"The Batman": a ratings failure for TF1, what lessons can be learned?
On Sunday, January 26, 2025, TF1 broadcast the blockbuster The Batman, Matt Reeves' 2022 film starring Robert Pattinson in the title role, for the first time on free-to-air television. On paper, the event had everything it needed to be a hit: a globally renowned superhero, a recent critically acclaimed production, a leading actor, and the prime-time Sunday evening slot. Yet, the film failed to dominate the audience ratings battle, finishing in third place, far behind its competitors. More than a year after this underperformance, a fresh analysis is warranted: what does this ratings failure truly say about the broadcast of superhero films on linear television in France, and what lessons can channels draw from it for their future cinema programming?
Beyond TF1's specific case, the evening of January 26 tells a broader story: that of a French audience that no longer consumes blockbusters in the same way, and that of a historical channel that must redefine what a "major cinema event" means in the age of streaming. To understand what happened that night, we need to dissect six distinct factors — competition, the film's tone, the slot, audience fatigue, promotion, streaming — and place them within the broader context of Batman's evolution in cinema.
📺 Fierce Competition this Sunday Evening
One of the major factors explaining this ratings failure is the fierce competition on Sunday, January 26, 2025. France 2 offered 007 Spectre, a James Bond franchise installment starring Daniel Craig, which attracted 2.47 million viewers for a 15.2% audience share. Meanwhile, France 3 broadcast a new episode of Midsomer Murders, gathering 2.76 million loyal viewers for a 16.9% audience share. Against these two heavyweights — one a mainstream cinema hit, the other a comfortable and recognizable detective series — The Batman only drew 1.78 million viewers, representing a 12.6% market share.
This figure, in absolute terms, is not catastrophic for a TV broadcast. But in terms of audience share, it places TF1 behind two public service channels, which is an anomaly for the historical Sunday evening leader. The result could have been different against a less strong competitor. But in this instance, programming a three-hour superhero blockbuster against two reliable, complementary options (chic action vs. nostalgic crime drama) meant simultaneously alienating two audience segments usually receptive to genre cinema. To better situate the film within the complete genealogy of the Dark Knight's cinematic adaptations, the panoramic article Which Batman was the most loved by the public? precisely compares the box office performances and popularity of each incarnation.
🎬 A Film Too Dark for the General Family Audience?
The Batman is known for its dark atmosphere, almost monochrome cinematography, contemplative pace, and a more mature approach than previous adaptations of the Dark Knight. Matt Reeves embraced a direction inspired by 1970s film noir, urban thrillers, and David Fincher's cinema, rather than Marvel blockbusters or colorful Warner spectacles. While this tone was praised by international critics, it may not have convinced the French family audience on Sunday evenings, traditionally accustomed to lighter, more energetic, and more effective blockbusters for their weekend closer.
Furthermore, the film's runtime — almost three hours — may have discouraged some viewers looking for less demanding entertainment to end their weekend. Three hours is equivalent to a double episode of a series, or even a long TV movie followed by a short one. It's also the typical format of major arthouse films, not an instant-gratification blockbuster. For anyone wanting to understand exactly how Matt Reeves constructed this new Batman and how it differs from previous adaptations, the comparative article What are the differences between The Batman 2022 and The Dark Knight trilogy? offers a detailed analysis of the aesthetic and narrative choices of each film.
This legacy of a "serious" and adult Batman in cinema is not new. It was Tim Burton, with Batman 1989 and then Batman Returns 1992, who laid the foundations for a dark and adult Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan continued this trend with The Dark Knight 2008 and The Dark Knight Rises 2012, two blockbusters that proved a superhero film could be both dark and unifying. Reeves places himself in this tradition, but goes even further — at the risk of exceeding what the general TV audience is willing to accept on a Sunday evening.
📅 Programming Ill-Suited for the Sunday Slot
Was broadcasting The Batman on a Sunday evening really the wisest choice? Superhero films with a more adult tone, especially those over two hours long, often find more success on weekday cinema nights, where competition is less intense and the audience is more loyal, more engaged, and more willing to invest three hours of viewing. On Sunday evenings, the French television reflex remains deeply rooted around family-friendly mainstream films or comfortable series — Midsomer Murders, Captain Marleau, Josephine, Guardian Angel.
TF1 would undoubtedly have benefited from scheduling this blockbuster on a Tuesday or Thursday evening, a historically more permissive slot for demanding films. The channel could also have created a real editorial event around the broadcast: a special show in the second part of the evening, a debate on the multiple incarnations of Batman in cinema, or a joint broadcast with a making-of documentary. In this regard, the overview All Batman films: chronology of the cult saga would have provided an excellent educational angle to accompany the broadcast and recontextualize Reeves' film within the long line of cinematic adaptations of the character.
🦇 The "Déjà Vu" Effect of the Batman Character
Although The Batman offers a new interpretation of the Dark Knight, the French audience may suffer from a certain fatigue with a character adapted repeatedly for almost four decades in cinema. After the memorable versions by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck, Robert Pattinson's arrival alone was not enough to create the anticipated television event. For many viewers, Batman in cinema has become a habit — precisely the trap of the overexposed superhero.
This fatigue is paradoxically reinforced by the very quality of recent adaptations. The Dark Knight trilogy set the bar so high that it inadvertently overshadowed all subsequent versions. Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker — analyzed in the portrait Heath Ledger as the Joker — definitively left its mark on the audience, and any new incarnation is now compared to this benchmark. This dynamic is confirmed by anecdotes from the Nolan casting, detailed in The Dark Knight cast: an exceptional cast and its little-known anecdotes.
