Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is an American animated superhero film, an adaptation of the 1986 comic book The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and is set in the same continuity as Batman: Year One. It was directed by Jay Oliva, who worked as a storyboard artist on Man of Steel, Under the Red Hood, Year One and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Several other Batman veterans were also involved in the film. It was released as two separate parts on DVD, and is the 15th film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series.

Released theatrically on September 21, 2012, the film received critical acclaim, with praise for the animation, voice cast (particularly Emerson's performance), story, action sequences, and depth, and was a huge box office success, grossing $127 million on a budget of $16 million.

Box office
In the United States and Canada, the film opened alongside End of Watch, House at the End of the Street, Trouble with the Curve, and Dredd, and was projected to gross $10-15 million from 2,000 theaters in its opening weekend. However, after grossing $9 million on its first day, including $900,000 from Thursday night previews, projections were raised to $20-25 million. The film ended up debuting with $23 million, finishing first at the box office with an average of $11,500 per screen, which Box Office Mojo called a "great performance". In its second weekend, the film grossed $15 million, finishing third behind newcomers Hotel Transylvania and Looper. In its third weekend, the film grossed $13 million, finishing fourth behind Taken 2, Hotel Transylvania, and Pitch Perfect.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96% based on 206 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The site's consensus reads, "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is the perfect example of a visually crafted masterpiece that also has a great story." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on a scale of A+ to F.