Editing Batman Returns (section)

==Release==
===Context===
{{See also|1992 in film}}
By the theatrical summer of 1992 (beginning the last week of May), the film industry was struggling with low ticket sales, rising production costs, and several box-office failures the previous year.<ref name="NYTimesMay241992"/> Eighty-nine films were scheduled for release during the season, including ''[[A League of Their Own]]'', ''[[Alien 3]]'', ''[[Encino Man]]'', ''[[Far and Away]]'', ''[[Patriot Games (film)|Patriot Games]]'', and ''[[Sister Act]]''.<ref name="NYTimesBOAnalJune22"/><ref name="NYTimesApril131992"/><ref name="NYTimesMay241992"/> Studios had to carefully schedule their releases to avoid competition from anticipated [[blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]]s, such as ''[[Lethal Weapon 3]]'' and ''Batman Returns'', as well as the [[1992 Summer Olympics]].<ref name="NYTimesApril131992"/> ''Batman Returns'' was predicted to be the summer's biggest success, and other studios were reportedly concerned about releasing their films within even a few weeks of its premiere.<ref name="NYTimesApril131992"/><ref name="LATimesGorilla"/> [[Paramount Pictures]] increased the budget of ''Patriot Games'' by $14{{nbsp}}million just to make it more competitive with ''Batman Returns'' and ''Lethal Weapon 3''.<ref name="NYTimesApril131992"/><ref name="NYTimesMay241992"/>

===Marketing===
Franchising had not been considered an important aspect of ''Batman'' prior to its release. However, after merchandise contributed about $500{{nbsp}}million to its $1.5{{nbsp}}billion total earnings, it was prioritized for ''Batman Returns''.<ref name="THRReturnsat25"/><ref name="TheRinger2022"/><ref name="LATimesMarketing120"/> Warner Bros. delayed major promotion until February 1992, to avoid over-saturation and the risk of driving away audiences.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="AFICatalog"/>{{sfn|White|1992|p=11}}<ref name="LATimesMarketing120"/><ref name="NYTimesMarketing"/>}} A 12-minute promotional reel debuted at [[WorldCon]] in September 1991, alongside a black-and-white poster of a silhouetted Batman, which was called "mundane" and uninspiring. A trailer was released in 5,000 theaters in February 1992 with a new poster of a snow-swept Batman logo.<ref name="AFICatalog"/>{{sfn|White|1992|p=11}} The campaign focused on the three central characters (Batman, Penguin, and Catwoman), which Warner Bros. believed would offset the loss of the popular Nicholson.<ref name="NYTimesMay241992"/><ref name="NYTimesMarketing"/> Over two-thirds of the 300 posters Warner Bros. installed in public places were stolen. Warner Bros. eventually offered 200 limited-edition posters for $250, signed by Keaton, who donated his earnings to charity.<ref name="AFICatalog"/><ref name="NYTimesMarketing"/><ref name="LATIMesPoster2"/>

Over $100{{nbsp}}million was expected to be spent on marketing, including $20{{nbsp}}million by Warner Bros. for commercials and trailers, and $60{{nbsp}}million by merchandising partners. The partners, which included [[McDonald's]], [[Ralston Purina]], [[Kmart]], [[Target Corporation]], [[Venture Stores]], and [[Sears]], planned to host about 300 in-store Batman shops.<ref name="AFICatalog"/><ref name="LATimesMarketing120"/><ref name="NYTimesMarketing"/> McDonald's converted 9,000 outlets into Gotham City restaurants, offering Batman-themed packaging and a cup lid which doubled as a flying disc.<ref name="LATimesMarketing120"/> [[CBS]] aired a television special, ''The Bat, The Cat, The Penguin{{nbsp}}... Batman Returns'', and [[Choice Hotels]] sponsored the hour-long ''The Making of Batman Returns''.<ref name="AFICatalog"/><ref name="LATimesMarketing120"/> Television advertisements featured Batman and Catwoman fighting over a can of [[Diet Coke]], and the Penguin (and his penguins) promoted Choice Hotels. Advertisements also appeared on billboards and in print (three consecutive pages in some newspapers), targeted at older audiences.<ref name="NYTimesMarketing"/>

===Box office===
''Batman Returns'' premiered on June 16, 1992, at [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]] in Hollywood. Two [[city block|blocks]] of [[Hollywood Boulevard]] were closed for over 3,000 fans, 33 TV film crews, and 100 photographers. A party was held afterwards on the Stage 16 Gotham Plaza set for guests who included Keaton, Pfeiffer, DeVito, Burton, Di{{nbsp}}Novi, [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], [[Faye Dunaway]], [[James Caan]], [[Mickey Rooney]], [[Harvey Keitel]], [[Christian Slater]], [[James Woods]], and Reubens.<ref name="LATimesPremiere"/>

