October 26, 2017 (Beijing)
November 17, 2017 (United States)
Justice League is a 2017 American superhero film based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the follow-up to 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the fifth installment in the DC Extended Universe, and was directed by Zack Snyder and written by Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon. It features an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, and J. K. Simmons. In the film, Batman and Wonder Woman recruit The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg after Superman's death to save the world from the catastrophic threat of Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons.
Plans for the film were announced in October 2014, with Snyder on board to direct and Terrio attached to write the script. The film was initially titled Justice League Part One, with a second film (under the name Justice League Part Two) intended to follow in 2019. However, the sequel was indefinitely delayed to accommodate the production of a standalone Batman film starring Affleck. Principal photography took place from April to October 2016. After Snyder stepped down to deal with the death of his daughter, Joss Whedon was hired to oversee the remainder of post-production, including directing additional scenes written by himself. With an estimated production budget of $300 million, Justice League is one of the most expensive films ever made.
Justice League premiered in Beijing on October 26, 2017, and was released in the United States in 2D, RealD 3D, and IMAX on November 17, 2017. The film grossed over $657 million worldwide against a break-even point of $750 million, becoming the highest-grossing film (as of 2019) to become a box office bomb, losing distributor Warner Bros. Pictures an estimated $60 million. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences and performances (particularly of Gadot and Miller) but criticized the plot, writing, pacing, villain, and overuse of computer-generated imagery. Its tone was also met with a polarized reception, with some appreciating the lighter tone compared to previous DCEU films and others finding it inconsistent.
