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''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' is a 2016 American
superhero film A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature Action film, ac ...
based on the
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
characters
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
and
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
. Distributed by
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, it is a follow-up to the 2013 film '' Man of Steel'' and the second film in the
DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that ...
(DCEU). The film was directed by
Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with '' Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name. Since t ...
, written by
Chris Terrio Chris Terrio (born December 31, 1976) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for writing the screenplay for the 2012 film ''Argo'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Terrio also won the W ...
and
David S. Goyer David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including ''Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (film), Nick Fury: Agent ...
, and features an
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...
that includes
Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educationa ...
as
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
and
Henry Cavill Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill ( ; born 5 May 1983) is a British actor. He is known for his portrayal of Charles Brandon in Showtime's ''The Tudors'' (2007–2010), DC Comics character Superman in the DC Extended Universe (2013–2022), Gera ...
as
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
, alongside
Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...
,
Jesse Eisenberg Jesse Adam Eisenberg (; born October 5, 1983) is an American actor, writer, and director. He has received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awar ...
,
Diane Lane Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film ''A Little Romance''. The two films that could have catapulted her to star ...
,
Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...
,
Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...
,
Holly Hunter Holly Patricia Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. For her performance as Ada McGrath in the 1993 drama film ''The Piano'', Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She earned three additional Academy Award nominations for ...
, and
Gal Gadot Gal Gadot-Varsano ( he, גל גדות ; born 30 April 1985) is an Israeli actress and model. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years as a combat fitness instructor, whereafter sh ...
. ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' is the first live-action film to feature Batman and Superman together, as well as the first live-action cinematic portrayal of
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
. In the film, criminal mastermind
Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: Apr ...
manipulates Batman into a preemptive battle with Superman, who Luthor is obsessed with destroying. The film was announced at the 2013
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
after the release of ''Man of Steel''. Snyder stated that the film would take inspiration from the ''Batman'' comic book series ''
The Dark Knight Returns ''The Dark Knight Returns'' (alternatively titled ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'') is a 1986 four-issue comic book miniseries starring Batman, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by Miller and Klaus Janson, with color by Lynn Varley, and pub ...
'' by
Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...
but clarified that it would follow an original premise. The incarnation of Batman in the film is different from the character's previous portrayal by
Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including ...
in ''
The Dark Knight Trilogy The fictional superhero Batman, who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, has appeared in various films since his inception. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the character first starred in two serial films in the 1940 ...
'', serving as a cinematic
reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
of the character. The film is also inspired by narrative elements from the "
Death of Superman Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
". Pre-production began at
East Los Angeles College East Los Angeles College (ELAC) is a public community college in Monterey Park, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and the Los Angeles Community College District. With fourteen communiti ...
in October 2013 and
principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
started in May 2014 in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
. Additional filming also took place in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
and
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
, concluding that December. ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' premiered at the Auditorio Nacional in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
on March 19, 2016, and was released in the United States on March 25, 2016. Following a strong debut that set new box office records, the film experienced a historic drop in its second weekend and never recovered. Despite grossing $873.6 million worldwide, making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2016, it performed below expectations and received generally unfavorable reviews from critics. An extended cut, dubbed the "Ultimate Edition", features 31 minutes of additional footage and was released to home media formats later in 2016.


Plot

In a flashback to his childhood,
Bruce Wayne Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
runs from his parents' funeral. He falls into a cave, where a circling vortex of bats elevates him back to the surface. Back in the present, eighteen months after the battle between
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
and
General Zod General Zod is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly known as an List of Superman enemies, adversary of the superhero Superman. The character, who first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961 ...
in
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...
, Superman has become a controversial figure. Bruce is now a billionaire who has operated in
Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the cit ...
as the vigilante
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
for twenty years. Having witnessed the chaos of that battle in person, he sees Superman as an existential threat to humanity. After learning of Batman's form of justice,
Clark Kent Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publish ...
(Superman's civilian identity) seeks to expose him via ''
Daily Planet The ''Daily Planet'' is a fictional newspaper appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. The newspaper was first mentioned in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). The ''Daily Planet'' build ...
'' articles. Bruce learns that Russian weapon trafficker Anatoli Knyazev has been contacting LexCorp mogul
Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: Apr ...
. Meanwhile, Luthor attempts to persuade Senator June Finch to allow him to import
kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous r ...
discovered after Zod's
terraforming Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make ...
attempt, so that it can be used as a deterrent against future Kryptonian and
metahuman In DC Comics' DC Universe, a metahuman is a human with superpowers. The term is roughly synonymous with both ''mutant'' and ''mutate'' in the Marvel Universe and '' posthuman'' in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. In DC Comics, the term ...
threats. She declines, but Luthor makes alternative plans with Finch's subordinate, granting him access to Zod's body and the Kryptonian scout ship. Bruce attends a gala at LexCorp to steal encrypted data from the company's mainframe, but antiquities dealer
Diana Prince Diana Prince is a fictional character appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, as the secret identity of the Amazonian superhero Wonder Woman, who bought the credentials and identity from a United States Army nurse named Diana Pri ...
takes it from him; she returns it after failing to access the information. While decrypting the drive, Bruce dreams of a postapocalyptic world where he leads rebels against an evil Superman. He is awakened by an unidentified person, appearing through a portal, who tells him that
Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...
"is the key" and urges him to find "the others" before vanishing. The decrypted drive reveals Luthor's files on several metahumans across the globe. One is Diana, who appears in a photo from
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Wayne tells
Alfred Pennyworth Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Pennyworth is depicted as Bruce Wayne's loyal and tireless butler, ...
that he plans to steal and weaponize the kryptonite to go to war with Superman. A widely publicized congressional hearing, led by Finch, is held to question Superman's actions against Zod. A bomb smuggled in by Luthor detonates, killing everyone present except Superman. Superman blames himself for not detecting it in time and self-imposes exile. Elsewhere, Batman breaks into LexCorp and steals the kryptonite. He builds a
powered exoskeleton A powered exoskeleton, also known as power armor, powered armor, powered suit, cybernetic suit, cybernetic armor, exosuit, hardsuit, exoframe or augmented mobility, is a mobile machine that is wearable over all or part of the human body, provi ...
, a kryptonite
grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mos ...
, and a kryptonite-tipped spear. Meanwhile, Luthor enters the Kryptonian ship and accesses its vast database of technology. Luthor lures Superman out of exile by kidnapping Lois and
Martha Kent Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent, often referred to as "Pa" and "Ma" Kent (respectively), are fictional characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. They are the adoptive parents of Superman. They live in the rural town of Smallville ...
, Clark's adoptive mother. He pushes Lois off the LexCorp building. Superman saves her and confronts Luthor, who reveals he manipulated him and Batman by fueling their distrust. Luthor demands he kill Batman in exchange for Martha's life. Superman tries to explain this to Batman, who instead attacks him and eventually subdues him using a kryptonite gas. As Batman prepares to move in for the kill using the spear, Superman pleads with him to "save Martha" – the same name as Batman's mother. Batman hesitates in confusion long enough for Lois to arrive and explain what Superman meant. Coming to his senses about how far he has fallen from grace, he promises to rescue Martha. Superman regains his strength and confronts Luthor on the scout ship. Luthor executes his backup plan, unleashing a monster genetically engineered from DNA from both Zod's body and his own. Diana arrives, joining Batman and Superman in their fight against the creature. Superman realizes its vulnerability to kryptonite and retrieves the spear, fatally impaling the creature with it. In its dying moments, the creature stabs Superman, who was weakened by kryptonite exposure, killing him. Following Luthor's arrest, Batman confronts him in prison, warning him that he will always be watching. Luthor gloats that Superman's death has made the world vulnerable to powerful alien threats. A memorial is held for Superman in Metropolis. Clark is also declared dead, and Bruce and Diana both attend his funeral in
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
. Martha gives Lois an envelope containing an engagement ring from Clark. Bruce tells Diana that he regrets having failed Superman in life. He asks her help to form a team of metahumans, starting with those named in Luthor's files, to protect the world in Superman's absence. As they depart, the dirt atop Clark's coffin levitates.


