‘Batman v Superman’: Faster than a speeding bullet toward a box-office record

Good Friday was very good to Warner Bros., which saw its new comic book epic “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice� gross an estimated $82 million from 4,242 theaters on Friday, putting the Zack Snyder film on track to smash the previous record for a pre-summer debut.

The movie, which pits Ben Affleck’s Batman against Henry Cavill’s Superman, and includes the introduction of Wonder Woman Gal Gadot, is on pace to gross $172 million by the end of Easter weekend, surpassing the $152.2 million March opening of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.�

At that rate, “Batman v Superman,� which cost more $250 million to produce, will also become the No. 6 opening for any film and the No. 1 opening for a Batman film, surpassing Chris Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises,� which debuted to $160.9 million.

The strong debut is a needed hit for Warner Bros., which intends “Batman v Superman� to be a launchpad for a series of films in the DC Comics cinematic universe.

The early box office numbers, which include $27.7 million from Thursday night previews, have been robust even though the movie drew relatively poor reviews from critics. Opening weekend audiences were slightly more charitable, giving it a B CinemaScore rating.

“Batman v Superman,� has begun its global rollout as well, collecting $44 million so far in foreign box office, $21.2 million of it from China.

Universal Pictures’ counterprogramming bid, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2,� is also performing strongly thanks to primarily female audiences. Nia Vardolos’ sequel to her 2002 surprise hit, the only other new movie in wide release this weekend, took in $7.2 million Friday, placing it in third place behind Disney’s animated hit, “Zootopia,� now in its fourth week in release.

That opening puts the family comedy on track to gross $19 million for the weekend, well ahead of tracking estimates that placed its opening at $10 million. With a CinemaScore of A-minus and an audience base of older women, who tend not to rush out on opening weekend, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2� looks likely to continue to play well in coming weeks.