Since The Batman’s theatrical release, the song “Something In The Way,” which appeared on Nirvana’s 1991 album NEVERMIND, had seen a surge in streams and sales. The title is prominently placed in two places in the film as the signature tune for Kurt Cobain-inspired Bruce Wayne.
According to Billboard, “Something In The Way” has been streamed 3.1 million times in the first four days since the film’s release. In the four days leading up to the film’s release, the song was streamed 372,000 times, a 734% increase over the given time period. The biggest jump came between Sunday, March 6 and Monday, March 7, when the track went from 808,000 streams on Sunday, March 6 to 1.5 million — an 86% increase. As of Tuesday March 9, the song had cracked the top five of Spotify’s Daily USA Top 50 Songs ranking.
Those numbers also propelled “Something In The Way” onto several Billboard songs charts, including #6 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart; No. 20 on the Digital Song Sales Chart; and No. 27 on the Billboard Streaming Songs chart.
The song was also featured in a first trailer for the film in 2020, which earned it number 2 on Rock Digital Song Sales and number 45 on the All-Genre Digital Song Sales Ranking.
Director Matt Reeves explained Nirvana’s influence on his noir Batman flick in an interview with Esquire, comparing Wayne to Cobain, saying they are both addicts.
“Early on when I was writing I started listening to Nirvana, and there was something in ‘Something In The Way’ that’s in the first trailer that’s part of the voice of this character,” says Reeves. “As I was thinking, ‘How do you do Bruce Wayne in a way that’s never been seen before?’ I started thinking, ‘What if tragedy happens and this guy gets so withdrawn, we don’t know what he is does? Is this guy a headstrong, ruthless drug addict?’ And the truth is, he’s some kind of drug addict. His drug is his addiction to revenge. He’s like a Batman Kurt Cobain.”