Cast

*
Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educationa ...
as Bruce Wayne / Batman:
A billionaire
socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...
and owner of
Wayne Enterprises Wayne Enterprises, Inc., also known as WayneCorp and Wayne Industries, is a wealthy fictional company appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Wayne Enterprises is a large, grow ...
who dedicates himself to protecting
Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the cit ...
from its criminal underworld as a highly trained, masked vigilante. The Batsuit in this film is made of a form-fitting fabric as opposed to the armored suits in previous portrayals, and a mechanical suit is also featured which Batman uses in his fight against Superman. On Batman's suit, Zack Snyder commented "I had a really strong idea about what I wanted to do – I really wanted to do sort of a fabric-based Batman; not what's become the more normal, armored Batman. That's how we evolved it." Unlike previous versions who spoke in a deeper voice as Batman, this version uses a voice modulator to distort his real voice. Affleck stated a well known billionaire would likely have his voice recognized. When asked what makes this Batman different from the previous portrayals, Affleck said this Batman "is a little older, he's a little more world-weary. He's been around the block once or twice so he's a little wiser but he's definitely more cynical and a little darker and more jaded", adding that Batman has gotten "more exposed to the violence and the criminal element of that world over time." The film's Batman was influenced by
Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...
's ''
The Dark Knight Returns ''The Dark Knight Returns'' (alternatively titled ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'') is a 1986 four-issue comic book miniseries starring Batman, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by Miller and Klaus Janson, with color by Lynn Varley, and pub ...
'', which shows Batman in his 50s. Snyder said, "I definitely wanted an older Batman. I wanted a war-weary Batman. That's why, in a lot of ways, Ben was really perfect for me - we kind of aged him a little bit. It worked really great. I'm really excited about the Batman we created." On Affleck's casting as Batman, Snyder said, "Ben provides an interesting counterbalance to Henry's Superman. He has the acting chops to create a layered portrayal of a man who is older and wiser than Clark Kent and bears the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne." Affleck praised Snyder for tackling the impact of the destruction caused in Metropolis in the previous installment, saying, "One of the things I liked was Zack's idea of showing accountability and the consequences of violence and seeing that there are real people in those buildings", adding, "And in fact, one of those buildings was Bruce Wayne's building so he knew people who died in that Black Zero event". Brandon Spink portrays a young Bruce Wayne. *
Henry Cavill Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill ( ; born 5 May 1983) is a British actor. He is known for his portrayal of Charles Brandon in Showtime's ''The Tudors'' (2007–2010), DC Comics character Superman in the DC Extended Universe (2013–2022), Gera ...
as
Clark Kent / Superman Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...
:
A
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...
-based
Kryptonian Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to re ...
survivor and a journalist for the ''
Daily Planet The ''Daily Planet'' is a fictional newspaper appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. The newspaper was first mentioned in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). The ''Daily Planet'' build ...
'' who uses his extraterrestrial abilities to protect humanity. Superman's suit in ''Batman v Superman'' is somewhat similar to that in ''Man of Steel'', but with enhanced, high-tech-style surface detail and a shinier, more metallic-looking cape. A quote written in Kryptonian was added into Superman's symbol which says "Where we had thought to stand alone, we will be with all the world". The film addresses the destruction caused by Superman and Zod in Metropolis, a part of ''Man of Steel'' that was criticized for being too extensive for Superman, to which Snyder responded "I was surprised because that's the thesis of Superman for me, that you can't just have superheroes knock around and have there be no consequences". On what the public perception of Superman is in the film, Cavill said "In this movie, everyone has split into different directions as to how they feel about this alien", adding, "Some people love him, some hate him. Other people fear him. Is he a tyrant?" When asked how Superman has evolved since ''Man of Steel'', Cavill said "Superman himself isn't that different. He does, however, have to deal with a new set of problems because he's now been revealed to the world. This film is more about how the world in general – and Batman in particular – sees this alien, and less about the evolution of Superman." Cavill described Superman and Batman as being the "two sides of the same coin. They have the same goal, but use very different methods to achieve it. Understandably, that leads them to clash with one another, and their conflict is a historic moment." *
Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...
as
Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...
:
A reporter for the ''Daily Planet'' and love interest of Clark Kent. About her role, Adams stated that "Lois is still sort of like the key to the information. She's the girl going out and getting it and figuring it out and putting it together and all of that, so she's very much involved." When asked on her thoughts on portraying Lois Lane in the film, Adams replied "I love that she's fearless. I'm not that way so it's really fun that she really is not afraid of the consequences." On Lois Lane and Clark Kent's relationship in the film, Adams said, "What's great about this is that, as far as the relationship with Lois and Clark goes, when we meet them you can tell that they've been in a relationship for while," further explaining, "So it was great to get to develop that sort of intimacy and that sort of friendship that I've developed with Henry, to get to bring that to the screen." She also described Clark Kent as being Lois Lane's connection to humanity and said, "She may have some tunnel vision, but she's got a job and moral standards.
hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...
we met her before, she would do anything to get the story – now Clark has instilled some faith in humanity in her. Her relationship with Clark is the closest thing she has to anything faith-based, you know? Although moving in with Clark brings issues." *
Jesse Eisenberg Jesse Adam Eisenberg (; born October 5, 1983) is an American actor, writer, and director. He has received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awar ...
as
Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: Apr ...
:
An eccentric young businessman and hereditary CEO of LexCorp who is obsessed with defeating Superman. Luthor is usually depicted as bald in the comics while the film's version of Luthor depicts him with hair throughout the majority of the film. When speaking about his portrayal of Luthor compared to previous portrayals, Eisenberg said, "When you're doing a movie like this and playing a character that's already been played, the further away it is from those previous incarnations the better", adding, "Because chances are, especially with a guy like
Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and former novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs ...
or
Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades ...
, you're not going to get favorably compared." Eisenberg explained his character's background as having "a core of reality", saying, " uthorhas a backstory that's tragic and an emotional inner life that's authentic. That's in the movie. It was my interest in playing the character with a real emotional core, and this writer, Chris Terrio's interest in creating a character that seemed viable in reality." On Luthor's behavior and attitude towards Superman, Eisenberg said, "He is a narcissist of the first order but complicated in that way as well in that he is terribly troubled and competitive and vengeful. He looks at Superman not as somebody to destroy but as genuine threat to humanity." Eisenberg described his role as Lex Luthor as his most advantageous role yet, saying, "In a lot of ways Luthor is more of a stretch than any character you would do in an independent movie, which is normally the place you stretch. So in that way it was not at all compromised. If anything it was the best, most advantageous role I've ever been given. The opportunity to do an interesting character on a movie of that scale is incredibly rare." Eisenberg describes a theme in the film, saying, "It raises the question of how one man can have so much power. These are the kind of things that we talk about authoritarian states. They're addressing geopolitics in this movie and not in a way that's pretentious or esoteric". *
Diane Lane Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film ''A Little Romance''. The two films that could have catapulted her to star ...
as
Martha Kent Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent, often referred to as "Pa" and "Ma" Kent (respectively), are fictional characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. They are the adoptive parents of Superman. They live in the rural town of Smallville ...
:
Clark's adoptive mother. On her role as Superman's mother, Lane stated, "I always said if I had a son that would be the ultimate test. Raise a good man — there's something noble about that." When asked on her experience working with Zack Snyder on ''Batman v Superman'', Lane said she was impressed by Snyder's imagination and added, "Who gets offered the opportunity to bring such things to the screen for millions of people? That's tremendous. It's an honor and a burden, and I can't imagine shouldering that load." On Martha Kent's support for her son Superman, Lane stated, "I think that she's reminding him he does have a choice", further explaining, "He doesn't have to be yoked to this destiny. He can actually feel the pleasure of making the choice." *
Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...
as
Perry White Perry White is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the editor-in-chief of the Metropolis newspaper the ''Daily Planet''. The character maintains very high ethical and journalistic standards and i ...
:
The
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
of the ''Daily Planet'' and Clark and Lois' boss. When asked about reprising his role in the film, Fishburne said, "I was happy to come back to the character. I got really excited when I read it and I saw what was at the center at the movie, which was this huge fight between these two titans." On Perry White's role in the film, Fishburne said, "He's dealing with the fact that his medium looks like it's going the way of the dinosaurs, so that's a difficult position to be in", adding, the "good news is he's got a great reporter like Lois Lane and a new great reporter like Clark Kent who are interested and hungry to do the job." Describing Perry White's working relationship with Lois Lane, Fishburne stated, "She's my favorite child and she's my problem child." On his experience filming and his character's interactions, Fishburne said, "It was really just a couple of days in the beginning with Lois, Clark, and Perry. And the rest was just me with Lois, figuring out how to get her where she needed to go. But the relationships I think were established really well in ''Man of Steel''." *
Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...
as
Alfred Pennyworth Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Pennyworth is depicted as Bruce Wayne's loyal and tireless butler, ...
:
Bruce Wayne's butler, chief of security and trusted confidant. Irons described his take on Alfred Pennyworth as being "quite a different Alfred than we have seen so far. Zack Snyder had very clear views about what he wanted. I would just say he's more hands-on perhaps than just a butler." When asked what makes his Alfred different from previous portrayals, Irons said, "Zack Snyder, the director, wanted to create a completely different Alfred. So I felt I didn't have to carry any baggage from previous ones. It's sort of a reincarnation, if you'd like. I had a feeling I was creating my own Alfred, more of a man who can actually do anything if he has to." According to Irons, Alfred is "a bit of a grease monkey, and he's very involved in the decisions Bruce makes." On how Alfred would be in the film, Irons stated, "He has an interesting history. He's a very competent man. He's the sort of man I think anyone would like to be married to. He can sort of do everything: change light bulbs, blow up bridges if he has to." *
Holly Hunter Holly Patricia Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. For her performance as Ada McGrath in the 1993 drama film ''The Piano'', Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She earned three additional Academy Award nominations for ...
as June Finch:
United States Senator from Kentucky who heads the political argument on Superman and his actions. Describing her experience on being in the film, Hunter said, "It was really fun to be part of a giant, massive piece of machinery, headed up by Zack Snyder, who is thoroughly at home in that uber mega environment. Most people would have a nervous breakdown with that kind of pressure, and he's enthralled." When asked how she got involved in the film, Hunter said, "Zack asked me. He came to me with an offer, and I was like, 'Yeah, that would be fun.' It's fun to mix it up. I have scenes with Superman. He looks phenomenal. And to see Ben ffleck, who plays Batmanand Henry avill, who plays Supermantogether is quite formidable." On acting in a superhero film, Hunter stated, "Being somebody who's like a theater geek that I am, I can just go right back to
Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
and
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
and
Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...
. They were writing about gods and goddesses versus humans, and how gods could distort, pervert or help people get what they want. And so, for me, this didn't feel foreign because that was the translation that it went through for me; that was my filter." On her character's views on Superman, Hunter stated, "What is her problem with Superman? That
absolute power corrupts absolutely John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. He is best remembered for the remark he w ...
. When power is acting autonomously, unilaterally with no legislation, with no boundaries, with no law, except for the ones that he deems in his own mind, that can be detrimental." Describing her character, Hunter said, "I thought that, you know, as a senator, she brought her female-ness to the job in how she listened, in her curiosity, in her ability to evaluate", adding, " tfelt very female to me." *
Gal Gadot Gal Gadot-Varsano ( he, גל גדות ; born 30 April 1985) is an Israeli actress and model. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years as a combat fitness instructor, whereafter sh ...
as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman:
An immortal Amazonian warrior who is the
crown princess A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife ...
