document_title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

question_text: who played the president in batman vs superman

text: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

text: Plot[edit]

text: Eighteen months after the battle between Superman and General Zod in Metropolis, Superman has become a controversial figure. Billionaire Bruce Wayne, who has operated in Gotham City as the vigilante Batman for two decades, sees Superman as a potential threat to humanity. After learning of Batman's form of justice, Clark Kent seeks to expose Batman via Daily Planet articles. Wayne learns that Russian weapon trafficker Anatoli Knyazev has been contacting LexCorp mogul Lex Luthor. Meanwhile, Luthor unsuccessfully tries to persuade Senator June Finch to allow him to import kryptonite retrieved from the Indian Ocean following Zod's terraforming attempt, claiming he wants to maintain it as a "deterrent" against future Kryptonian invasions. He instead makes alternative plans with Finch's subordinate and gains access to Zod's body and the Kryptonian scout ship.

text: Bruce attends a gala at LexCorp to steal encrypted data from the company's mainframe, but has it taken from him by an antiquities dealer named Diana Prince; she eventually returns it to Bruce. While decrypting the drive, Bruce dreams of a post-apocalyptic world, where he leads a group of rebels against a fascist Superman. He is awoken from his vision by an unidentified person who warns him of Lois Lane's crucial role in the future, and urges him to find "the others" before vanishing.[N 1] Wayne later discovers that Luthor is also investigating metahumans. One of them is Prince herself, who is shown in a photo taken during World War I. Wayne admits to Alfred Pennyworth that he plans to steal the kryptonite to weaponize it, should it become necessary to fight Superman.

text: At a congressional hearing, as Finch questions Superman on the validity of his actions, a bomb goes off and kills everyone present but Superman. Believing he should have detected the bomb, and frustrated by his failure to save the people, Superman goes into self-imposed exile. Batman breaks into LexCorp and steals the kryptonite, planning to use it to battle Superman by building a powered exoskeleton, creating a kryptonite grenade launcher, and a kryptonite-tipped spear. Meanwhile, Luthor enters the Kryptonian ship and accesses details of a vast technology database accumulated from over 100,000 worlds.

text: Later, Luthor kidnaps Lois and Martha Kent, Clark's adoptive mother, to bring Superman out of exile. He reveals to him that he manipulated Superman and Batman by fueling their distrust for each other. Luthor demands that Superman kill Batman in exchange for Martha's life. Superman tries to explain the situation to Batman, but instead Batman fights Superman and eventually subdues him. Before Batman can kill him with the spear, Superman urges Batman to "save Martha", whose name is also shared with Bruce's late mother, confusing him long enough for Lois to arrive and explain what Superman meant. Realizing how far he has fallen and unwilling to let an innocent die, Batman rescues Martha, while Superman confronts Luthor on the scout ship.

text: Luthor executes his backup plan, unleashing a genetically engineered monster with DNA from both Zod's body and his own.[N 2] Diana Prince arrives unexpectedly; revealing her metahuman nature, she joins forces with Batman and Superman to fight the creature. It becomes clear that the creature can absorb and redirect energy, and outmatches Prince, Batman and Superman. Realizing that the creature is vulnerable to kryptonite, Superman retrieves the kryptonite spear. With Batman and Prince's help containing it, Superman impales the monster, killing it. In its last moments, the creature stabs a weakened Superman with one of its bone protrusions, apparently killing Superman.

text: Luthor is arrested and Batman confronts him in prison, warning Luthor that he will always be watching him. Luthor gloats that Superman's death has made the world vulnerable to powerful alien threats. A memorial is held for Superman in Metropolis. Clark is also declared dead, with various friends and family members including Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince attending for him in Smallville. Martha gives an envelope to Lois, which contains an engagement ring from Clark. After the funeral, Bruce expresses his regrets to Diana about how he failed Superman. He reveals to her that he plans to form a team of metahumans, starting with those from Luthor's files, to help protect the world in Superman's absence. After they leave, the dirt atop Clark's coffin begins to levitate.

