Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice steamrollered past the records, debuting with a gargantuan $170.1-million (about R2.65-billion) box office in the US over the Easter weekend despite being pilloried by critics. That ranks as the top opening weekend for a DC Comics film, the best March launch ever, and the sixth-biggest US opening weekend of all time.It's a shot in the arm for Warner Brothers, which has been reeling from a series of costly lemons such as Jupiter Ascending and Pan.Warner has already announced release dates for sequels and spin-offs for the next five years. The first of these superhero adventures, Suicide Squad, comes out in August."This sets us up well," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner's executive vice-president for distribution. "And what's coming in front of us is really exciting."The studio spared no expense, tapping Ben Affleck to don Batman's cape and cowl, bringing back Man of Steel director Zack Snyder and that film's Superman star, Henry Cavill, and shelling out $250-million in production expenses, as well as millions more in promotional razzle-dazzle.Reviews of Batman v Superman were withering - the New York Times' AO Scott said seeing the film was "about as diverting as having a porcelain sink broken over your head". But audiences didn't care. They were kinder to the picture, too, giving it a B grade on Cinema Score."It's the fans that speak the loudest," said Jeff Bock, a box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "It proves how strong these characters are."The film's audience was largely male (66%) and crowds tended to be on the young side, with 63% of ticket buyers ranging in age between 18 and 34.Imax showings contributed $18-million to the gross, premium large format screens added an estimated $17-million, 3D screens were responsible for 40% of the opening weekend results, and RealD 3D accounted for an estimated $47-million of the total...