Negative Early Reviews Suggest Batman v Superman Could Flop

Four days ahead of the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in US theaters, it looks like director Zack Snyder could have a turkey on his hands, judging from numerous early reviews.

At the time of writing, the movie, which has Henry Cavill reprising the role of Superman to take on Ben Affleck’s Batman, has a rating of just 39% on the movie reviews aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. 24 favorable reviews have been counted, but that’s in comparison to 37 negative critiques.

The disparaging critics generally have consensus that Batman v Superman is excessive with its use of CGI and suffers from an overly dour tone. In a cautiously positive review, Empire’s Nick De Semlyen calls Affleck’s Batman “intriguing”, but the movie as a whole “cluttered and narratively wonky”.

It remains to be seen how much the movie’s financial takings could be hit by these negative reactions, but the big pull of seeing Batman and Superman together on the big screen could ultimately win out – at least for the theatrical run.