Batman Returns (1992)
81%RT Audience Score: 73%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 2 Oscars
2 wins & 29 nominations total
Director Tim Burton’s dark, brooding atmosphere, Michael Keaton’s work as the tormented hero, and the flawless casting of Danny DeVito as The Penguin and Christopher Walken as, well, Christopher Walken make the sequel better than the first
Batman Returns is a movie that’s so dark, it makes you wonder if Tim Burton was going through a goth phase. But hey, who doesn’t love a little bit of darkness in their superhero movies? The performances from Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Danny DeVito are top-notch, and the costumes for Catwoman and the Penguin are just as iconic as the characters themselves. Plus, it’s always fun to see Batman fight against his rogues’ gallery of villains. Overall, Batman Returns is a gothic masterpiece that’s perfect for those who like their superhero movies with a side of darkness.
Production Company(ies)
Bridgit Folman Film Gang Les Films, d’ Ici Razor Film Produktion GmbH,
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Stage 12, Universal Studios – 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for brooding, dark violence
Year of Release
1992
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 6m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 19, 1992 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 22, 1997
Genre(s)
Action/Adventure
Keyword(s)
starring Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough, Michael Murphy, directed by Tim Burton, written by Bob Kane, Sam Hamm, Daniel Waters, action, adventure, fantasy, PG-13, box office gross $160.3M, reviewed by Stephanie Rosenfeld, Peter Bradshaw, Justin Clark, Dave Kehr, Kenneth Turan, Denise Di Novi, produced by Tim Burton, Warner Bros., Batman, Catwoman, Penguin, Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, Max Shreck, Alfred Pennyworth, Mayor, Murphy, dark, brooding, tormented hero, flawless casting, wicked, shock-headed businessman, sewers, Gotham, sexy, transformed, sparks fly, caped crusader, blood-red wine, darkly comic, hauntingly atmospheric, iconic iterations, corrupt businessman, grotesque, shadow-steeped, Wonderland, dynamic do-over
Worldwide gross: $266,915,287
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $571,338,992
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 242
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 62,305,234
US/Canada gross: $162,924,631
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $348,744,336
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 152
US/Canada opening weekend: $45,687,711
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $97,795,713
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 84
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $80,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $171,242,044
Production budget ranking: 174
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $92,213,841
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $307,883,107
ROI to date (est.): 117%
ROI ranking: 873
Danny DeVito – Oswald Cobblepot, The Penguin
Michelle Pfeiffer – Selina Kyle, Catwoman
Christopher Walken – Max Shreck
Michael Gough – Alfred Pennyworth
Michael Murphy – Mayor, Murphy
Director(s)
Tim Burton
Writer(s)
Bob Kane, Sam Hamm, Daniel Waters
Producer(s)
Denise Di Novi, Tim Burton
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
2 wins & 29 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (87) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (70) | Rotten (17)
Why isn’t this movie called Catwoman?
December 17, 2020
Stephanie Rosenfeld
Bitch Media
TOP CRITIC
A strange beast.
May 17, 2019 | Rating: 2/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The strange, ambitious character work that comprises Batman Returns is wrapped in the perfunctory framework of a Tim Burton superhero film.
June 19, 2017
Justin Clark
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
There are flashes of commercially oriented action and humor, but the overall feeling is one of a languid depression sprung straight from the heart of its author.
December 14, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Dave Kehr
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
[Burton’s] dark, melancholy vision is undeniably something to see, but it is a claustrophobic conception, not an expansive one, oppressive rather than exhilarating, and it strangles almost all the enjoyment out of this movie without half trying.
December 14, 2014
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
As Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands reminded us, Burton always has been more absorbed by what his audience sees than by what his movies say.
April 10, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Desmond Ryan
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
I always considered it “dark,” but compared to takes on Batman brought out in the subsequent years by the likes of Christopher Nolan, Zack Snyder, and Matt Reeves, Burton’s version was practically sunshine and comedy. (30th anniversrary)
June 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Stephen Silver
Tilt Magazine
The grotesque style of Burton + DeVito’s 100% commitment to the Penguin make me not able to look away.
June 9, 2022 | Rating: A-
Kent Garrison
Mad About Movies Podcast
Dark, demented and deviant, we’re unlikely to see a superhero film like Batman Returns ever again. It’s wonderful.
December 21, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Trace Thurman
Horror Queers Podcast
Both Catwoman and the Penguin are unique, formidable, brilliantly costumed, and perfectly ghoulish.
September 9, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Tim Burton’s Batman Returns is a masterpiece, and the tour de force performances from the trio of Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Danny DeVito are nothing short of iconic.
June 28, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Josh Wilding
ComicBookMovie.com
[Batman Returns] is a blood-red wine that has only gotten better with age.
June 27, 2020
Drew Dietsch
FANDOM…
Plot
In the sewers of gotham city to the rooftops of the gotham city the penguin wants to know where he came from well in his villain ways catwoman plans to kill rich man of gotham max shreak but as he battles with millionaire Bruce Wayne both ladies men have their own secrets Bruce Wayne is back as Bat man trying to stop the penguin Max is helping penguin steal gotham city while selina Kyle/catwoman tries to help penguin not knowing her man murder target also her murder is helping him but all four men have their goals taking gotham from crime winning gotham city assassination for two men and more money to be gotham citys number one rich man.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises Danny DeVito’s “flawless casting” as The Penguin in Batman Returns.
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