text: Cast[edit]

text: Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman

text: Henry Cavill as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman:

text: Amy Adams as Lois Lane:

text: Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor:

text: Diane Lane as Martha Kent:

text: Laurence Fishburne as Perry White:

text: Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth:

text: Holly Hunter as June Finch:

text: Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman:[47]

text: Scoot McNairy as Wallace Keefe:

text: Callan Mulvey as Anatoli Knyazev:

text: Tao Okamoto as Mercy Graves:

text: Robin Atkin Downes as Doomsday:

text: Additionally, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan portray Thomas and Martha Wayne, Bruce Wayne's deceased parents,[70][71] Patrick Wilson portrays the President of the United States in a voice role, and Michael Cassidy portrays Jimmy Olsen, a CIA agent.[72] Reprising their roles from Man of Steel are Harry Lennix as Secretary Calvin Swanwick,[73] Christina Wren as Major Carrie Farris,[74] Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent,[75] Rebecca Buller as Jenny Jurwich, Chad Krowchuk as Glen Woodburn, and Carla Gugino as the Kryptonian A.I. Kelor.[76] The corpse of General Zod also appears in the film in a crucial role; however, Michael Shannon did not film any scenes for the film and the corpse was created using the physique of fitness model Greg Plitt and a head-shot of Shannon.[77] Mark Edward Taylor portrays Jack O'Dwyer, an executive of Wayne Enterprises.[78][79]

text: Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, and Ray Fisher appear as Barry Allen / Flash, Arthur Curry / Aquaman, and Victor Stone / Cyborg respectively in brief appearances, which will lead to their inclusion in the Justice League film.[80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87] Joe Morton appears in a role as Silas Stone, Victor's father.[88] U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy makes a cameo appearance as Senator Purrington, whilst U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow also makes a cameo as the Governor of New Jersey.[89][90] Neil deGrasse Tyson, Soledad O'Brien, Anderson Cooper, Nancy Grace and Charlie Rose appear as themselves. Jena Malone was cast as S.T.A.R. Labs scientist Jenet Klyburn, but her scenes were cut from the theatrical release, along with Man of Steel characters Coburn Goss as Father Leone and Joseph Cranford as Pete Ross; they were restored for the Ultimate Edition home media release.[91] Talk show host Jon Stewart has a cameo in the extended cut. To further establish the interconnection between the films of the shared universe, Chris Pine appears on Diana Prince's photo as Steve Trevor, as well as Saïd Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, and Eugene Brave Rock as the members of his team: Sameer, Charlie, and Chief, which they reprised in Wonder Woman.[92][93][94][95]

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text:
"... after Man of Steel finished and we started talking about what would be in the next movie, I started subtly mentioning that it would be cool if he faced Batman... You're in a story meeting talking about, like, who should [Superman] fight if he fought this giant alien threat Zod who was basically his equal physically, from his planet, fighting on our turf... You know, who to fight next?... But I'm not gonna say at all that when I took the job to do Man of Steel that I did it in a subversive way to get to Batman. I really believe that only after contemplating who could face [Superman] did Batman come into the picture."

— Snyder, on how Batman came into the film[96]

tag: div

text: In June 2013, Warner Bros. announced that director Zack Snyder and screenwriter David S. Goyer would return for a Man of Steel sequel,[97] with the studio considering the release for the film in 2015.[98] The following month, Snyder confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con International that the sequel to Man of Steel would feature Superman and Batman meeting for the first time on film. Goyer and Snyder would co-write the story, with Goyer authoring the script,[20][99] and Christopher Nolan involved in an advisory role as executive producer.[100] According to Snyder, the film would take inspiration from the comic The Dark Knight Returns.[101]

text: In November 2013, Snyder clarified his film would not be based upon the aforementioned graphic novel. "If you were going to do that, you would need a different Superman. We’re bringing Batman into the universe that now this Superman lives in."[102] Batman v Superman marks the first appearance of Wonder Woman in a live-action, theatrical film,[47] which Warner Bros. had been developing as far back as 1996.[103] In December 2013, Chris Terrio was hired to rewrite the script, due to Goyer's commitments to other projects.[104] Further commenting on the influences, Terrio revealed in an article published by the Wall Street Journal that the movie would draw inspiration from Nolan's Batman trilogy, Italian semiotician Umberto Eco’s 1972 essay “The Myth of Superman”, and the W.H. Auden poem “Musée des Beaux Arts” which contrasts the quotidian details of normal people’s lives with the epic struggles of mythological figures. According to him, "In superhero stories, Batman is Pluto, god of the underworld, and Superman is Apollo, god of the sky. That began to be really interesting to me — that their conflict is not just due to manipulation, but their very existence."[4] The Joker and the Riddler were supposed to appear in the film, but Snyder ultimately decided to cut them from the final script.[105]

