"The Batman" tops North American box office for second weekend in a row
March 14, 2022, 8:33 am

"The Batman" tops North American box office for 2nd straight weekend (File photo: Facebook )

The Xinhua reported, according to studio figures released by measurement firm Comscore, Warner Bros. Pictures' superhero film "The Batman" easily repeated as the winner of the North American box office with a three-day estimate of 66 million U.S. dollars.

The tentpole, based on the DC Comics character Batman, has garnered 238.5 million dollars in ticket sales in North America after 10 days of release. It is the biggest opener of 2022 and the highest grossing film released this year in North America thus far.

Directed by Matt Reeves, the film, with a budget of 200 million dollars, stars British actor Robert Pattinson in the dual role of Gotham City's vigilante detective and his alter ego, reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne, alongside Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard and Jayme Lawson.

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Overseas, "The Batman" generated 66.6 million dollars over the weekend from 76 markets, pushing its global cume to 463.2 million dollars to date. The film is set to be released in China on March 18.

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.