She cited some wrong data on IMDB and the Eisner book in order to support her belief that the film was a big hit in 1966. I pointed out that information on IMDB is submitted by individuals and without citing their sources, should not be taken as gospel. In fact, I've had difficulty updating information on there for a film that we own! (They have an actress playing the part of a male doctor and won't correct it.) When I included an actual 1968 quote from William Dozier to the AP syndicated columnist Bob Thomas, she dismissed it as "hearsay." The thread was eventually deleted.
I submit the following with the hope that you will consider the documented sources.
While Bat-merchandise was selling at a fever pitch throughout the summer of 1966, audiences were cooling to the Caped Crusader. In a syndicated August 11, 1966 Associated Press article, Cynthia Lowry wrote: “The series, which caused more talk than any other recent TV product, suffered a sharp decline in the early summer ratings. It dropped out of the list of top-rated shows, in fact. There is always some careful explanation when a show takes a statistical nose-dive, and the one for this is that the onset of daylight saving time through much of the country kept many youngsters out-of-doors and away from their sets. And, of course, there is always a chance with Batman on reruns, the small fry were catching up on the episodes of Daniel Boone, The Munsters and Lost in Space they missed earlier."
The BATMAN feature premiered in Texas on July 30, 1966 and opened nationwide in August. According to Boxoffice magazine, out of twenty key cities, the movie only performed above average in Buffalo, Cincinnati, Portland and San Francisco. With a 100% rating considered normal, the movie came in at 122%. That wasn’t bad but the boxoffice performance was far less than anticipated and the movie did not make a profit.
20th Century Fox corporate records show a final budget of $1,540,000. According to "Big Rental Pictures of 1966" in the January 4, 1967 edition of Variety, BATMAN ranked at #59 for the year with total domestic U.S./Canada rentals to date of $1,700,000.
In William Dozier’s February 3, 1968 interview with Associated Press writer Bob Thomas, he said the feature was not a success. “It’s the old story of trying to sell the public something that is available free at home.” Dozier said the film barely broke even.
Word got around among theater owners throughout the country. In the October 24 Boxoffice column “The Exhibitor has his Say about Pictures,” one exhibitor wrote: “Don’t play it. Please! All reports said it was poor but I didn’t believe them. Something wrong with their situations, I thought. Ours will do well. I was wrong! Lowest Wednesday through Saturday of the summer.”
In conclusion; in doing this research and sharing the information, I'm not trying to upset any fans. I'm simply trying to set the record straight and show that while Batman was a phenomenon to be sure, it's star burnt brightly for only a very short period of time. That's not to diminish its impact in any way and I hope that you understand.
