FASTER than a speeding bullet and impervious to lousy reviews, the superhero faceoff “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” rebounded from a smack down from critics to debut with a massive US$170.1 million in North America, the sixth best opening of all time.

    The stakes were high for the Warner Bros. release, which cost US$250 million to make and about US$150 million to market. But the studio’s bid to launch a DC Comics universe to rival Marvel’s empire was met with persistent PR pains and numerous changes in the release date. It fought skepticism over Ben Affleck’s casting as Batman and a barrage of bad reviews earlier in the week. Things were bad enough to spawn a ubiquitous viral video of “Sad Ben Affleck,” which took the actor’s response to the reviews and scored it with Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.”

    But the allure of seeing two of the most iconic superheroes battle it out was enough to set a record for the best pre-summer debut. “Batman v Superman” also grossed US$254 million overseas, bringing its global total to US$424.1 million for the weekend.

    The film, directed by Zack Snyder, is the first of 10 DC Comics adaptations planned by the studio over the next five years. Along with pitting Henry Cavill’s Superman against Batman, it introduces a number of other heroes soon to get starring roles, including Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and the Flash (Ezra Miller).

    Audiences gave the film a mediocre B CinemaScore, which suggested some moviegoers agreed with critics. But many fans were undeterred.

    “Batman v Superman” dominated Easter weekend with the kind of blockbuster performance usually reserved for Memorial Day or July 4th. In second was the Disney Animation hit “Zootopia,” with US$23.1 million in its fourth week of domestic release. The go-to family release of the season, it has earned nearly US$700 million globally. Universal’s “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2,” a sequel to the 2002 hit romantic comedy, debuted with US$18.1 million — effective counterprograming to the male-centric “Batman v Superman.”

    Warner Bros. will hope the success continues for its next DC Comics property, the all-villain team-up film “Suicide Squad,” due out in August. Marvel and the Walt Disney Co. may also have been eyeing the result of “Batman v Superman” with interest. Their next installment comes in May with “Captain America: Civil War,” which likewise pits two heroes (Iron Man and Captain America) against each other.(SD-Agencies)