in their opening weekends. Back in 2013, Man of Steel opened to $116.6 million.

Even if Justice League were to hit the expected $110 million mark, sources shared that executives were still worried about the film, with that number being lower than Thor: Ragnarok's $122.7 million opening weekend. While Justice League brings together the familiar Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman, it also saw the debut of Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg and Ezra Miller as The Flash.

"If a B character from Marvel shuts down and outperforms the A team from DC, that's an embarrassment," a Justice League source told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's going to be a stressful weekend for some [Warners] execs."

Making direct comparisons between Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. over their superhero films is a difficult task, given the variety of factors that have an impact on a situation. With Thor and Justice League opening within two weeks of one another, it's the closest the two studios have competed at the box office, with the time of year leveling the playing field.

The Thor franchise has been one of the lesser successful series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the previous installment opening to $85.7 million in its opening weekend. Ragnarok did have the added benefit of bringing in the Hulk, while Justice League brought together legendary DC Comics heroes for the first time, despite Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman all briefly appearing together in Batman v. Superman.

Compare DC Comics' superhero culmination in Justice League to 2012's Marvel's The Avengers and its $207 million opening weekend and you'll see how this weekend's potential $95 million is seen as a disappointment.

We'll know for certain how much Justice League brought it when the numbers are revealed early next week.

[H/T The Hollywood Reporter]