Can Batman v Superman Beat Deadpool’s Opening Weekend?

Batman v Superman is tracking for a big opening weekend, but will it be big enough?

There is no doubt that Batman v Superman will do big numbers in it’s opening weekend. It’s a big budget event film starring two of the biggest superheroes of all time. But will it be enough to really be considered a success?

According to Deadline, estimates for the opening weekend for Batman v Superman are anywhere between $100-$140 million. That’s a pretty wide gap, and still doesn’t even touch some of Marvel’s top films such as Iron Man 3 or both Avengers movies (or Dark Knight and it sequel Dark Knight Rises for that matter).  Deadpool opened at $135 million and some change it’s opening weekend on a much tougher weekend with a much more obscure character and was Rated R. Granted, estimates for Deadpool were around a perfectly respectable $70 million, so it could be a case of analysts massively underestimating the crowds for Batman v Superman much like they did for Deadpool, but Deadpool is a much more obscure character, and all the news of massive budget cuts probably hurt estimates as well.

I think the massive surprise success of Deadpool might actually put even more pressure on Batman v Superman, as it’s been sold as a more mature alternative to the Marvel movie universe. Don’t get me wrong, Deadpool was a great movie, brilliantly marketed, so it should be super successful, but on name alone, Batman v Superman should destroy it’s opening weekend numbers, and based on these estimates, it might be lucky to match them.

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Of course, opening weekend may not be the ultimate factor if Batman v Superman has really good legs, and much like Deadpool, it is going to have a pretty good advantage of being the most noteworthy film at the box office for several weeks. I mean, Deadpool basically has the field to itself until Batman v Superman opens, and then Batman v Superman is easily the biggest film until at least Jungle Book several weeks later, possibly even until Captain America: Civil War in May. Will Batman v Superman beat estimates and quiet the doubters opening weekend? Will it have the legs it needs to break a billion dollars like it supposedly needs to in order to be a success? Will an under-performing weekend cause Warner Bros. to massively change course with their upcoming DC movie slate? We’ll have a pretty good idea after the weekend of March 25th….