Batman Returns: Celebrating 60 years of the Dark Knight on the Silver Screen

Holy superlatives Batman!

On this day 60 years ago, the first feature-length superhero movie opened in theatres across North America. The film in question was Batman: The Movie, an extended silver-screen outing for Adam West's outlandish Technicolor re-imaging of the famous DC Comics hero. Other superhero stories had been adapted for the screen in the past, but these had all been multi-part serials or short films. This was the first time a superhero had gotten the full Hollywood treatment.

The film starred the cast of the hit Batman TV series, which had picked up a devoted fanbase since it made its debut on ABC in January 1966. Though its camp styling would come as a shock to modern audiences accustomed to Batmen (Batmans?) who growl and lurk in the shadows, the film and TV show were enormously successful and planted the pop-culture seeds that would grow into the modern superhero blockbuster.

Adam West's Batman hangs on the Bat-Ladder beneath the Bat-Copter while he fights a rubber shark. To give you an idea of the general tone of the movie, the shark is eventually defeated by Shark-Repellent Bat Spray and falls back into the waves, where it explodes for some reason.

To celebrate this anniversary, we've decided to put together a few of our favourite records held by the Dark Knight's silver-screen adventures.

Most film appearances by a superhero

This is a tricky record to adjudicate in the modern world of cinematic universes, multiverses and crossover events. Since making his feature debut in 1966, however, Batman has been the sole protagonist of 10 films – including the 1993 animated Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. (The total rises to 11 if you also include 2017's The LEGO Batman Movie, which is a bit of an edge case). If you include films where Batman is part of an ensemble cast alongside other superheroes this figure rises to 15 (again, with some caveats).

His closest cinematic rival is Superman, who has starred as the sole protagonist in seven feature films and appeared as part of an ensemble cast in another six.

The dark themes and moral ambiguity of life in Gotham make Batman a natural fit for cinematic adaptations, but other superheroes dominate elsewhere. Superman's wholesome family appeal has made him the most prolific TV superhero, starring in four long-running shows with a combined 462 episodes, while Spider-Man's exciting web-slinging movement has made him the most prolific videogame superhero, with 40 games as of 2023.

Most actors to play one superhero

Over the course of the character's 60-year cinematic run, many actors have squeezed into Batman's trademark bat-eared mask and muscle suit. Even if we only count theatrically released, feature-length live-action movies, the role has still changed hands seven times – more than any other silver screen superhero. If you expand the scope to include animated movies and theatrically released serials (such as the original 15-part Batman series from 1943) the count rises to at least 13, potentially more depending on how you define things.

Batman is also the most-rebooted cinema superhero, though this is a record that requires a bit of explanation. For a new film to constitute a reboot, it doesn't necessarily have to go back to the beginning of the character's story, only to reset the series continuity and the established vision of the character.

If you squint (and you're not sitting in a brightly lit room) you can see Robert Pattinson's Batman in this shot.

For example, three different actors played Batman between 1989 and 1997 (Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney), though they were all working within the same continuity and playing fundamentally the same version of the character. No reboots there. When Christian Bale took over as Batman for 2005's The Dark Knight, however, all the canon events and characters of the 1989–1997-era were discarded and the story restarted from scratch.

Just counting live-action feature films, Batman's on-screen appearances fall into five distinct continuities. Batman and his established rogues gallery are always featured, the setting of Gotham is retained and the broad strokes of the character and his background stay the same, but the tone and style have famously varied massively from one reboot to the next.

Most Oscar nominations for films starring the same superhero

Movies starring Batman have been nominated for 18 Academy Awards as of 2026, putting the Caped Crusader head-and-shoulders ahead of any other superhero in the critical acclaim stakes. This is partly because Batman is a famously meaty role, which attracts high-calibre performers. Batman holds the record for the most Oscar winners to play the same superhero (George Clooney, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck), though it's worth noting that Clooney's Oscar was emphatically not for his performance in the critically panned Batman & Robin.

Tim Burton's 1989 Batman was arguably the first superhero movie to win an Academy Award, with Anton Furst and Peter Young walking away with the Best Art Direction Oscar. Although Superman was presented with an Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 1979, the category was a "special achievement" at the time and not a fully competitive category.

The most critically successful Batman movie was Christopher Nolan's 2008 The Dark Knight, which picked up eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actor, which was won by the late Heath Ledger for his era-defining portrayal of The Joker.

Read more stories about record-breaking movies in our Arts and Entertainment section.

Header image: The Legacy Collection/THA/Shutterstock