of Themyscira. Wonder Woman's suit is made out of chrome-painted polyurethane, and she uses her hand wraps and sword harnesses. Gadot described her character as having "many strengths and powers, but at the end of the day, she's a woman with a lot of emotional intelligence". Describing Wonder Woman's compassion, Gadot stated, "It's all her heart—that's her strength. I think women are amazing for being able to show what they feel. I admire women who do." On her thoughts on portraying Wonder Woman, Gadot said, "You know Wonder Woman; she's amazing. I love everything that she represents and everything that she stands for. She's all about love and compassion and truth and justice and equality, and she's a whole lot of woman. For me, it was important that people can relate to her." Describing her role in the film, Gadot said, "In this movie you get a glimpse of who Wonder Woman is — she's being introduced into this DC Comics universe. But we were talking about her strengths, her façade, her attitude. Why is she acting the way she is?" On Wonder Woman's battle scene with Doomsday, Gadot stated, "I remember after we did that take, Zack came to me and he said, 'Did you just have a smirk?' I said, 'Yeah.' And he asked, 'Why? I think I like it, but why?' 'Well, if he's gonna mess with her, then she's gonna mess with him. And she knows she's gonna win.' At the end of the day, Wonder Woman is a peace seeker. But when fight arrives, she can fight. She's a warrior and she enjoys the adrenaline of the fight." Gadot also stated "I don't want people to think she is perfect", further explaining, "She can be naughty." On Gadot's casting as Wonder Woman, Snyder said "Wonder Woman is arguably one of the most powerful female characters of all time and a fan favorite in the DC Universe. Not only is Gal an amazing actress, but she also has that magical quality that makes her perfect for the role." Gadot underwent a diet and training regimen, practiced different martial arts and gained 17 pounds of muscle for the role. Gadot was previously offered the role as Faora Hu-Ul in ''Man of Steel'' but declined because she was pregnant at that time; this allowed her to be later cast as Wonder Woman in ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. *
Scoot McNairy John Marcus "Scoot" McNairy (born November 11, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles in '' Monsters'', '' Argo'', ''Killing Them Softly'', ''12 Years a Slave'', '' Gone Girl'', and '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of ...
as Wallace Keefe:
An
amputee Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indiv ...
employee of Wayne Enterprises who is crippled during the destruction of Metropolis and holds Superman responsible. McNairy describes his character as a type of character who he has never played before and stated "getting into that thing was definitely something I had to wrap my head around emotionally in order to play that character." When asked if the character was being kept as a surprise until the film's release, McNairy said "I don't know if I'd call it necessarily a surprise. I would say it's a character that lends itself to the story being told." On his thoughts on being in the film, McNairy stated "Playing in that world with comic books you've been reading since you were a kid, being someone in that world, it's awesome." *
Callan Mulvey Callan Mulvey (born 23 February 1975) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Mark Moran on the Australian drama ''Underbelly'', Sergeant Brendan 'Josh' Joshua in '' Rush'', and as Bogdan 'Draz' Drazic in ''Heartbreak High''. ...
as Anatoli Knyazev:
A Russian terrorist who works for Luthor. On casting Mulvey in the film, Zack Snyder stated, "I just had the good fortune to work with Callan on ''300: Rise of an Empire'' and was very impressed with his incredible talent," further adding, "He's a fantastic actor and I'm looking forward to having the chance to work with him again." On working with Snyder again, Mulvey stated "Zack is such a visionary, so I know it's going to be an amazing project. Talent as a director aside, people really love working for Zack and being on his sets, which says it all really." *
Tao Okamoto , known professionally as Tao, is a Japanese actress and model, who is alongside Ai Tominaga and Hiroko Matsumoto, one of the biggest models from Japan. In 2009, she was one of the faces of Ralph Lauren. She made her film debut as the female le ...
as Mercy Graves:
Assistant to Luthor. On her role in the film, Okamoto said "It was so fascinating. I didn't have a big speaking role. I used to act as sassy girls all the time as a model so that wasn't so challenging to me. But I enjoyed it so much, being mean. I tried to be mean." On Okamoto's casting, Snyder said "Tao is a striking presence whose beauty is aptly rivaled by her amazing abilities as an actress. I'm really excited to have her joining us on this adventure."
Robin Atkin Downes Robin Atkin Downes is an English actor known for his work in animation and video games. Early life Downes was born in London. He earned an MFA from Temple University in Philadelphia. Career Downes has voiced characters in animated films s ...
performed the motion capture and voice work for the creature at the film's climax. Although the character is not named directly, it was revealed later to be that of
Doomsday Doomsday may refer to: * Eschatology, a time period described in the eschatological writings in Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios of non-Abrahamic religions. * Global catastrophic risk, a hypothetical event explored in science and fict ...
. The role was kept under such heavy secrecy that Downes did not know who he was playing until the second trailer was released. On his role, Downes stated that he was proud to be part of the film and expressed his admiration in helping bring Doomsday to life in ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. Snyder has confirmed Doomsday will return in the DCEU, stating "Well, you have Doomsday, right? He doesn't just crawl out of the ground. He has his own mythology, right? So that has to be explored." Downes has previously provided voice roles for various DC animated films and shows as well as DC video games. Additionally,
Jeffrey Dean Morgan Jeffrey Dean Morgan (born April 22, 1966) is an American actor of television and film, best known for playing the character Negan in the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2016–2022), for which he has received critical acclaim. He ...
portrays
Thomas Wayne Thomas Alan Wayne, M.D. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the father of Bruce Wayne (Batman), and husband of Martha Wayne as well as the paternal grandfather of Damian Wayne. Wayne was introd ...
in an uncredited appearance and
Lauren Cohan Lauren Cohan (born January 7, 1982) is an American-British actress best known for her role as Maggie Greene in the AMC post-apocalyptic horror television series '' The Walking Dead'' (2011–2018; 2020–2022). Her other notable TV roles inclu ...
portrays
Martha Wayne Martha Wayne ( Kane) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. She is the mother of Bruce Wayne (Batman), and wife of Thomas Wayne, Dr. Thomas Wayne as wel ...
, Bruce Wayne's deceased parents,
Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor and director. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty'' (2000–2001) and ''Oklahoma ...
(who later portrayed
Ocean Master Ocean Master is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy, and debuted in ''Aquaman'' #29 (September 1966). Ocean Master is the alter ego of Orm Marius, the hal ...
in ''
Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...
'' and its
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
) portrays the
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
in a voice role, and Michael Cassidy portrays
Jimmy Olsen Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the ''Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and has ...
, a CIA agent. Reprising their roles from ''Man of Steel'' are
Harry Lennix Harry Joseph Lennix III (born November 16, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the Robert Townsend film ''The Five Heartbeats'' (1991) and as Boyd Langton in the science-fiction series ''Dollh ...
as Secretary
Calvin Swanwick The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on superhero films and other series starring various titular superheroes produced by DC Films, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, and based on char ...
, Christina Wren as Major Carrie Farris,
Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...
as Jonathan Kent, Rebecca Buller as Jenny Jurwich, Chad Krowchuk as Glen Woodburn, and
Carla Gugino Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001 ...
as the Kryptonian AI Kelor. The corpse of
General Zod General Zod is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly known as an List of Superman enemies, adversary of the superhero Superman. The character, who first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961 ...
also appears in the film in a crucial role; however,
Michael Shannon Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor, producer, musician, and theater director. He is an off beat actor known for his on-screen versatility, performing in both comedies and dramas. He became known for his frequent ...
did not film any scenes for the film and the corpse was created using the physique of fitness model
Greg Plitt George Gregory Plitt, Jr. (November 3, 1977 January 17, 2015) was an American fitness model and actor. He starred in the Bravo television series '' Work Out.'' He died at age 37 when he was struck by a train locomotive while filming a video. ...
and a head-shot of Shannon. Hugh Maguire portrays Jack O'Dwyer, an executive of Wayne Enterprises.
Ezra Miller Ezra Matthew Miller (born September 30, 1992) is an American actor. Their feature film debut was in '' Afterschool'' (2008), which they followed by starring in the drama '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'' (2011) and '' The Perks of Being a Wallf ...
,
Jason Momoa Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa (; born August 1, 1979) is an American actor. He made his acting debut as Jason Ioane on the syndicated action drama series '' Baywatch: Hawaii'' (1999–2001), which was followed by portrayals of Ronon Dex on the ...
, and Ray Fisher are introduced as Barry Allen / The Flash, Arthur Curry / Aquaman, and Victor Stone / Cyborg respectively in brief appearances, which led to their inclusion in the ''
Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
'' film.
Joe Morton Joseph Thomas Morton Jr. (born October 18, 1947) is an American stage, television and film actor. He has worked with film director John Sayles in ''The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), '' City of Hope'' (1991) and '' Lone Star'' (1996). Oth ...
appears in a role as
Silas Stone Silas Stone is a character appearing in the comics that are published by DC Comics. He is the father of Cyborg (DC Comics), Cyborg and the creator of Titans Tower. Silas Stone first appeared in ''DC Comics Presents'' #26 and was created by Marv Wo ...
, Victor's father. U.S. Senator
Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
makes a cameo appearance as Senator Purrington, whilst U.S. Senator
Debbie Stabenow Deborah Ann Stabenow ( ; née Greer, born April 29, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Michigan, a seat she has held since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she became the state's first female ...
also makes a cameo as the
Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
.
Neil deGrasse Tyson Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a po ...
,
Soledad O'Brien María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien (born September 19, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist and executive producer. Since 2016, O'Brien has been the host for ''Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien,'' a nationally syndicated weekly talk show ...
,
Anderson Cooper Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator from the Vanderbilt family. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news broadcast show ''Anderson Cooper 360°''. In addition to his duties at C ...
,
Nancy Grace Nancy Ann Grace (born October 23, 1959) is an American legal commentator and television journalist. She hosted ''Nancy Grace'', a nightly celebrity news and current affairs show on HLN, from 2005 to 2016, and Court TV's ''Closing Arguments' ...
,
Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP. Rose also co-an ...
,
Dana Bash Dana Ruth Bash (born June 15, 1971; née Schwartz) is an American journalist, news anchor, and chief political correspondent for CNN. Early life and education Bash was born Dana Ruth Schwartz in Manhattan, New York City, into a family of Jews, ...
,
Andrew Sullivan Andrew Michael Sullivan (born 10 August 1963) is a British-American author, editor, and blogger. Sullivan is a political commentator, a former editor of ''The New Republic'', and the author or editor of six books. He started a political blog, ' ...
, and
Vikram Gandhi Vikram Gandhi is an Indian American documentary filmmaker, producer, actor, and journalist. His works included ''Kumaré'' (2011), ''Barry'' (2016), '' Trigger Warning with Killer Mike'' (2019), '' 69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez'' (2020)''.'' ...
appear as themselves.
Sammi Rotibi Sammi Rotibi is a Nigerian-American film and television actor. His most notable roles are Rodney in ''Django Unchained'' and General Amajagh in '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. His acting idols are Sidney Poitier and Peter O'Toole. B ...
was cast as General Amajagh, while
Wunmi Mosaku Oluwunmi Mosaku (born 1986) is a Nigerian-born British actress. She is known for her roles as Joy in the BBC Two miniseries ''Moses Jones'' (2009) and Holly Lawson in the ITV series '' Vera'' (2011–2012). She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best S ...
portrays Kahina Ziri, a woman from Nairomi who initially testifies to the U.S. Congress against Superman.
Jena Malone Jena Laine Malone (; born November 21, 1984) is an American actress, musician, and photographer. Known for her roles in both independent films and mainstream blockbuster features, she has received numerous accolades, including nominations for a ...
was cast as
S.T.A.R. Labs Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories (S.T.A.R. Labs) is a fictional scientific research facility and organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It first appeared in ''Superman'' #246 (December 1 ...
scientist Jenet Klyburn, but her scenes were cut from the theatrical release, along with ''Man of Steel'' characters Coburn Goss as Father Leone, Joseph Cranford as
Pete Ross Peter Joseph Ross is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Publication history The character was created by Leo Dorfman and George Papp and first appeared in ''Superboy'' #86 (January 1961). Fictional c ...
and Emily Peterson as
Lana Lang Lana Lang is a fictional supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She has appeared in other media adaptations of Superman, typically as a teenager. These portrayals include the '' Adventures of Superboy'' t ...
; they were restored for the ''Ultimate Edition'' home media release. Talk show host
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...
has a cameo in the extended cut. To further establish the interconnection between the films of the shared universe,
Chris Pine Chris Pine (born August 26, 1980) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' reboot film series (2009–present), Steve Trevor in the DC Extended Universe films ''Wonder Woman'' (2017) and ''Won ...
,
Saïd Taghmaoui Saïd Taghmaoui (born 19 July 1973) is a French-American actor and screenwriter. One of his major screen roles was that of Saïd in the 1995 French film ''La Haine'', directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Taghmaoui has also appeared in a number of En ...
,
Ewen Bremner Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in '' Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel '' T2 Trainspotting''. Early life Bremner was born i ...
, and
Eugene Brave Rock Eugene Brave Rock is a Canadian actor and stunt man. Brave Rock started as an actor, before being trained as a stuntman; he later appeared in various minor television roles before landing his first major film role as Chief in ''Wonder Woman''. ...
appear on Diana Prince's photo as
Steve Trevor General Steven Rockwell Trevor is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Wonder Woman. The character was created by William Moulton Marston and first appeared in ' ...
, Sameer, Charlie, and Chief Napi, all characters who would appear in the ''
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
'' film. Snyder himself also makes a cameo as one of Knyazev's goons holding a rifle at the warehouse standoff.