For those who wish to delve specifically into the casting and filming anecdotes of Reeves' film, the comprehensive article Everything to know about The Batman's cast covers all the actors and their roles, from Pattinson to Zoë Kravitz, and including Colin Farrell as Penguin and Paul Dano as Riddler.
📣 Insufficient Promotion Around the Event
The promotion surrounding the broadcast of The Batman on TF1 seems to have fallen short of expectations for a blockbuster of this magnitude. In a highly competitive audiovisual landscape, it is essential to generate real buzz around an event such as a blockbuster broadcast free-to-air for the first time. TF1 could have focused more on impactful cross-program trailers, an urban poster campaign, a partnership with a major social network, or a preparatory event show earlier in the week.
The stakes are even higher given that the Batman audience is captive but segmented. Hardcore fans already know the film. Curious viewers need to be convinced that this new version is worth watching. Families want to know if it's suitable for their children (answer: not really). Three audiences, three distinct promotional messages to orchestrate. The TF1 campaign seemed to rely on a generic message of "big film, Sunday evening, free," without nuance in its address to different segments. To compare with other successful event operations related to the franchise, the article Batman Escape Review: the ultimate immersive experience illustrates how a well-promoted operation manages to mobilize the target audience.
💻 The Silent Competition from Streaming Platforms
Finally, it is highly probable that the competition from streaming platforms played a significant role in this ratings failure. The Batman being available on HBO Max and then Max France since its release, many interested viewers had already watched the film via these services, sometimes multiple times. For them, the TF1 re-broadcast offered no novelty, and thus no mandatory appointment.
More broadly, film consumption in France is evolving. A growing part of the audience, particularly those under 35, now prioritizes on-demand content consumption rather than adhering to linear television's imposed schedules. The Sunday evening film ritual, still strong among those over 50, is eroding among younger generations. This structural transformation will not stop — traditional channels must invent new reasons to watch together, live, at a fixed time.
Streaming has also changed audience expectations in terms of discovery. On Netflix or Max, a three-hour film can be approached flexibly — you can pause it, resume it the next day, rewatch a scene. On TF1 on a Sunday evening, it's all or nothing. This temporal rigidity mechanically penalizes long and demanding films. The same logic also hinders the television broadcast of other ambitious works of the genre — Batman video games, for example, now live more as video game VOD than as dedicated TV shows.
🎭 Villains as a Driving Force for Success — What Was Lacking in TF1's Promotion
An important observation regarding the cinematic history of the Dark Knight: Batman films that perform best in ratings are almost always driven by a charismatic main villain. Burton had Nicholson as the Joker. Nolan had Ledger as the Joker, then Bane played by Tom Hardy. Reeves' Batman, however, relies on a trio of villains (Riddler, Penguin, Carmine Falcone) less immediately recognizable to the general French public — especially without the educational work a TF1 trailer could have provided.
To understand the structural role of villains in the Batman franchise, the core article Batman's Enemies: a complete guide to Gotham's mythical villains lists the entire rogues gallery, from the Joker to Bane, including Oswald Cobblepot, Catwoman, and Killer Croc. Many of these villains appear in different incarnations in the films, and the storytelling work around them remains a promotional area largely underutilized by TV channels.
To go further on the projection of new antagonists in cinema, the article Which new villains could appear in the next Batman films? offers a prospective scenario for the next big-screen villains. And for the impending future of the franchise, A sequel to The Batman: everything we know about The Batman Part 2 provides an overview of Reeves' upcoming film.
🏛️ Conclusion: Lessons for TF1 (and for Linear Television)
Despite its undeniable cinematic qualities — masterful cinematography, Michael Giacchino's lyrical score, Pattinson's hypnotic performance — The Batman failed to establish itself as the flagship film on TF1 this Sunday evening. This audience failure highlights the growing challenges faced by traditional channels in the era of streaming platforms, the proliferation of entertainment offerings, and audience diversification.
To maximize the impact of its future film acquisitions, TF1 will need to rethink several structural reflexes. First, to more finely analyze the competition before scheduling a major film, especially against the comfortable police series of public service broadcasters that permanently occupy the Sunday slot. Then, to choose time slots more suited to the film's tone — a Tuesday evening is more appropriate for adult and long blockbusters than a family-oriented Sunday evening. Finally, to significantly strengthen pre-broadcast promotion, by telling the film's story, presenting its key characters, and building a real editorial event around the broadcast rather than a simple placeholder slot.
In the future, offering a unique and attractive cinema experience will be essential for TF1, which must adapt to new viewer expectations to remain competitive. This will likely involve more ambitious editorial work around each major film acquired: exclusive interviews, never-before-seen making-of features, lively late-night debates, and even educational reports on the film's universe. For Batman specifically, there is no shortage of material—whether it's tracing the complete history of the character through How Bruce Wayne Became Batman, exploring the city of Gotham City, or analyzing the mythology of the Batmobile and the Batcave.
For those who want to extend The Batman experience beyond watching, several items from the Batman figurine collection, Batman masks, and Batman costumes allow for paying tribute to the Reeves version: from the iconic The Batman Robert Pattinson poster to the The Batman mask for cosplay, including the miniature Hotwheels Batmobile The Batman or the Bruce Wayne The Batman figurine. And for those who would like to explore the announced next stage of the franchise, the article Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2026) — what we know about James Gunn's new film projects the Dark Knight's cinematic sequel outside of the Reeves universe.