Batman Returns

Batman Returns is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and written by Daniel Waters. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to Batman (1989) and the second installment in the Batman film series (1989–1997). The cast includes Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, and Michael Murphy. The film follows Batman as he confronts corrupt businessman Max Shreck and malformed crime boss Oswald Cobblepot / the Penguin, whose bid for power threatens Gotham City. Their schemes are further complicated by Shreck's former secretary Selina Kyle, who seeks revenge against him as Catwoman.

Burton was initially uninterested in directing a sequel to Batman, feeling creatively constrained by Warner Bros.' expectations. He agreed to return only after being granted greater creative control, which included replacing original writer Sam Hamm with Daniel Waters and reuniting with many of his previous collaborators. Waters's script emphasized characterization over plot, and Wesley Strick was later hired for an uncredited rewrite that added, among other elements, a master plan for the Penguin. Filming took place from September 1991 to February 1992 on a budget of $50–80 million, primarily on sets and soundstages at Warner Bros. Studios and the Universal Studios Lot in California. The film's special effects relied mainly on practical techniques and makeup, supplemented with animatronics, limited computer-generated imagery, and dozens of live penguins.

The film's marketing campaign was extensive, featuring brand tie-ins and merchandise intended to replicate the financial success of Batman. Released on June 19, 1992, Batman Returns broke several box-office records and grossed $266.8 million worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1992, but fell short of Batman in overall success and longevity. The darker tone, along with violent and sexual content, was cited as alienating family audiences and prompted backlash against marketing partners for promoting the film to children. Critical reception was polarized, though most reviewers praised the principal cast.

Following the mixed reception of Batman Returns, Burton was replaced by Joel Schumacher as director of Batman Forever (1995), which was developed with a more family-friendly tone. Keaton declined to return, citing creative differences with Schumacher. Batman Forever and its sequel, Batman & Robin (1997), performed well financially but received weaker critical responses. In the years since its release, Batman Returns has been reappraised as one of the strongest Batman films, with its portrayal of Catwoman regarded as iconic. The story was revisited in the comic Batman '89 (2021), and Keaton later reprised his version of Batman in The Flash (2023).

In Gotham City, two wealthy socialites, horrified by the birth of their malformed and feral son Oswald, abandon him in the sewers, where he is taken in by a colony of penguins. Thirty-three years later, during the Christmas season, wealthy industrialist Max Shreck is abducted by the Red Triangle Gang—former circus performers implicated in child disappearances across the country—and taken to their hideout in the abandoned Arctic exhibit at Gotham Zoo. Their leader, Oswald, now known as the Penguin, blackmails Max with evidence of his corruption and murders, coercing him into helping Oswald re-enter Gotham's high society. Max stages the kidnapping of the mayor's infant child, allowing Oswald to "rescue" it and become a public hero. In return, Oswald requests access to the city's birth records, claiming he seeks to uncover his true identity by investigating Gotham's first-born sons.

Max attempts to kill his timid secretary, Selina Kyle, by pushing her out of a window after she discovers his plan to build a power plant that would secretly drain and store Gotham's electricity. Selina survives, returns home, crafts a costume, and adopts the persona of Catwoman. To Max's surprise, she reappears at work with newfound confidence and assertiveness, immediately attracting the attention of visiting billionaire Bruce Wayne. As the vigilante Batman, Bruce begins investigating Oswald, suspecting his ties to the Red Triangle Gang. Seeking to remove opposition to his power plant, Max convinces Oswald to run for mayor and discredit the incumbent by unleashing the gang on Gotham. Batman's efforts to quell the violence bring him into conflict with Catwoman, while in their civilian lives Selina and Bruce begin a romance. Meanwhile, Catwoman allies with Oswald to smear Batman's reputation.

During Gotham's Christmas-tree lighting, Oswald and Catwoman kidnap Gotham's beauty queen, the Ice Princess, and lure Batman to a rooftop above the ceremony. Oswald pushes the Ice Princess to her death with a swarm of bats, framing Batman. When Catwoman objects to the murder and rebuffs Oswald's sexual advances, he attacks her, sending her crashing through a glasshouse. Batman escapes in the Batmobile, unaware that the Red Triangle gang has sabotaged it, allowing Oswald to take it on a remote-controlled rampage. Before regaining control, Batman records Oswald's insulting tirade against Gotham's citizens and later plays it during Oswald's mayoral rally, destroying his public image and forcing him to retreat to Gotham Zoo. There, Oswald renounces his humanity, fully embracing his identity as the Penguin, and sets his plan in motion to abduct and kill Gotham's first-born sons as revenge for his own abandonment.

Selina attempts to kill Max at his charity ball, but Bruce intervenes, and the two inadvertently discover each other's secret identities. Penguin crashes the event intending to kidnap Max's son, Chip, but Max offers himself instead. Batman disrupts the Red Triangle gang and halts the kidnappings, prompting the Penguin to unleash his missile-equipped penguin army to destroy Gotham. Batman's ally, Alfred Pennyworth, overrides the control signal, redirecting the penguins back to Gotham Zoo. As the missiles obliterate the zoo, Batman unleashes a swarm of bats, causing the Penguin to fall into the toxic waters of the Arctic exhibit. Catwoman confronts Max, rejecting Batman's plea to abandon her revenge and leave with him. Max shoots Batman, incapacitating him, and then shoots Catwoman multiple times, but she survives, claiming she has two of her nine lives left. Catwoman electrocutes Max with a live cable, causing a power surge that appears to kill them both; however, Batman finds only Max's remains. The Penguin emerges one last time but succumbs to his injuries, with his penguins carrying his body into the water.