Themes and analysis

''Batman v Superman'' has been interpreted as an allegory about contemporary
American politics The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that Separation of powers, share powers. These are: the United States Congress, U.S. Congre ...
, particularly America's response to
9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
. Writing for ''
The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, also ...
'', John Beifuss noted the similarities between the Metropolis battle at the beginning of the film and
9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
: "The idea is that just as 9/11 had a transformative existential impact on the psyche of America, the battle of Metropolis – and the subsequent realization that an all-powerful alien could destroy his adopted planet with ease – has altered human consciousness, creating new standards of morality and levels of fear – "the feeling of powerlessness that turns good men cruel," in the words of Wayne's butler, Alfred (Jeremy Irons)." He says that Batman comes out of the Metropolis battle scene as "a changed – and even more deranged – man." Kofi Outlaw of ''ComicBook.com'' interpreted the allegory as Batman representing "the
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
reaction to
9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
... an America that prefers security over civil liberties; the
Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...
-era mentality of stopping threats pro-actively before they can threaten close to home". Meanwhile, Superman, Outlaw writes, represents "the more
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
, liberal, American ideal", while Luthor represents "insidious opportunists who exploited (and still exploit) the turmoil of a post-9/11, war-torn, world for personal gain." Outlaw suggests that the scene where Batman and Superman find common ground in their mothers is parallel to the notion that conflicting political ideologies still have similarities. Writing for ''
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
'', Andrew Dyce wrote "Bruce has, like so many political figures and nations, given up the moral high ground, rationalized his extreme methods as necessary, identified an enemy he does not seek to understand, and abandoned the spirit, if not the explicit values upon which his country – rather, upon which ''his mission'' was founded." Writing for ''
Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...
'', Kaleem Aftab wrote that the film "was intended as an unpleasant lambast of the government and the popular reaction to 9/11." He compared Superman's character to the Muslim American experience, concluding that the film "is a condemnation of what America is becoming, a place where immigrants, especially those unfairly tainted because of the mass destruction caused by a few, are no longer part of a viable American dream." Writing for ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'',
Richard Brody Richard Brody (born 1958) is an American film critic who has written for ''The New Yorker'' since 1999. Education Brody grew up in Roslyn, New York, and attended Princeton University, receiving a B.A. in comparative literature in 1980. He first ...
analyzed the allegory differently: Batman, according to Brody, represents the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
, whereas Superman represents the Republican Party. Brody feels this notion is supported by the fact that Batman's eyes glow blue when he is wearing the exoskeleton and Superman's glow red when he uses his heat vision. Brody criticized this allegory as "salacious" for suggesting that the Democratic Party allies itself with evil, which he says "has no relationship to contemporary politics". However, he called it "a powerful metaphor" for suggesting "there'd be much less of an urge to find a superhero—or to magnify demagogues who pretend to be one—if politicians merely did their jobs competently and sensitively." Mark Hughes writing for ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' notes that the film inverts the politics of ''
The Dark Knight Returns ''The Dark Knight Returns'' (alternatively titled ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'') is a 1986 four-issue comic book miniseries starring Batman, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by Miller and Klaus Janson, with color by Lynn Varley, and pub ...
'' by having Superman as the outsider character who is questioned by the government and media. He writes "This is a reversal of sorts from
the comic ''The Comic'' is a 1969 American Pathécolor comedy-drama film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Carl Reiner. It stars Dick Van Dyke as Billy Bright (which was the original title of the film), Michele Lee as Bright's love interest, and R ...
, where Superman represents the establishment perspective while Batman is the outcast under constant press, public, and government scrutiny." He also noted how Batman sees Superman as human for the first time during the Martha scene: "he's never looked at Superman as a real person or as a man before. Then suddenly Superman is vulnerable, he has a regular guy's name and a woman who loves him crying over him, and a mom – his last words are basically "save my mother." We see, very emotionally, how Batman realizes what he's doing and that he's the bad guy, a painful but very human revelatory moment." Richard Newby writing for ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', wrote the Martha scene "is Bruce's opportunity to reconnect with his own humanity and the humanity of Superman. Batman doesn’t end the fight because their mothers have the same name, but because he recognizes Superman as someone with a mother, and thus a human, despite his alien origins. The battle against Superman is ultimately Bruce’s realization that he can be better and reconnect with humanity again. It’s not a redemption, or a full change, as he does kill mercenaries at the warehouse in the following scene, but it is a start." Ben Affleck said he liked the "idea of showing accountability and the consequences of violence and seeing that there are real people in those buildings", with the scene of Bruce Wayne at the battle of Metropolis.


Production


Development

In June 2013, Warner Bros. announced that director Zack Snyder and screenwriter David S. Goyer would return for a ''Man of Steel'' sequel, with the studio considering a 2015 release for the film. The following month, Snyder confirmed at
San Diego Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
that the follow-up to ''Man of Steel'' would feature
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
and
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
meeting for the first time on film. Goyer and Snyder would co-write the story, and Goyer would write the script despite saying in 2006 that a 'Batman Vs. Superman' film "is where you go when you admit to yourself that you've exhausted all possibilities ... an admission that this franchise is on its last gasp".
Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Cinema of the United States, Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. ...
was involved in an advisory role as executive producer. According to Snyder, the film would take inspiration from the comic ''
The Dark Knight Returns ''The Dark Knight Returns'' (alternatively titled ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'') is a 1986 four-issue comic book miniseries starring Batman, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by Miller and Klaus Janson, with color by Lynn Varley, and pub ...
''. In November 2013, Snyder clarified his film would not be based upon the aforementioned graphic novel. "If you were going to do that, you would need a different Superman. We're bringing Batman into the universe that now this Superman lives in." ''Batman v Superman'' marks the first appearance of
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
in a live-action, theatrical film, which Warner Bros. had been developing as far back as 1996. In December 2013,
Chris Terrio Chris Terrio (born December 31, 1976) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for writing the screenplay for the 2012 film ''Argo'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Terrio also won the W ...
was hired to rewrite the script, due to Goyer's commitments to other projects. Further commenting on the influences, Terrio revealed that the film would draw inspiration from Nolan's Batman trilogy, Italian semiotician
Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of the ...
's 1972 essay ''"The Myth of Superman"'', and the
W.H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...
poem ''"Musée des Beaux Arts"'' which contrasts the quotidian details of normal people's lives with the epic struggles of mythological figures. According to him, "In superhero stories, Batman is Pluto, god of the underworld, and Superman is Apollo, god of the sky. That began to be really interesting to me — that their conflict is not just due to manipulation, but their very existence."
The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Bat ...
and the
Riddler The Riddler (Edward Nigma, later Edward Nygma or Edward Nashton) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #140 in Oc ...
were supposed to appear in the film, but Snyder ultimately decided to cut them from the final script. The film's official title, ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'', was revealed in May 2014. Snyder stated that having the "v" in the title instead of "vs." was a way "to keep it from being a straight 'versus' movie, even in the most subtle way". Henry Cavill later stated, "I wouldn't call this a Superman sequel ..This is Batman versus Superman. It's a separate entity altogether. It's introducing the Batman character and expanding upon the universe, which was kicked off by ''Man of Steel''." ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' noted that although the film originated as a sequel to ''Man of Steel'', it was "revamped into a backdoor pilot for ''Justice League'' and/or an eventual stand-alone Batman movie." As part of a settlement with his heirs, this is the first Batman production that lists
Bill Finger Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatu ...
as a co-creator. In April 2021, Terrio revealed that his script was never titled ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'', while Snyder indicated that the name of the film was decided by studio executives and that he fought for the abbreviation of the word "versus" in the title. Potential titles that the pair had initially wanted included ''Justice League: Foundations'', ''Justice League: Rising'', and ''Son of Sun and Knight of Night''.


