Movie Preview - Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman V Superman Premiere: Early Reactions Are Overwhelmingly Positive

By Mike Jones

With only a matter of days to go before Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice finally hits theaters, fans of the epic battle are undoubtedly struggling to remain patient. The upcoming superhero face-off is one of the biggest DC-centric comic book movies to hit cinemas in a long time and as such the anticipation and uncertainty is off the charts.

Ever since Ben Affleck was announced as the next Batman, Zack Snyder’s follow up to Man of Steel has been met with every emotion and reaction that could be thrown its way. Throughout all of this, however, Batman V Superman has managed to enshroud itself with no small amount of secrecy.

Until now, eager fans have had to rely on assurances from some cast members that the movie is of superior quality. Although a strict embargo on reviews remains in effect, this past Saturday’s New York premiere didn’t stop some of the lucky attendees from taking to Twitter with their reactions. As you can see from some samples compiled by CBM and listed below, they weren’t disappointed with what they saw.

Perhaps one of the most intriguing opinions shared involves Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), as her appearance in the film brought loud applause from the audience. We’ve previously heard that Wonder Woman just might steal the show from both eponymous superhero legends, so confirmation of a very positive crowd reaction to her onscreen arrival seems to lend credibility to that theory. Other reactions to the film praised Ben Affleck’s work as Batman and (somewhat hyperbolically) proclaimed Batman V Superman as the best comic book movie ever.



While these initial reactions contain no shortage of unbridled, post-viewing enthusiasm, it’s important to remember that advance or even early screenings of widely anticipated movies should be taken with a grain of salt. This isn’t to say that initial opinions aren’t valid, but rather that hype often has a way of inducing exaggerated praise in those privileged enough to get a first peek.

All in all, there really is every reason to believe that Batman V Superman will be a hit – if not critically, then at the very least commercially. If advance ticket sales are anything to go on, the number of fans heading to theaters everywhere on March 25 should afford the film a (potentially historic) massive opening weekend. And if the movie does deliver on the scale that’s been promised, Batman V Superman could very well go on to be one of the biggest superhero movies of the year.

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice opens on March 25th, 2016, followed by Suicide Squad on August 5th, 2016; Wonder Woman on June 23rd, 2017; Justice League Part One on November 17th, 2017; The Flash on March 16th, 2018; Aquaman on July 27th, 2018; Shazam on April 5th, 2019; Justice League Part Two on June 14th, 2019; Cyborg on April 3rd, 2020; and Green Lantern Corps. on June 19th, 2020.