text: The film's official title, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, was revealed in May 2014.[106] Snyder stated that having the "v" in the title instead of "vs." was a way "to keep it from being a straight 'versus' movie, even in the most subtle way".[107] Henry Cavill later stated, "I wouldn't call this a Superman sequel [...] This is Batman versus Superman. It's a separate entity altogether. It's introducing the Batman character and expanding upon the universe, which was kicked off by Man of Steel."[108] Forbes noted that although the film originated as a sequel to Man of Steel, it was "revamped into a backdoor pilot for Justice League and/or an eventual stand-alone Batman movie."[109] As part of a settlement with his heirs, this is the first Batman production that lists Bill Finger as a co-creator.[110]

text: Casting[edit]

text: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Harry Lennix and Christina Wren reprise their roles from Man of Steel.[73][74][111] Joining the cast are Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth,[111] Ray Fisher as Cyborg,[85] Jason Momoa as Aquaman,[83][84] and Tao Okamoto as Luthor's assistant Mercy Graves.[63] Scoot McNairy and Callan Mulvey were cast as Wallace Keefe and Anatoli Knyazev, while Jena Malone was cast as Jenet Klyburn, a character that was featured exclusively in the Ultimate Edition home media release.[41][57][92][112]

text: Dawn of Justice is Affleck's second film as a comic book superhero; he played Daredevil in the 2003 film of the same name,[113] and was initially reluctant to accept playing Batman, citing that he "felt [he] didn't fit the traditional mold. But once Zack [Snyder] showed [him] the concept, and that it would be both different from the great movies that Chris[topher Nolan] and Christian [Bale] made, but still in keeping with tradition, [he] was excited."[114] Affleck previously stated in 2006 that Daredevil had "inoculated [him] from ever playing another superhero".[115]

text: Snyder cast an older Batman to be a layered juxtaposition against a younger Superman; while "bear[ing] the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain[ing] the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne."[9] Nolan was involved with the casting of Affleck and he was the first actor Snyder approached for the part.[100] The director had also discussed the part with Josh Brolin.[116] Bale admitted he wanted to play Batman again after The Dark Knight Rises,[117] though he stated that his Batman does not belong in any other film and he was never approached by Warner Bros. to play the role again.[118][119]

text: On casting Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Snyder offered, "Having Jesse in the role allows us to explore that interesting dynamic, and also take the character in some new and unexpected directions".[25] Bryan Cranston was considered for the role before Eisenberg was cast.[120] Producer Charles Roven revealed that this incarnation of Wonder Woman would use the character's origins in The New 52, wherein the character would be a demigoddess, and the daughter of Zeus. This deviates from the character's original origins, where she was "a clay figure brought to life by the gods".[49] Olga Kurylenko was considered for the role of Wonder Woman before Gadot was cast.[121] Dawn of Justice is Ray Fisher's feature film debut,[122] and the first live-action film to feature Cyborg,[123] whose role will become more significant in future DC Comics films.[124] It is also the live-action theatrical debut of Aquaman.[125]

text: The casting of Affleck, Gadot, and Eisenberg was criticized. Affleck's casting caused significant backlash from comic book fans, with multiple online petitions demanding his removal from the role; unlike previous Batman actors, he was not considered intimidating enough for the role by the protesters.[126] Conversely, PopMatters journalist J.C. Maçek III supported Affleck's casting as Batman, stating, "Way back when the news was new I wrote a PopMatters article defending the choice of Ben Affleck as Batman. I’ll let that one speak for itself."[127][128] Via social media, fans criticized Gadot's small frame in contrast to Wonder Woman's warrior-like build in the comics.[129] Responding to this, Gadot stated that she had been participating in various training regimens to achieve a body that stays closer to the source material.[130] Fans also criticized Eisenberg's casting, feeling that the then-30-year-old was too young for the role, and not physically imposing enough.[131] Upon the film's release, both Affleck and Gadot received considerable praise for their performances, despite the overall negative reception of the film itself.[132][133]