Casting

Henry Cavill Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill ( ; born 5 May 1983) is a British actor. He is known for his portrayal of Charles Brandon in Showtime's ''The Tudors'' (2007–2010), DC Comics character Superman in the DC Extended Universe (2013–2022), Gera ...
,
Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...
,
Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...
,
Diane Lane Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film ''A Little Romance''. The two films that could have catapulted her to star ...
,
Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...
,
Harry Lennix Harry Joseph Lennix III (born November 16, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the Robert Townsend film ''The Five Heartbeats'' (1991) and as Boyd Langton in the science-fiction series ''Dollh ...
and Christina Wren reprise their roles from ''Man of Steel''. Joining the cast are
Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educationa ...
as
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
,
Gal Gadot Gal Gadot-Varsano ( he, גל גדות ; born 30 April 1985) is an Israeli actress and model. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years as a combat fitness instructor, whereafter sh ...
as
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
,
Jesse Eisenberg Jesse Adam Eisenberg (; born October 5, 1983) is an American actor, writer, and director. He has received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awar ...
as
Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: Apr ...
,
Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...
as
Alfred Pennyworth Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Pennyworth is depicted as Bruce Wayne's loyal and tireless butler, ...
, Ray Fisher as
Cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.
,
Jason Momoa Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa (; born August 1, 1979) is an American actor. He made his acting debut as Jason Ioane on the syndicated action drama series '' Baywatch: Hawaii'' (1999–2001), which was followed by portrayals of Ronon Dex on the ...
as
Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...
,
Ezra Miller Ezra Matthew Miller (born September 30, 1992) is an American actor. Their feature film debut was in '' Afterschool'' (2008), which they followed by starring in the drama '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'' (2011) and '' The Perks of Being a Wallf ...
as
The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...
and
Tao Okamoto , known professionally as Tao, is a Japanese actress and model, who is alongside Ai Tominaga and Hiroko Matsumoto, one of the biggest models from Japan. In 2009, she was one of the faces of Ralph Lauren. She made her film debut as the female le ...
as Luthor's assistant Mercy Graves.
Scoot McNairy John Marcus "Scoot" McNairy (born November 11, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles in '' Monsters'', '' Argo'', ''Killing Them Softly'', ''12 Years a Slave'', '' Gone Girl'', and '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of ...
and
Callan Mulvey Callan Mulvey (born 23 February 1975) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Mark Moran on the Australian drama ''Underbelly'', Sergeant Brendan 'Josh' Joshua in '' Rush'', and as Bogdan 'Draz' Drazic in ''Heartbreak High''. ...
were cast as Wallace Keefe and Anatoli Knyazev, while
Jena Malone Jena Laine Malone (; born November 21, 1984) is an American actress, musician, and photographer. Known for her roles in both independent films and mainstream blockbuster features, she has received numerous accolades, including nominations for a ...
was cast as Jenet Klyburn, a character that was featured exclusively in the ''Ultimate Edition'' home media release. ''Dawn of Justice'' is Affleck's second film as a comic book superhero; he played Daredevil in the 2003 film of the same name, and was initially reluctant to accept playing Batman, citing that he "felt edidn't fit the traditional mold", but he became excited after Snyder showed him the concept and reassured him that the film would be different from Nolan's trilogy. Snyder cast an older Batman to be a layered juxtaposition against a younger Superman; while "bear ngthe scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain ngthe charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne." Nolan was involved with the casting of Affleck and he was the first actor Snyder approached for the part.
Ryan Gosling Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor. Prominent in independent film, he has also worked in blockbuster films of varying genres, and has accrued a worldwide box office gross of over 1.9 billion USD. He has received ...
,
Joe Manganiello Joseph Michael Manganiello ( ; , ; born December 28, 1976) is an American actor. His professional film career began when he played Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man''. His breakout role was as werewolf Alcide Herveaux in five seasons of ...
, Richard Armitage,
Max Martini Maximilian Carlo Martini (born December 11, 1969) is an American actor, writer, and director known for his roles as Corporal Fred Henderson in ''Saving Private Ryan'', Wiley in '' Level 9'', First Sergeant Sid Wojo in ''The Great Raid'', and as ...
and
Matthew Goode Matthew William Goode (born 3 April 1978) is a British actor. Goode made his screen debut in 2002 with American Broadcasting Company, ABC's TV film feature ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister#Adaptation, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister''. His ...
were considered for the role. The director had also discussed the part with
Josh Brolin Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''The Goonies'' (1985), ''Mimic'' (1997), ''Hollow Man'' (2000), ''Grindhouse'' (2007), ''No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gangste ...
.
Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including ...
admitted he wanted to play Batman again after ''
The Dark Knight Rises ''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...
'', though he stated that his Batman does not belong in any other film and he was never approached by Warner Bros. to play the role again. Jason Momoa auditioned for Batman, but was cast as
Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...
instead. On casting Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Snyder offered, "Having Jesse in the role allows us to explore that interesting dynamic, and also take the character in some new and unexpected directions". Producer Charles Roven revealed that this incarnation of Wonder Woman would use the character's origins from 2011's
The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...
reboot of the DC continuity, wherein the character would be a demigoddess, and the daughter of
Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
. This deviates from the character's original origins, where she was "a clay figure brought to life by the gods".
Olga Kurylenko Olga Kostyantynivna Kurylenko ( uk, Ольга Костянтинівна Куриленко; born 14 November 1979) is a Ukrainian and French actress and model. She started her acting career in 2005, and first found success as an actress for ...
,
Jaimie Alexander Jaimie Lauren Alexander (born Jaimie Lauren Tarbush; March 12, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Jessi on the TV series '' Kyle XY'' and Lady Sif in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Thor'' (2011), '' Thor: The Dark ...
and
Élodie Yung Élodie Yung (; born 22 February 1981) is a French actress. She is best known for her role as Elektra Natchios in the 2016 second season of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Netflix series '' Daredevil'' and the 2017 Netflix miniseries '' The De ...
were considered for the role of Wonder Woman before
Gadot Gadot ( he, גָּדוֹת, ''lit.'' Banks) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Korazim Plateau, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In , it had a population of . History Kibbutz Gadot (originally '' ...
was cast. ''Dawn of Justice'' is Ray Fisher's feature film debut, and the first live-action film to feature Cyborg, whose role originally was to become more significant in future DC Comics films. It is also the live-action theatrical debut of Aquaman. Snyder almost cast
Adam Driver Adam Douglas Driver (born November 19, 1983) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award; making him one of few performers nominated ...
as Dick Grayson/Nightwing and
Carla Gugino Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001 ...
as
Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...
. The casting of Affleck, Gadot, and Eisenberg was criticized. Affleck's casting caused significant backlash from comic book fans, with multiple online petitions demanding his removal from the role; unlike previous Batman actors, he was not considered intimidating enough for the role by the protesters. Conversely, ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' journalist J.C. Maçek III supported Affleck's casting as Batman, stating, "Way back when the news was new I wrote a PopMatters article defending the choice of Ben Affleck as Batman. I'll let that one speak for itself." Via social media, fans criticized Gadot's small frame in contrast to Wonder Woman's warrior-like build in the comics. Responding to this, Gadot stated that she had been participating in various training regimens to achieve a body that stays closer to the source material. Fans also criticized Eisenberg's casting, feeling that the then-30-year-old was too young for the role, and not physically imposing enough. Upon the film's release, both Affleck and Gadot received considerable praise for their performances, despite the overall negative reception of the film itself.


Design

Michael Wilkinson reprised his duties as costume designer. He updated the Superman suit from ''Man of Steel'' so that it "feels fresh and right for this installment of Zack Snyder's comic-book universe". The first
Batsuit The Batsuit (or Bat-Suit) is the costume of DC Comics' fictional superhero Batman, who appears in their American comic books. The suit has been depicted in various ways, and the stories themselves have described Batman as modifying the details o ...
featured in the film is influenced by ''The Dark Knight Returns''; unlike the suits seen in previous live-action Batman films, it is made of cloth instead of armor and is a cast of the physique of fitness model Rossano Rea. An image of the Wonder Woman costume was revealed at the 2014
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
, in which the costume desaturates the red, blue, and gold colors that make up the costume of most versions of the character. A second Batsuit was also unveiled at Comic-Con, and unlike the first, it is armored. Aquaman's look in this film shows him "tattooed in Maori-like patterns", and wearing a suit "decked out in shades of gold, black and silver armor". According to the
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
Studios lot, the next generation
Batmobile The Batmobile is the fictional car driven by the superhero Batman. Housed in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is both a heavily armored tactical assault vehicle and a personalized custom-built pursuit a ...
combined inspiration from both the sleek, streamlined design of classic Batmobiles and the high-suspension, military build from the more recent Tumbler from ''
The Dark Knight Trilogy The fictional superhero Batman, who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, has appeared in various films since his inception. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the character first starred in two serial films in the 1940 ...
''. Designed by production designer
Patrick Tatopoulos Patrick Tatopoulos (born September 25, 1957) is a Greek- French production designer and director who lives and works in the United States. His designs have appeared in numerous motion pictures, including '' Pitch Black'', ''Underworld'', ''I, Ro ...
, the Batmobile is about 20 feet long and 12 feet wide. The glasses Cavill wears as Clark Kent are made by British spectacle designer Tom Davies.


Filming

In September 2013,
Larry Fong Larry Fong is an American cinematographer born in Los Angeles, California. He has been the director of photography for four Zack Snyder films. Early life and career Fong showed interest and talent in art at a young age. His experience in photog ...
joined the crew as
cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
, having previously worked with Zack Snyder on ''
300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 (Roman numerals, CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, ...
'', ''
Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book Limited series (comics), maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 a ...
'', and ''
Sucker Punch A sucker punch (American English), also known as a dog shot, coward punch, king hit or one-punch attack (Australian and New Zealand English) or cold-cock (American English), is a punch made without warning or while the recipient is distracted, ...
''. Initial filming commenced on October 19, 2013, at
East Los Angeles College East Los Angeles College (ELAC) is a public community college in Monterey Park, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and the Los Angeles Community College District. With fourteen communiti ...
, to shoot an American football game between
Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the cit ...
University and rival
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...
State University. At the end of the month, construction began on the Kent farm seen in ''Man of Steel'' for the film.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
involving the main cast of the film began on May 19, 2014, in
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, with scenes featuring Gal Gadot as Diana Prince being filmed early on May 16. While filming in Michigan, the production spent a total of $199million in the state. The scene of a
state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...
at the
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
, a tribute by the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
, was actually filmed in Michigan as well, using
green screen Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to r ...
. Additional filming began in
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
in November 2014. Other locations included the Michigan Motion Picture Studios, the
Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum (colloquially MSU Broad), is a contemporary art museum at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. It opened on November 10, 2012. History On June 1, 2007, Michigan State received a $28 millio ...
at
Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
,
Yorkville, Illinois Yorkville (officially the United City of Yorkville) is a city and county seat of Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,533 at th2020 census History In 1836, the city of Yorkville was settled ...
, the South Pacific, and
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. Sequences of the film, including a scene depicting the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents, were filmed using
IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...
cameras. The planned shoot in
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
was shifted to New Mexico due to incidents related to the
2014 Ebola outbreak Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...
. Principal photography wrapped on December 5, 2014.


