Batman and Superman are still flying high at the box office, but the caped crusader and the Man of Steel have seen a little turbulence.

Warner Bros. Entertainment’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” again dominated movie audiences’ and is expected to take in about $50 million in ticket sales from the U.S. and Canada over the weekend, according to studio estimates. But that’s a whopping 69% drop from its opening of $166 million. The comic book epic had been projected to gross around $58 million in its second weekend.

That sharp drop could be a troubling sign for the film. But Warner Bros. is still in great shape with the movie, which has taken in more than $550 million globally.

The DC Comics-based action movie, directed by Zack Snyder, sets Ben Affleck’s Batman against Henry Cavill’s Superman and adds some girl power to the mix with the introduction of Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. The superhero battle, which cost more than $250 million to produce, got less than stellar reviews from critics, but it saw the largest opening of any Batman film to date, surpassing the $160.9 million debut of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” in 2012. It also shattered the record for largest pre-summer debut.


By weekend’s end, “Batman v Superman” — which scored a B grade from moviegoers according to polling firm CinemaScore — is expected to hit a cumulative domestic gross of $260 million.

Disney’s animated hit “Zootopia,” now in its fifth week in release, is still going strong. The critically acclaimed film, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Shakira and Octavia Spencer, is on track to bring in $20 million this weekend. It’s set to hit a domestic gross of more than $275 million by weekend’s end.

In third place is Universal’s “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2,” Nia Vardolos’ sequel to her 2002 surprise hit. The family comedy, which has played strong with female audiences, is expected to gross $11 million this weekend, bringing its total domestic gross to more than $35 million.

Rounding out the weekend’s top five, are two faith-based films, “God’s Not Dead 2,” a sequel to Pure Flix Entertainment’s 2014 indie Christian hit, and Sony’s “Miracles From Heaven,” starring Jennifer Garner.


“God’s Not Dead 2,” debuting this weekend, is set to gross an estimated $8 million.

“Miracles From Heaven,” now in its third week, is on track to bring in $7.5 million this weekend, with a total domestic gross of more than $45 million.

deborah.vankin@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter: @debvankin