text: Design[edit]

text: Michael Wilkinson reprised his duties as costume designer. He updated the Superman suit from Man of Steel so that it "feels fresh and right for this installment of Zack Snyder's comic-book universe".[134] The first Batsuit featured in the film is influenced by The Dark Knight Returns;[135] unlike the suits seen in previous live-action Batman films, it is made of cloth instead of armor and is a cast of the physique of fitness model Rossano Rea.[136][137] An image of the Wonder Woman costume was revealed at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, in which the costume desaturates the red, blue, and gold colors that make up the costume of most versions of the character.[138]

text: A second Batsuit was also unveiled at Comic-Con, and unlike the first, it is armored.[139] Aquaman's look in this film shows him "tattooed in Maori-like patterns", and wearing a suit "decked out in shades of gold, black and silver armor".[140] According to the Warner Bros. Studios lot, the next generation Batmobile combined inspiration from both the sleek, streamlined design of classic Batmobiles and the high-suspension, military build from the more recent Tumbler from The Dark Knight Trilogy. Designed by production designer Patrick Tatopoulos, the Batmobile is about 20 feet long and 12 feet wide.[141] The glasses Cavill wears as Clark Kent are made by British spectacle designer Tom Davies.[142]

text: Filming[edit]

text: In September 2013, Larry Fong joined the crew as cinematographer, having previously worked with Zack Snyder on 300, Watchmen, and Sucker Punch.[143] Initial filming commenced on October 19, 2013, at East Los Angeles College, to shoot an American football game between Gotham City University and rival Metropolis State University.[144] At the end of the month, construction began on the Kent farm seen in Man of Steel for the film.[145] Principal photography involving the main cast of the film began on May 19, 2014, in Detroit, Michigan,[146] with scenes featuring Gal Gadot as Diana Prince being filmed early on May 16.[147] While filming in Michigan, the production spent a total of $199 million in the state.[148] The scene of a state funeral at the Arlington National Cemetery, a tribute by the United States Army,[149] was actually filmed in Michigan as well, using green screen.[150]

text: Additional filming began in Chicago, Illinois in November 2014.[151] Other locations included the Michigan Motion Picture Studios, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, Yorkville, Illinois, and New Mexico.[152][153][154] Sequences of the film, including a scene depicting the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents, were filmed using IMAX cameras.[155] The planned shoot in Morocco was shifted to New Mexico due to incidents related to the 2014 Ebola outbreak.[156] Principal photography wrapped on December 5, 2014.[157]

text: Music and soundtrack[edit]

text: Hans Zimmer composed the film score,[158] emphasizing a challenge to not reuse the themes he established with the Batman character from Christopher Nolan's trilogy.[159] Junkie XL, who provided additional music in Man of Steel, also returned for this film, helping to compose the theme for Batman.[160] Originally, Zimmer enlisted Junkie XL to compose the Batman material, with Zimmer planning to focus solely on the Superman side of the score, but the final Batman theme was written by both composers as a collaboration.[161] Zimmer noted that he had significant trouble in finding a new angle from which to tell the story and after the release of the film, Zimmer announced that he was retired from superhero films.[162] The soundtrack album of the film was released on March 18, 2016 by WaterTower Music.[163]

text: Songs featured in the film include: "Kang Ling (An Instrument Made From A Human Thigh Bone)", a traditional song performed by the monks of the Dip Tse Chok Ling Monastery, Dharamsala; "Night and Day" and "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" written by Cole Porter and performed by Richard Cheese; "Shostakovich: Waltz II (Jazz Suite No. 2)" written by Dmitri Shostakovich[164][165] performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly; and "Amazing Grace" arranged and performed by John Allan[166] and again performed by the Canadian Scottish Regiment Pipes and Drums and the United States Third Marine Aircraft Wing Band.[167][168]

text: Release[edit]

text: In November 2013, it was announced that the film would be released on July 17, 2015. In January 2014, Warner Bros. announced that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was delayed from its original release date of July 17, 2015, and moved to May 6, 2016, in order to give the filmmakers "time to realize fully their vision, given the complex visual nature of the story."[169] The release date was moved once again in August 2014 from May 6, 2016, to March 25, 2016, with a Warner Bros. insider saying the studio was "not flinching" in regards to the previous opening date being on the same day as Marvel Studios' Captain America: Civil War, but instead stating that March 2016 was a "fantastic corridor" for them.[170] According to sources obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. considered the possibility of having a 70mm release for the film, which was partially shot in the 65mm IMAX format.[171]