Music and soundtrack

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...
composed the film score, emphasizing a challenge not to reuse the themes he established with the Batman character from
Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Cinema of the United States, Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. ...
's trilogy.
Junkie XL Tom Holkenborg (born 8 December 1967), also known by his stage name Junkie XL or occasionally JXL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer. Originally known for his trance productions, he has moved to producing e ...
, who provided additional music in ''Man of Steel'', also returned for this film, helping to compose the theme for Batman. Originally, Zimmer enlisted Junkie XL to compose the Batman material, with Zimmer planning to focus solely on the Superman side of the score, but the final Batman theme was written by both composers as a collaboration. Zimmer noted that he had significant trouble in finding a new angle from which to tell the story and after the release of the film, Zimmer announced that he was retired from superhero films, though he has since retracted this. The soundtrack album of the film was released on March 18, 2016, by
WaterTower Music WaterTower Music (formerly New Line Records from 2000 to 2010) is an American record label serving as the in-house music label and run by entertainment company Warner Bros., ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The name and logo are based o ...
. Songs featured in the film include: "Kang Ling (An Instrument Made From A Human Thigh Bone)", a traditional song performed by the monks of the Dip Tse Chok Ling Monastery,
Dharamshala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...
; " Night and Day" and "
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" is a popular jazz song with lyrics and music by Cole Porter. Part of the Great American Songbook, it was published by Chappell & Company and introduced by Nan Wynn and Jere McMahon in 1944 in Billy Rose's musical revue ...
" written by
Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...
and performed by
Richard Cheese Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine (or simply Richard Cheese) is a cover band and comedy music, comedy act, performing popular songs in a lounge music, lounge/swing style. Lounge singer Richard Cheese is a character created and portraye ...
; " Shostakovich: Waltz II (Jazz Suite No. 2)" written by
Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
performed by the
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the "R ...
conducted by
Riccardo Chailly Riccardo Chailly (, ; born 20 February 1953) is an Italian conductor. He is currently music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, since 2016, and music director of La Scala, since 2017. Prior to this, he held chief conducting positions ...
; and "
Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...
" arranged and performed by John Allan and again performed by the
Canadian Scottish Regiment ("Ready for the fray" or "ready to sting" – see §Motto) , colours = Red, blue, and green , colours_label = , march = Blue Bonnets Are over the Border , mascot ...
Pipes and Drums and the United States Third Marine Aircraft Wing Band.


Marketing

An estimated $165million marketing effort helped promote ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. At the 2014
San Diego Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
, Snyder introduced the film's first footage intended to be exclusive to the event. A teaser trailer was scheduled to be screened in selected cinemas on April 20, 2015. However, on April 16, the trailer leaked online, and within a few hours Snyder officially released the trailer to
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. At the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International, Snyder and the cast attended to present an initial trailer of the film. The trailer was, unlike the teaser, which received mixed response, positively received by attendees, who gave the trailer a
standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...
. Mark Hughes of ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' said the trailers "both set the stage for a story about the world's distrust and fear of Superman, Batman's rage at Superman and intention to duke it out with the Man of Steel, and Wonder Woman's participation in a big fight featuring the 'Trinity.'" Warner Bros. Consumer Products partnered-up with "a powerhouse slate of global licensees for a broad, multi-category licensing and merchandising program", including
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
,
Lego Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...
, Rubies,
Funko Funko Inc. is an American company that manufactures licensed and limited pop culture collectibles, best known for its licensed vinyl figurines and bobbleheads. In addition, the company produces licensed plush, action figures, apparel, accessories ...
, Thinkway Toys,
Hot Toys Hot Toys Limited is a Hong Kong production house for designing, developing, and manufacturing highly detailed collectible merchandise to worldwide markets. Established in 2000 in Hong Kong (with its current headquarters in Kwun Tong District), the ...
, Junkfood, Bioworld,
Pez Pez (, ; stylised as PEZ) is the brand name of an Austrian candy and associated manual candy dispensers. The candy is a pressed, dry, straight-edged, curved-corner block 15 mm ( inch) long, 8 mm ( inch) wide and 5 mm ...
,
Seiko , commonly known as Seiko ( , ), is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, semiconductors, jewelry, and optical products. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced one of the first quartz watches and the ...
,
Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...
and among many other licensees to sell merchandise related to the film.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) was an Italian-American multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, commercial vehicles, auto parts and production systems. The Italian holding company Exor was the largest ...
was also a licensee for the film, offering a special edition
Jeep Renegade The Jeep Renegade is a subcompact crossover SUV produced by Stellantis under their Jeep marque. It was first shown to the public in March 2014 at the Geneva Motor Show#2014, Geneva Motor Show and production started in late August of that year. , ...
in exchange for a near-exclusive
product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...
deal; aside from Bruce Wayne's
Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
, all vehicles in the film were either from
Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
,
Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
,
Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...
,
Ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...
, or
Iveco IVECO, an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles. The name IVECO first appeared in 1975 after a merger o ...
. ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Cross Fire'', an original companion novel tied to the film, telling a tie-in story set before the events of the movie, was published by
Scholastic Corporation Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...
. Also, there are a series of four
minicomic A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105& ...
s found in ''Batman v Superman''-branded
General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...
cereals. Additionally, those who purchased ''Batman v Superman''-themed
Doritos Doritos () is an American brand of flavored tortilla chips produced since 1964 by Frito-Lay, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo. The original Doritos were not flavored. The first flavor was Toasted Corn, released in 1966, followed by Taco in ...
Family Fun Mix at
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
received the comic book prequel ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Upstairs/Downstairs''.
Rocksteady Studios Rocksteady Studios Limited is a British video game developer based in London, England. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and the studio is best known for its work in the '' Batman: Arkham'' series. History ...
released
downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
for the video game '' Batman: Arkham Knight'' that featured the Batmobile and Batsuit from the film. The third trailer debuted on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
'' on December 3, 2015. It received positive responses, with Scott Mendelson of ''Forbes'' calling the trailer a "Saturday morning cartoon nerd's wildest dreams." Molly Driscoll of '' CS Monitor'' stated that it looks like the film "will continue the trend of adapting comic book stories as timely tales." Graeme McMillan of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' noted that based on the trailer's content, the film might be the anti-''Civil War'', referring to Marvel's '' Captain America: Civil War'' as "Superman and Batman complete the comic book trope by overcoming their differences to fight a common foe, alongside a third hero, who saves them both — that feels the most fresh, especially in light of the ''Civil War'' trailer. While that ended with a showdown between three heroes, this trailer moves beyond that to show three heroes standing united." However, it was criticized for revealing that, with Rob Tornoe of '' NewsWorks'' pointing out that this trailer was targeting the "broadest audience" rather than just fans, as studios try to "maximize a film's opening day box office." Warner Bros. did not buy a
Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...
commercial; instead, they worked with
Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...
to put together a pair of ''Batman v Superman''-themed airline commercials. McMillan of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' stated that the spots "inform interested parties about the culture, geography and history of Batman and Superman's individual stomping grounds, each one filled with
Easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...
for the comic book faithful and newcomer alike." Jesse Eisenberg's part as Lex Luthor in these commercials was praised, as Dirk Libbey of ''CinemaBlend'' noted that "he matches up well with Bruce Wayne by playing the welcoming billionaire business man. It's a far cry from the somewhat cartoonish villain we've seen in the clips from the film." The final trailer was released to the public on February 11, 2016, which was described as "intense" by Kwame Opam of ''
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
''. Mendelson of ''Forbes'' felt that Warner Bros. "probably wouldn't have even dropped this one had the prior trailer back in December been received better. So now we have this fourth and final sell, and at least they are going out on a high note." Jonathon Dornbush of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' said that the footage "works to establish Batman as his own independent crime fighting force, while also providing a deeper look at his existential struggle against Superman." In February 2016, Warner Bros. and Doritos formed a partnership, creating a website offering fans the opportunity to enter codes found on Doritos purchases branded with the film's logo, and enter to win movie tickets, tech toys, and a trip the premiere in New York City. Warner Bros also partnered with
Omaze Omaze is an American for-profit fundraising company which partners with charities in fundraising events. Omaze's events feature prizes, such as material goods, property, or celebrity experiences, usually with one grand prize and several lesser p ...
to give fans who donated a chance to win "The Ultimate ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' Experience", while benefiting three nonprofit organizations nominated by Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Jesse Eisenberg. "The Ultimate ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' Experience" offered a fan and their friend the chance to win tickets to the premiere of the film, as well as fly on a helicopter with Cavill or ride in the Batmobile with Affleck.
Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...
drivers
Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...
and
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...
. drove cars based on Superman and Batman respectively, at
Auto Club Speedway Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
on March 20, 2016. A
tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...
endless runner Endless runner or infinite runner is a subgenre of platform game in which the player character runs for an infinite amount of time while avoiding obstacles. The player's objective is to reach a high score by surviving for as long as possible. The ...
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
to the film, entitled ''Batman vs Superman – Who Will Win?'', debuted March 16, 2016, released by Warner Bros. International Enterprises.


Release

In November 2013, Warner Bros. announced that ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' would be released on July 17, 2015. In January 2014, however, the studio announced that it was delayed from its original release date of July 17, 2015, and moved to May 6, 2016, in order to give the filmmakers "time to realize fully their vision, given the complex visual nature of the story." The release date was moved once again in August 2014 from May 6, 2016, to March 25, 2016, with a Warner Bros. insider saying the studio was "not flinching" in regards to the previous opening date being on the same day as
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
' '' Captain America: Civil War'', but instead stating that March 2016 was a "fantastic corridor" for them. According to sources obtained by ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', Warner Bros. considered the possibility of having a
70mm 70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is wid ...
release for the film, which was partially shot in the 65mm IMAX format. ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' premiered at Auditorio Nacional in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
on March 19, 2016, followed by a New York City premiere on March 20 at
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...
. Following the 2016 Brussels bombings, Warner Bros. originally cancelled the red carpet of the London premiere, but decided to carry on with the premiere for the fans. The film was released in the United States and the United Kingdom on March 25 in 3D. It opened simultaneously in North America, China and Japan, the world's three largest film markets, as well as additional international territories, with the exception of Poland, where theaters do not open on
Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
. The film debuted simultaneously across 30,000 screens in nearly every major foreign territory across 61 markets, including China. In the United States, it opened across roughly 4,242 locations, of which 3,500 theaters (85%) were in 3D, 390 IMAX screens, 470 PLF locations, 150 D-Box theaters and ten 70 mm prints.


