'Batman v Superman' takes huge $170 million at the box office

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice made superhero-like noise at the box office in its opening weekend, taking a record-breaking $170.1 million.

Audiences flocked to see the battle between Batman (Ben Affleck) and Superman (Henry Cavill) in the DC Comics film, which also introduced Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot).

It's the biggest March opening weekend ever (beating 2012's The Hunger Games at $152.5 million), the largest Easter opening (beating 2015's Furious 7, $147.2 million) and the largest Warner Bros. domestic release ever (beating 2011's final Harry Potter film, $169.2 million).

The huge debut runs counter to terrible reviews for the Zack Snyder-directed film, branded with a weak 29% positive critical score on RottenTomatoes.com. Audiences gave it a B grade on CinemaScore.

Review: New heroes shine in 'Batman v Superman'

"No one cared about the reviews — they didn't matter," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for the tracking service comScore. "People just wanted to see this movie and this classic matchup between two titans of the superhero universe."

The release comes with tremendous pressure, as Batman v Superman is the launch pad for Warner Bros.' DC Comics universe, which will see the unveiling of 10 interlocking films by 2020. The movie was a costly production, shot with a reported $250 million budget and $150 million in global marketing costs.

But Jeff Bock, box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations, anticipates that the movie's $424 million global haul for the weekend will be enough to allow DC Comics to successfully take on rival Marvel Comics onscreen.

"As long as Batman v Superman makes $750 million worldwide, that will be enough to launch this universe successfully,"  says Bock. "In the end, it was the fans that spoke the loudest. They are the ones paying to see the movie."

Second place for the weekend went to Disney's animated Zootopia, which took $23.1 million for a total $240.5 million in its fourth week of release.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, the follow-up to 2002's romantic comedy hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding, managed a third-place finish in its opening weekend with $18.1 million.

Nia Vardalos' long walk to the altar for 'Greek Wedding 2'

Stars Nia Vardalos and John Corbett returned for another installment, which was heavily criticized by reviewers, who gave the film a paltry 24% positive rating score on Rotten Tomatoes. Easter weekend audiences gave Greek Wedding 2 an A- grade on CinemaScore.

Bock was impressed to see Greek Wedding 2 continue in the tradition of the surprise original.

"This franchise is still overperforming. After 14 years, it's amazing that this was not a big, fat Greek funeral," say Bock. "They could make a trilogy out of this franchise."

Allegiant and Miracles From Heaven came in a virtual tie for the final two spots in the weekend's top five with $9.5 million each.

Allegiant, the third installment of the young-adult Divergent franchise, has made $46.6 million total in two weekends. The faith-based Miracles From Heaven has made $34.1 million total, also in two weekends.

Final numbers are expected Monday.