text: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice premiered at Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City on March 19, 2016,[172] followed by a New York City premiere on March 20 at Radio City Music Hall.[173] Following the Brussels attacks, Warner Bros. originally cancelled the red carpet of the London premiere, but decided to carry on with the premiere for the fans.[174] The film was released in the United States and the United Kingdom on March 25 in 3D.[170][175] It opened simultaneously in North America, China and Japan, the world's three largest film markets, as well as additional international territories,[176] with the exception of Poland, where theaters do not open on Good Friday.[3] The film debuted simultaneously across 30,000 screens in nearly every major foreign territory across 61 markets, including China, with domestic open across roughly 4,242 locations of which 3,500 theaters (85%) were in 3D, 390 IMAX screens, 470 PLF locations, 150 D-Box theaters and ten 70 mm prints.[177][178][179]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: An estimated $165 million marketing effort helped promote Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.[180] At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International, Snyder introduced the film's first footage intended to be exclusive to the event.[181] A teaser trailer was scheduled to be screened in selected cinemas on April 20, 2015.[182] However, on April 16, the trailer leaked online,[183] and within a few hours Snyder officially released the trailer to Twitter.[184] At the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International, Snyder and the cast attended to present an initial trailer of the film. The trailer was, unlike the teaser, which received mixed response, positively received by attendees, who gave the trailer a standing ovation.[185] Mark Hughes of Forbes said the trailers "both set the stage for a story about the world’s distrust and fear of Superman, Batman’s rage at Superman and intention to duke it out with the Man of Steel, and Wonder Woman’s participation in a big fight featuring the 'Trinity.'"[186]

text: Warner Bros. Consumer Products partnered-up with "a powerhouse slate of global licensees for a broad, multi-category licensing and merchandising program", including Mattel, Lego, Rubies, Funko, Thinkway Toys, Hot Toys, Junkfood, Bioworld, Pez, Seiko, Converse and among many other licensees to sell merchandise related to the film.[187][188] Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was also a licensee for the film, offering a special edition Jeep Renegade in exchange for a near-exclusive product placement deal; aside from Bruce Wayne's Aston Martin, all vehicles in the film were either from Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, or Iveco.[189] Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Cross Fire, an original companion novel tied to the film, telling a tie-in story set before the events of the movie, was published by Scholastic Corporation.[190]

text: A five-issue comic-book prelude exploring what happened in the weeks and months leading up to the events of the film was released as a tie-in with Dr Pepper's character-branded bottles.[191] Also, there are a series of four minicomics found in Batman v Superman-branded General Mills cereals. Additionally, those who purchased Batman v Superman-themed Doritos Family Fun Mix at Walmart received the comic book prequel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Upstairs/Downstairs.[192] Rocksteady Studios released a downloadable content for the video game Batman: Arkham Knight that featured the Batmobile and Batsuit from the film.[193]

text: The third trailer debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on December 3, 2015. It received positive responses,[194][195][196] with Scott Mendelson of Forbes calling the trailer a "Saturday morning cartoon nerd’s wildest dreams."[197] Molly Driscoll of CS Monitor stated that it looks like the film "will continue the trend of adapting comic book stories as timely tales."[198] Graeme McMillan of The Hollywood Reporter noted that based on the trailer's content, the film might be the anti-Civil War, referring to Marvel's Captain America: Civil War as "Superman and Batman complete the comic book trope by overcoming their differences to fight a common foe, alongside a third hero, who saves them both — that feels the most fresh, especially in light of the Civil War trailer. While that ended with a showdown between three heroes, this trailer moves beyond that to show three heroes standing united."[199] However, it was criticized for revealing that,[200] with Rob Tornoe of NewsWorks pointing out that this trailer was targeting the "broadest audience" rather than just fans, as studios try to "maximize a film's opening day box office."[201]