Reception


Box office

The film grossed $166million in the United States and Canada in its opening weekend, the eighth-biggest opening of all time, ahead of ''
The Dark Knight Rises ''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...
'' $160.9million. The film had a worldwide opening of $422.5million, which stands as the second-biggest for Warner Bros. and the fifth-biggest of all time at the time of its release. It became the fourth film to have a global opening above $400million. It also had an IMAX worldwide opening weekend total of $36million from 945 IMAX screens, the third-biggest ever, behind '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' ($48million) and ''
Jurassic World ''Jurassic World'' is a 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Derek Connolly from a story by Jaffa and Silver. It is the first installment in the ...
'' ($44million). However, both inside and outside of the United States, ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' experienced a notable poor Friday-to-Sunday hold and set a new record for the worst Friday-to-Sunday drop for a superhero movie release in modern box office history with a 58% decline, which was previously held by 2015's ''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
''. In its second weekend, ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' experienced a "historic" box-office drop, with an 81.2% decline on Friday that was "one of the biggest Friday-to-Friday drops any blockbuster has ever seen", and an overall 68.4% drop for the weekend despite not "facing any big competition at the box office", making it the second largest decline for a marquee superhero title, behind only 2003's ''
Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
''. Brad Brevet, writing for
Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray began ...
, reported that "it appeared ''Batman v Superman'' was looking at a drop anywhere from 58–68% and it ended up settling in on the wrong side of those expectations." Scott Mendelson, writing for ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'', said "Whether or not the movie is any good, and whether or not audiences respond to the picture, is best measured by the second and third weekends...Yes, we're still talking about a $15.35million second Friday and a $50m+ second weekend, but in terms of legs, this film sadly doesn't seem to have any." Continuing this trend, in its third weekend, the film dropped by 54.3% in which Brad Brevet concluded in a follow-up for Box Office Mojo that "the legs on this one are proving quite short." In the weeks leading up to the film's release, advance ticket sales outpaced ''The Dark Knight Rises'', '' The Avengers'', and ''
Furious 7 ''Furious 7'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 7'') is a 2015 American action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013) and '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006), and ser ...
''. Worldwide, it was estimated to gross between $300–340million in over 35,000 screens in its opening weekend. It passed the $50million mark in IMAX ticket sales on its second weekend, grossing a total of $53.4million from 571 IMAX screens. Warner Bros. US distribution chief Jeff Goldstein described the film's box office performance as a "fantastic result, by any measure". Box office analyst Jeff Bock said "Still, outside of Christopher Nolan's two ''Dark Knight'' movies, and Tim Burton's ''Batman'' films when you adjust for inflation, this is the highest-grossing property in DC's bullpen thus far. It tops ''Man of Steel'' by more than $200million," and that "overall, ''BvS'' successfully relaunched DC's cinematic universe." The film needed to reach $800million in revenue at the box office to "recoup its investment" according to financial analysts. Despite surpassing this amount, it was considered "a disappointment" for failing to reach $1 billion. This resulted in Warner Bros. creating
DC Films DC Studios is an American film and television studio that is a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. It is dedicated to the production of films, series, and animations based on characters from DC Comics, am ...
in May 2016, giving a dedicated executive team responsibility for films based on
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
, similar to the dedicated
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
focus of
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
within the larger Walt Disney Studios group. ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' grossed $330.4million in North America and $543.3million in other territories for a worldwide total of $873.6million, making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2016 behind '' Captain America: Civil War'', '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'', ''
Finding Dory ''Finding Dory'' is a 2016 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton, produced by Lindsey Collins and written by Stanton and Vict ...
'', ''
Zootopia ''Zootopia'' (titled ''Zootropolis'' in various regions) is a 2016 American computer-animated buddy cop action comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 55th Disney animated feature film, ...
'', ''
The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...
'', and ''
The Secret Life of Pets ''The Secret Life of Pets'' is a 2016 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Yarrow Cheney (in his feature directorial d ...
''. ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...
'' calculated the net profit of the film to be $105.7million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.


North America

Following reports of pre-tickets sales in both the United States and Canada on February 29, many insiders and analysts predicted an opening weekend haul between $120–140million for ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'', with projections as high as $185million. However, Warner Bros. insiders were more conservative in their estimates projecting in the lower range of $110million. According to
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...
, an undisclosed rival studio box office analyst indicated that if the film is truly pacing in tandem with ''The Dark Knight Rises'', then ''Dawn of Justice'' could possibly be looking at a $180million+ debut. The film also became
Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...
's top pre-selling superhero film ever, beating ''The Dark Knight Rises'' and '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'', representing 90% of the site's weekend's ticket sales. A survey carried out showed that the introduction of
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
is a primary draw for moviegoers. It pre-sold around $20–25million worth of advance tickets. ''Dawn of Justice'' made $27.7million in Thursday previews from around 3,800 theaters which is the biggest of 2016, the biggest Easter weekend preview, the second-biggest for a superhero film (behind ''The Dark Knight Rises''), and the seventh-biggest of all time of which $3.0million came from IMAX showings, also a new record for Easter weekend. On its opening day, it earned $81.59million from 4,242 theaters, including previews, marking the biggest pre-summer opening day of all time, the second-biggest superhero Friday opening and the fourth-biggest opening-day and fourth-biggest single-day gross, with $9million coming from IMAX showings. Excluding the Thursday previews, it earned $53.89million on Friday which is the fifth-biggest ever. It fell 37.8% on Saturday, which is the second-worst superhero opening Friday-to-Saturday drop, only behind the 40% drop of ''The Dark Knight Rises.'' In total, it earned $166million for its debut weekend, setting records for the biggest March and pre-summer openings, the biggest Easter opening, the second-biggest opening for
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, the biggest for a DC Comics property, and the eighth-biggest opening of all time. (Some of these records have since been broken by ''
Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
''.) Conversely, the film holds the record for the worst superhero Friday-to-Sunday drop with a 58% decline, eclipsing the previous 48% decline record held by ''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
'' in 2015. IMAX comprised 11% or $18million of the weekend's gross from 388 theaters which is the fifth-biggest of all time (a record it shares with ''Age of Ultron'') and 3D represented 40% ($68million) of the total ticket sales.
RealD 3D RealD 3D is a digital stereoscopy, stereoscopic projection technology made and sold by RealD. It is currently the most widely used technology for watching 3D films in theaters. Worldwide, RealD 3D is installed in more than 26,500 auditoriums by app ...
comprised $47million of the opening gross. Premium large formats generated $17.6million (10%), with $3.6million of that coming from Cinemark XD auditoriums from 475 theaters. Following its record breaking opening weekend, it posted the biggest March Monday with $15.05million, a drop of 55% from its Sunday gross. This broke ''
The Hunger Games ''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set ...
'' previous record of $10.8million, and also the biggest March Tuesday with $12.2million. It made $209million in its first week full which stands at the eleventh-biggest opening week of all time and surpassed the lifetime total ''
Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, Liam ...
''. Despite earning $15.35million in its second Friday, the film dropped 81.2% and broke the record for the biggest Friday-to-Friday drop for a comic book adaptation film, not including $27.7million worth of previews which represented an even larger decline. It fell precipitously by 69.1% in its second weekend, grossing $51.3million from 4,256 theaters (an addition of 14 cinemas) due to poor reviews and mixed
word of mouth Word of mouth, or ''viva voce'', is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one pe ...
, establishing itself an infamous record for the seventh steepest drop for a superhero/comic book adapted film and the steepest decline since the -69% posted by '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' in 2009, despite facing little to no competition or new wide-releases and having the added benefit of 30%
K–12 K–12, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is an American English expression that indicates the range of years of publicly supported primary and secondary education found in the United States, which is similar to publicly supported school grade ...
schools off, and 9% of colleges on break, per ComScore. The steep drop also marks the fourth-biggest for a film that opened above $100million (tied with '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2''). In its third weekend it was overtaken by the comedy '' The Boss'' after falling 54% with $23.3million. ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' proved to be front-loaded, failing to generate significant revenue after its opening weekend/week release. It earned just 1.99 times ($330million) its opening weekend numbers ($166million), which is lower than '' Man of Steel''s 2.28 multiplier. Like other DC films, such as ''
Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book Limited series (comics), maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 a ...
'', ''
Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
'' and ''Man of Steel'', it opened to record breaking numbers but then dropped the following weekend onward due largely to bad critical reception and mixed word of mouth from audiences. A similar result was followed by DC's third superhero film, ''
Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...
'' released in August 2016, although ''Suicide Squad'' became less front-loaded than ''Dawn of Justice''.


Outside North America

Internationally, it was projected to open between $180–200million; however, Deadline.com pointed out that these figures were only early predictions pegged to the performance of similar films in their respective territories. It opened in ten countries on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, earning $7million and debuting at No. 1 in all markets on approximately 5,900 screens. The following day, the film was released in 38 additional countries, earning $33.1million on 19,700 screens for a two-day total of $44million. On March 25, it opened in the remaining 17 countries delivering $67.2million in revenue, for a three-day total of $115.3million in 62 countries on more than 30,000 screens. Through Sunday, March 27, it earned an opening-weekend total of $256.5million from 66 countries on over 40,000 screens, making it the biggest superhero opening weekend of all time, the biggest overall March opening, the second-biggest opening ever for Warner Bros., and the fifth-biggest international opening on record. The film's accomplishments also included the second-biggest IMAX opening record of $18million, behind only ''
Jurassic World ''Jurassic World'' is a 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Derek Connolly from a story by Jaffa and Silver. It is the first installment in the ...
'' which tallied $23.5million. 3D accounted 59% or $149.86million of the weekend gross led by China (98%), Germany (88%), Brazil (81%), Russia (55%), and France (51%). As with North America, the film witnessed a steep decline in its second Friday internationally, falling 72% to $19.2million, with the biggest decline in the U.K. (77%) and China (87%). Its second weekend earnings fell 66% overall to $85.25million. Despite the decline, the film topped the box office for three consecutive weekends. In Mexico, it had the biggest opening day for Warner Bros. and the second-biggest of all time with $5.8million, including record-breaking midnight showings. It also scored the biggest opening day of all time in Brazil ($3.5million) and the biggest opening day for a superhero film in Germany ($2.8million). Elsewhere, it opened in the United Kingdom and Ireland ($9million), Australia ($2.5million), India ($2.54million), Russia ($1.9million), South Korea ($1.7million), Japan ($1.2million), the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong ($1.1million respectively). In China, it earned $21.22million on its opening day, including around $1.34million worth of previews, which is the biggest for Warner Bros. and the sixth-biggest Hollywood opening day of all time. However, other Chinese sources have the film open to around $20million. In terms of opening weekends, the biggest openings were recorded in China ($57.2million), the United Kingdom and Ireland ($20.7million), Mexico ($18.2million), Brazil ($12million), South Korea ($10.2million), Australia ($9.9million), France ($8.6million), Germany ($8.1million), Russia ($7.7million), India ($6.6million), Spain ($6.1million) and Japan ($4.5million). It broke all-time opening record in Brazil and Warner Bros. opening records in Mexico, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it benefited from the long Easter weekend holiday and despite a distinctly mixed bag of reviews in the U.K. press, it posted an opening £14.62million or $20.7million from 612 theaters, a record for 2016 so far and for a superhero title on straight Friday to Sunday, but fell short of ''The Avengers'' and ''Avengers: Age of Ultron'', when accounting for previews. In Japan, it opened in third place, behind two local films, '' Assassination Classroom: Graduation'' and '' Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan 2016''. In South Korea, it scored the biggest March opening after opening on a Tuesday and dominating 68.3% of the market share with $10.2million. In China, after scoring the biggest Hollywood opening Friday (behind '' Transformers: Age of Extinction''), it earned an estimated $57.2million from approximately 16,000 screens in its opening weekend, besting all other DC Comics adaption film just by its weekend haul except for '' Man of Steel'' and gave Warner Bros. its biggest three day opening there with $7million coming from 557 IMAX screens. However, the opening figure fell below analysts projections of $70–80million. It held the top spot for its first seven days only, after which it faced stiff competitions from local productions, and fell dramatically from then onwards in accruing revenue. As a result, it fell to third place in its second weekend after falling enormously by 78% to $12.7million, a record for a superhero film. It became the Warner Bros.' highest-grossing film of all time in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. It also crossed $100million Latin American markets, making it Warner Bros.' second highest-grossing film there. In total earnings, its biggest markets outside of North America are China ($95million), followed by the UK ($52.1million), Mexico ($36million) and Brazil ($35.5million).