The film had a limited, preview release in the U.S. and Canada on Thursday, June 18, earning $2{{nbsp}}million.<ref name="THRReturnsat25"/><ref name="NYTimesBOAnalJune22"/><ref name="BOMNAOriginalRelease"/> It had a wide release the following day, and was shown on an above-average 3,000 screens in 2,644 theaters.<ref name="THRReturnsat25"/><ref name="NYTimesBOAnalJune22"/><ref name="BOMNAWeekend1"/> ''Batman Returns'' earned $45.7{{nbsp}}million during its opening weekend (an average of $17,729 per theater), and was the number-one film—ahead of ''Sister Act''{{'s}} fourth weekend ($7.8{{nbsp}}million) and ''Patriot Games''{{'}} third ($7.7{{nbsp}}million). This figure broke the record for the highest-grossing opening weekend, set by ''Batman'' ($42.7{{nbsp}}million).<ref name="NYTimesBOAnalJune22"/><ref name="BOMNAWeekend1"/><ref name="BOM1992NABO"/> The film held this record until the release of  ''[[Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park]]'' ($50.1{{nbsp}}million) the next year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Weekend Box Office: Universal's Monster Smash |date=June 15, 1993 |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-06-15-ca-3201-story.html |access-date=February 17, 2007 |first=David J. |last=Fox |archive-date=May 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517224728/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-06-15-ca-3201-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Initial performance analysis suggested that ''Batman Returns'' could become one of the all-time highest-grossing films; Warner Bros. executive [[Robert Friedman (producer)|Robert Friedman]] said, "We opened it the first real weekend when kids are out of school. The audience is everybody, but the engine that drives the charge are kids under 20."<ref name="NYTimesBOAnalJune22"/> According to ''Patriot Games'' producer [[Mace Neufeld]], other films benefited from overflow audiences for ''Batman Returns'' who did not want to wait in long lines or were turned away from sold-out screenings.<ref name="NYTimesBOAnalJune22"/>

''Batman Returns'' earned $25.4{{nbsp}}million in its second weekend (a 44.3-percent drop) and was the number-one film again, ahead of the premiering ''[[Unlawful Entry (film)|Unlawful Entry]]'' ($10.1{{nbsp}}million) and ''Sister Act'' ($7.2{{nbsp}}million).<ref name="BOMNAWeekend2"/><ref name="WAPOBO"/> By the film's third weekend, it was the second=fastest film to gross $100{{nbsp}}million (11 days), behind ''Batman'' (10 days).<ref name="NYTimesTwoattheWheel"/> It remained the number-one film with a gross of $13.8{{nbsp}}million (a 45.6-percent drop), ahead of the premiering ''A League of Their Own'' ($13.7{{nbsp}}million) and ''[[Boomerang (1992 film)|Boomerang]]'' ($13.6{{nbsp}}million).<ref name="WAPOBO"/><ref name="BOMNAWeekend3"/> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called its week-over-week drops troublesome, and industry analysis suggested that ''Batman Returns'' would not replicate the longevity of ''Batman''{{'}}s theatrical run.<ref name="WAPOBO"/><ref name="AFICatalog"/> ''Batman Returns'' never regained the number-one position after falling to number{{nbsp}}four over its fourth weekend, and left the top-ten highest-grossing films by its seventh. The film left theaters in late October after 18 weeks, with a total gross of $162.8{{nbsp}}million.<ref name="BOMNAWeekend4"/><ref name="BOMNAAllWeekends"/> It became the third-highest-grossing film of 1992, behind ''[[Home Alone 2: Lost in New York]]'' ($173.6{{nbsp}}million) and ''[[Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' ($217.3{{nbsp}}million).<ref name="BOM1992NABO"/>

''Batman Returns'' earned an estimated $104{{nbsp}}million outside the U.S. and Canada, including a record-setting £2.8{{nbsp}}million opening weekend in the United Kingdom. This broke the record set by ''[[Terminator 2: Judgment Day]]'' (1991), making it the first film to gross more than £1{{nbsp}}million in a single day.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="WAPOBO"/><ref name="BOM1992Worldwide"/>{{sfn|Groves, A|1992|p=37}}{{sfn|Groves, B|1992|pp=2–3}}{{sfn|Groves, C|1992|p=14}}{{sfn|Groves|1993|p=18}}{{sfn|McBride|1992|p=20}}}} Worldwide, ''Batman Returns'' grossed $266.8{{nbsp}}million,{{efn-lr|The 1992 theatrical box office gross of $266.8{{nbsp}}million  is equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|266800000|1992}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}.}} making it the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1992, ahead of ''[[A Few Good Men]]'' ($243.2{{nbsp}}million) and behind ''Lethal Weapon 3'' ($321.7{{nbsp}}million).<ref name="BOM1992Worldwide"/>