text: Warner Bros. did not buy a Super Bowl 50 commercial;[202] instead, they worked with Turkish Airlines to put together a pair of Batman v Superman-themed airline commercials.[203] McMillan of The Hollywood Reporter stated that the spots "inform interested parties about the culture, geography and history of Batman and Superman's individual stomping grounds, each one filled with Easter eggs for the comic book faithful and newcomer alike."[204] Jesse Eisenberg's part as Lex Luthor in these commercials was praised, as Dirk Libbey of CinemaBlend noted that "he matches up well with Bruce Wayne by playing the welcoming billionaire business man. It's a far cry from the somewhat cartoonish villain we’ve seen in the clips from the film."[203]

text: The final trailer was released to the public on February 11, 2016, which was described as "intense" by Kwame Opam of The Verge.[205] Mendelson of Forbes felt that Warner Bros. "probably wouldn’t have even dropped this one had the prior trailer back in December been received better. So now we have this fourth and final sell, and at least they are going out on a high note."[206] Jonathon Dornbush of Entertainment Weekly said that the footage "works to establish Batman as his own independent crime fighting force, while also providing a deeper look at his existential struggle against Superman."[207]

text: In February 2016, Warner Bros. and Doritos formed a partnership, creating a website offering fans the opportunity to enter codes found on Doritos purchases branded with the film's logo, and enter to win movie tickets, tech toys, and a trip the premiere in New York City.[208][209] Warner Bros also partnered with Omaze to give fans who donated a chance to win "The Ultimate Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Experience", while benefiting three nonprofit organizations nominated by Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Jesse Eisenberg. "The Ultimate Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Experience" offered a fan and their friend the chance to win tickets to the premiere of the film, as well as fly on a helicopter with Cavill or ride in the Batmobile with Affleck.[210] Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. drove cars based on Superman and Batman respectively, at Auto Club Speedway on March 20, 2016.[211] A tie-in endless runner video game to the film, entitled Batman vs Superman – Who Will Win?, debuted March 16, 2016, released by Warner Bros. International Enterprises.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The film grossed $166 million in the USA & Canada in its opening weekend,[212][213] the eighth-biggest opening of all time, ahead of The Dark Knight Rises' $160.9 million.[212] The film had a worldwide opening of $422.5 million, which stands as the second-biggest for Warner Bros. and the fourth-biggest of all time.[214][215] It became the fourth film to have a global opening above $400 million.[216] It also had an IMAX worldwide opening weekend total of $36 million from 945 IMAX screens, the third-biggest ever, behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($48 million) and Jurassic World ($44 million).[216] However, both inside and outside of the United States, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice experienced a notable poor Friday-to-Sunday hold and set a new record for the worst Friday-to-Sunday drop for a superhero movie release in modern box office history with a 58% decline, which was previously held by Fantastic Four.[217]

text: In its second weekend, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice experienced a "historic" box-office drop,[218][219] with an 81.2% decline on Friday that was "one of the biggest Friday-to-Friday drops any blockbuster has ever seen", and an overall 68.4% drop for the weekend despite not "facing any big competition at the box office",[220][221][222] making it the second largest decline for a marquee superhero title, behind only 2003's Hulk.[218] Brad Brevet, writing for Box Office Mojo, reported that "it appeared Batman v Superman was looking at a drop anywhere from 58–68% and it ended up settling in on the wrong side of those expectations."[222] Scott Mendelson, writing for Forbes, said "Whether or not the movie is any good, and whether or not audiences respond to the picture, is best measured by the second and third weekends...Yes, we’re still talking about a $15.35 million second Friday and a $50m+ second weekend, but in terms of legs, this film sadly doesn’t seem to have any."[223] Continuing this trend, in its third weekend, the film dropped by 54.3% in which Brad Brevet concluded in a follow-up for Box Office Mojo that "the legs on this one are proving quite short."[224]

