Black Adam Star Dwayne Johnson Gives The Batman Major Shoutout After Opening Weekend Success

By Charlie Ridgely

Warner Bros. and DC have a packed year ahead in 2022, with four feature films heading to theaters over the course of the year and several seasons of TV sprinkled in-between. Following a wildly-successful first season of Peacemaker on HBO Max, Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson redefined the Dark Knight for a new era with the debut of The Batman. Arriving in theaters this past weekend, The Batman has made a serious splash on the box office, and some other stars of DC's live-action projects are taking notice.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, so is set to star in Black Adam as the titular anti-hero later this year, took to social media to sing the praises of The Batman after the film delivered the second-biggest opening weekend since the start of the pandemic (behind only Spider-Man: No Way Home).

"Loved seeing [The Batman] do this kind of spectacular box office business," Johnson wrote. "Excellent uptick for our movie industry, our WB/DC partners and most importantly, A BIG HAPPY AUDIENCE. Congrats to the cast + crew! I know how hard you've all worked."

The Batman was a massive success in its first weekend in theaters. Reeves' new film brought in $128.5 million here in North America, along with $120 million internationally, giving it a $248.5 million worldwide debut. 

It's worth mentioning that The Batman is also the first Warner Bros. movie in quite a while to get an exclusive theatrical opening. In the wake of the pandemic, WB made the decision to release each of its 2021 films on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters. Films like The Suicide Squad, Dune, and The Matrix Resurrections were all released day-and-date on the streaming service, lessening their theatrical impact. Warner Bros. made it clear that there was no intention to keep that train going beyond 2021 and The Batman is showing exactly why.

Johnson's Black Adam movie is the next DC project to hit theaters in 2022, boasting a massive cast that also includes former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan. This year will also see the debuts of The Flash and the Aquaman sequel coming to theaters.

Were you surprised to see just how successful The Batman was this weekend? Let us know in the comments!

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