Critical response

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has an approval rating of based on reviews and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads: "''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' smothers a potentially powerful story – and some of America's most iconic superheroes – in a grim whirlwind of effects-driven action."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a weighted average to critics' reviews, gave the film an average score of 44 out of 100 based on 51 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. It earned "B−" from men, "B" from women, a "B" from those under 25 and a "B−" from those over 25. According to
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, 73% of audiences graded the film "very good" or "excellent", with a 60% giving it a "definite recommend".
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
reported that "the film had been widely praised by fans after its first screening in New York". Lindy West in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' described the film as "153 minutes of a grown man whacking two dolls together", asking " s the definition of 'movie' changed from 'motion picture story that a human wrote on purpose' to '700 only tangentially related 12-second grey and red vignettes'?" A. O. Scott of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote: "The point of ''Batman v Superman'' isn't fun, and it isn't thinking, either. It's obedience. The theology is invoked ..to buttress a spectacle of power. And in that way the film serves as a metaphor for its own aspirations. The corporations that produce movies like this one, and the ambitious hacks who sign up to make them, have no evident motive beyond their own aggrandizement." Writing in ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'', Robbie Collin called the film "humourless" and "the most incoherent blockbuster in years". Cynthia Fuchs of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' said, "As you're watching this movie, you might also contemplate your own part, in being swayed into consuming so much of what you've consumed before", adding, "Wonder Woman remains ''Batman v Superman'' most compelling story, precisely because it's untold." Matt Patches of ''
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'' wrote "what ''Batman v Superman'' can do, it does, at the cost of coherency and thrills. The movie is bat-shit crazy. A dour, disdainful demeanor, plus a gluttony of complex plot twists, dissipates most of the contact high." Michael Philips of ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' wrote, "A near-total drag, ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' plays like a loose, unofficial quarter-billion-dollar remake of ''
The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...
'', in which Oscar and Felix are literally trying to kill each other." On his
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
''
Hollywood Babble-On ''Hollywood Babble-On'' is a weekly podcast featuring filmmaker Kevin Smith and radio personality Ralph Garman. The show features Smith and Garman discussing the week's celebrity, movie, and other pop culture news. Show history Kevin Smith was ...
'', film director
Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...
, a long-time friend and collaborator of Affleck, praised Affleck's performance but panned the film, commenting that it "didn't really have a heart" and was "humorless", arguing that "there seems to be a fundamental lack of understanding of what those characters are about. It's almost like Zack Snyder didn't read a bunch of comics, he read one comic once, and it was '' Dark Knight Returns'', and his favorite part was the last part where Batman and Superman fight." On a second viewing, however, Smith via his Instagram lightened his stance. Taking a softer tone, David Betancourt of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' and Scott Mendelson of ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' praised the film's visual spectacle and performances from Affleck and Gadot, though Mendelson also called the film "an utter mess of thinly sketched characters, haphazard plotting, surprisingly jumbled action".
Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' called the film "better than ''Man of Steel'' but below the high bar set by Nolan's ''Dark Knight''," adding that "''Dawn of Justice'' is still a colossus, the stuff that DC Comics dreams are made of for that kid in all of us who yearns to see Batman and Superman suit up and go in for the kill." Jake Coyle of
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
wrote, "it hurtles not with the kinetic momentum of ''Mad Max: Fury Road'' nor the comparatively spry skip of a Marvel movie, but with an operatic grandeur it sometimes earns and often doesn't." Mark Hughes of ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' called it "the follow-up to ''The Dark Knight'' that many viewers and fans wanted or hoped for", adding that it's "visually stunning, with powerful emotional storytelling and awe-inspiring action spectacle." Andrew Barker of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' said "as a pure visual spectacle... ''Batman V Superman'' ably blows the hinges off the multiplex doors." Charles Koplinski of the ''
Illinois Times ''Illinois Times'' is a weekly free newspaper (distributed every Thursday) based in Springfield, Illinois. Founded in 1975, the newspaper was acquired in 1977 by Fletcher Farrar Sr., a Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and ...
'' called it "a brooding, but most importantly intelligent take on the seminal figures of our 20th century pop culture mythology, a movie that at once pays tribute to these characters' roots while offering up modern incarnations of them that ring true for our times." Nicolas Barber of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
called the film "a four-star epic" praising Affleck's performance as Batman and the visual grandeur of Fong's cinematography. Jordan Hoffman of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' gave an ambivalent review; he especially criticized the "very bad writing", but conceded "there are a lot of moments... that work" and praised Affleck and Gadot's performances, calling Gadot as Wonder Woman the best thing in the film. Multiple commentators criticized Eisenberg on the grounds that his interpretation of Lex Luthor hewed too close to character traits associated with another DC Comics villain,
the Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Bat ...
. Even before the film was released, Affleck compared Eisenberg's performance to that of
Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...
in ''
The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and the second insta ...
''. Once the film came out, critics lambasted Eisenberg's take on Luthor. Sonny Bunch of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' lamented that "As the film progresses, Lex degenerates into a gibbering mad man, some strange mix of the Riddler and the Joker with a little bit of Mark Zuckerberg added for flair."
Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders is an American writer and commentator. She has written several novels, published magazines and websites, and hosted podcasts. In 2005, she received the Lambda Literary Award for work in the transgender category, and in 2009, t ...
of ''
Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' ( ) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the subsite ''io9'', whic ...
'' wrote that "Someone clearly told Jesse Eisenberg that this movie is the Dark Knight to Man of Steel's Batman Begins, and he's doing his damndest to give a Heath Ledger-esque performance... Watching the trailers, I had thought Eisenberg's loopy acting might be this movie's saving grace – but a concentrated dose of his faux mania actually turns out to be the worst thing." Andy Scott of ''Grunge'', in an article titled "How Jesse Eisenberg Ruined Batman v Superman," wrote that "Eisenberg's speech patterns and mannerisms felt almost entirely lifted from Ledger's iconic performance, to the point where he walked the dangerous grey line between respectful homage and downright thievery." Eisenberg responded to the critiques by saying he attempted to "make these people real and relatable and interesting and engaging, not just, you know, a surface bad person." Writer Chris Terrio said the decision to remove 30 minutes for the theatrical cut was an act of sabotage. In June 2018, ''Mise-en-scène: The Journal of Film & Visual Narration'' published the article "Applying Suspense to Archetypal Superheroes: Hitchcockian Ambiguity in ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''," which argued that the film "warrants analysis as a particularly ambitious development within the evolving superhero genre. It applies a remarkable amount of Hitchcockian thrills to a story pitting two protagonists against one another within a villain’s conspiracy to create the first live-action Hitchcockian superhero thriller featuring branded, culturally established characters. By displacing its protagonists from their inherently justified positions, it creates a critical moral ambiguity that directly deconstructs the assumptions at the heart of Western society’s two most archetypal superheroes."


Accolades


Home media

An extended cut of the film dubbed the ''Ultimate Edition'' was released on home media platforms, alongside the theatrical cut. This version received an R rating from the
Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...
, for more violence than the PG-13 rated theatrical cut, and is longer by 31 minutes. With the release of the ''Ultimate Edition'', which was the director's original version of the film before additional editing, critics noted that the film would have likely been better received with the additional footage. Ben Kendrick of ''
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
'' stated that while it was more "intelligible", character portrayal was not "fundamentally changed" and "for viewers who didn't like ''Man of Steel'' or ''Batman v Superman'' for larger reasons, such as tone, approach, and the darker characterization of DC's most iconic heroes, the ''Ultimate Edition'' is only a longer... version of a film that... is likely to remain divisive, even if the final product is a better film." Phil Owens of ''
TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...
'' called it an improvement upon the original cut, writing, "Lo and behold somehow ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' has become something that approaches a functional movie. In the process, it only makes the original cut even more inexplicable and terrible." On the home video sales chart, the film debuted in first place for the week ending July 24, 2016. In the United States, it made $23,4million in DVD sales and $58,9million in Blu-ray sales, for an estimated total of $82.4million. Despite being shot partially on IMAX film and released to IMAX theaters with select scenes in either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1, the initial Blu-ray release only featured the fixed 2.39:1 aspect ratio that was used for non-IMAX screenings. However, on December 12, 2020, Snyder revealed that he is working to restore the IMAX ratio to the film for an upcoming re-release in 2021. On March 4, 2021, Warner Bros. announced that a remastered version of the ''Ultimate Edition'' (with the IMAX scenes presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.43:1) would be released on to digital platforms and
HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
on March 18, 2021 (the same day ''
Zack Snyder's Justice League ''Zack Snyder's Justice League'' (colloquially referred to as the Snyder Cut) is the 2021 director's cut of the 2017 American superhero film ''Justice League'', the fifth film set within the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) based on the team of ...
'' releases), and would also be released on
Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...
several days later on March 23.


Notes


References


External links

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