text: In the weeks leading up to the film's release, advance ticket sales outpaced The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, and Furious 7.[225] Worldwide, it was estimated to gross between $300–340 million in over 35,000 screens in its opening weekend.[177][226] It passed the $50 million mark in IMAX ticket sales on its second weekend, grossing a total of $53.4 million from 571 IMAX screens.[227][228] Warner Bros. domestic distribution chief Jeff Goldstein described the film's box office performance as a "fantastic result, by any measure."[229] Box office analyst Jeff Bock said "Still, outside of Christopher Nolan's two Dark Knight movies, and Tim Burton's Batman films when you adjust for inflation, this is the highest-grossing property in DC's bullpen thus far. It tops Man of Steel by more than $200 million," and that "overall, BvS successfully relaunched DC's cinematic universe, but they are nowhere near Disney/Marvel in terms of critical reception and box office prowess. One can only hope that bigger and better is still on the way."[229] The film needed to reach $800 million in revenue at the box office to "recoup its investment" according to financial analysts.[230][231][180] Despite surpassing this amount, it was considered "a disappointment" for failing to reach $1 billion,[230][232][233] This resulted in Warner Bros., in May 2016, creating DC Films, giving a dedicated executive team responsibility for films based on DC Comics, similar to the dedicated Marvel Comics focus of Marvel Studios within the larger Walt Disney Studios group.[234] Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice grossed $330.4 million in North America and $542.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $873.3 million, making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2016 behind Captain America: Civil War, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Finding Dory, Zootopia, The Jungle Book, and The Secret Life of Pets.[1] Deadline.com calculated the net profit of the film to be $105.7 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.[235]

text: North America[edit]

text: Following reports of pre-tickets sales in both the United States and Canada on February 29, many insiders and analysts predicted an opening weekend haul between $120–140 million for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with projections as high as $185 million.[177][179][226][236][237][238] However, Warner Bros. insiders were more conservative in their estimates projecting in the lower range of $110 million.[3] According to Deadline.com, an undisclosed rival studio box office analyst indicated that if the film is truly pacing in tandem with The Dark Knight Rises, then Dawn of Justice could possibly be looking at a $180 million+ debut.[226] The film also became Fandango's top pre-selling superhero film ever, beating The Dark Knight Rises and Avengers: Age of Ultron, representing 90% of the site's weekend's ticket sales. A survey carried out showed that the introduction of Wonder Woman is a primary draw for moviegoers.[237][239] It pre-sold around $20–25 million worth of advance tickets.[237] Dawn of Justice made $27.7 million in Thursday previews from around 3,800 theaters which is the biggest of 2016, the biggest Easter weekend preview, the second-biggest for a superhero film (behind The Dark Knight Rises), and the seventh-biggest of all time of which $3.6 million came from IMAX showings, also a new record for Easter weekend.[240][241]

text: On its opening day, it earned $81.59 million from 4,242 theaters, including previews, marking the biggest pre-summer opening day of all time, the second-biggest superhero Friday opening and the fourth-biggest opening-day and fourth-biggest single-day gross, with $9 million coming from IMAX showings.[242] Excluding the Thursday previews, it earned $53.89 million on Friday which is the fifth-biggest ever.[242] It fell 37.8% on Saturday, which is the second-worst superhero opening Friday-to-Saturday drop, only behind the 40% drop of The Dark Knight Rises.[217] In total, it earned $166 million for its debut weekend, setting records for the biggest March and pre-summer openings, (these have since been broken by Beauty and the Beast) [243] the biggest Easter opening,[244] the second-biggest opening for Warner Bros.,[245] the biggest for a DC Comics property,[246] and the eighth-biggest opening of all time.[213][247][248] Conversely, the film holds the record for the worst superhero Friday-to-Sunday drop with a 58% decline, eclipsing the previous 48% decline record held by Fantastic Four in 2015.[217] IMAX comprised 11% or $18 million of the weekend's gross from 388 theaters which is the fifth-biggest of all time (a record it shares with Age of Ultron) and 3D represented 40% ($68 million) of the total ticket sales.[249] RealD 3D comprised $47 million of the opening gross.[247] Premium large formats generated $17.6 million (10%), with $3.6 million of that coming from Cinemark XD auditoriums from 475 theaters.[247]

