Robert Pattinson as Batman (2022)

Robert Pattinson's casting as Batman triggered fan petitions and social media fury reminiscent of the Heath Ledger Joker backlash, with over 50,000 signatures demanding his removal. Yet the Twilight star's brooding, detective-focused portrayal in Matt Reeves's film silenced skeptics: The Batman grossed $770 million worldwide and earned an 85% RT critic score, outperforming Ben Affleck's Batman (#1 on this list) in both critical reception and box office per-dollar budget. Pattinson's performance, grounded in psychological realism rather than CGI-assisted spectacle, transformed the most divisive casting announcement of 2019 into a career-defining triumph that now ranks among the best live-action Batmans.