text: Following its record breaking opening weekend, it posted the biggest March Monday with $15.05 million, a drop of 55% from its Sunday gross. This broke The Hunger Games' previous record of $10.8 million,[250][251] and also the biggest March Tuesday with $12.2 million.[252] It made $209 million in its first week full which stands at the eleventh-biggest opening week of all time[253] and surpassed the lifetime total Batman Begins.[254] Despite earning $15.35 million in its second Friday, the film dropped 81.2% and broke the record for the biggest Friday-to-Friday drop for a comic book adaptation film, not including $27.7 million worth of previews which represented an even larger decline.[255] It fell precipitously by 69.1% in its second weekend, grossing $51.3 million from 4,256 theaters (an addition of 14 cinemas) due to poor reviews and mixed word of mouth, establishing itself an infamous record for the seventh steepest drop for a superhero/comic book adapted film and the steepest decline since the -69% posted by X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009, despite facing little to no competition or new wide-releases and having the added benefit of 30% K–12 schools off, and 9% of colleges on break, per ComScore.[256][257] The steep drop also marks the fourth-biggest for a film that opened above $100 million (tied with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2).[228] In its third weekend it was overtaken by the comedy The Boss after falling 54% with $23.3 million.[258][259]

text: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice proved to be front-loaded, failing to generate significant revenue after its opening weekend/week release. It earned just 1.99 times ($330 million) its opening weekend numbers ($166 million), which is lower than Man of Steel's 2.28 multiplier.[260] Like other DC films, such as Watchmen, Green Lantern and Man of Steel, it opened to record breaking numbers but then dropped the following weekend onward due largely to bad critical reception and mixed word of mouth from audiences.[261] It earned just 1.99 times its opening weekend, the worst [multiplier] for a film opening above $100 million.[262] A similar result was followed by DC's third superhero film, Suicide Squad released in August 2016,[263] although Suicide Squad became less front loaded than Dawn of Justice.[264]

text: Outside North America[edit]

text: Internationally, it was projected to open between $180–200 million; however, Deadline.com pointed out that these figures were only early predictions pegged to the performance of similar films in their respective territories.[226] It opened in ten countries on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, earning $7 million and debuting at No. 1 in all markets on approximately 5,900 screens.[265][266] The following day, the film was released in 38 additional countries, earning $33.1 million on 19,700 screens for a two-day total of $44 million.[265] On March 25, it opened in the remaining 17 countries delivering $67.2 million in revenue, for a three-day total of $115.3 million in 62 countries on more than 30,000 screens.[265] Through Sunday, March 27, it earned an opening-weekend total of $256.5 million from 66 countries on over 40,000 screens, making it the biggest superhero opening weekend of all time, the biggest overall March opening, the second-biggest opening ever for Warner Bros., and the fifth-biggest international opening on record.[216][267] The film's accomplishements also included the second-biggest IMAX opening record of $18 million, behind only Jurassic World which tallied $23.5 million.[216] 3D accounted 59% or $149.86 million of the weekend gross led by China (98%), Germany (88%), Brazil (81%), Russia (55%), and France (51%).[216] As with North America, the film witnessed a steep decline in its second Friday internationally, falling 72% to $19.2 million, with the biggest decline in the U.K. (77%) and China (87%).[268][269] Its second weekend earnings fell 66% overall to $85.25 million.[227] Despite the decline, the film topped the box office for three consecutive weekends.[270]

text: In Mexico, it had the biggest opening day for Warner Bros. and the second-biggest of all time with $5.8 million, including record-breaking midnight showings.[265] It also scored the biggest opening day of all time in Brazil ($3.5 million) and the biggest opening day for a superhero film in Germany ($2.8 million).[271] Elsewhere, it opened in the United Kingdom and Ireland ($9 million), Australia ($2.5 million), India ($2.54 million), Russia ($1.9 million), South Korea ($1.7 million), Japan ($1.2 million), the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong ($1.1 million respectively).[265][271] In China, it earned $21.22 million on its opening day, including around $1.34 million worth of previews, which is the biggest for Warner Bros. and the sixth-biggest Hollywood opening day of all time.[265][272] However, other Chinese sources have the film open to around $20 million.[273][274] In terms of opening weekends, the biggest openings were recorded in China ($57.2 million), the United Kingdom and Ireland ($20.7 million), Mexico ($18.2 million), Brazil ($12 million), South Korea ($10.2 million), Australia ($9.9 million), France ($8.6 million), Germany ($8.1 million), Russia ($7.7 million), India ($6.6 million), Spain ($6.1 million) and Japan ($4.5 million).[216][275] It broke all-time opening record in Brazil and Warner Bros. opening records in Mexico, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.[216] In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it benefited from the long Easter weekend holiday and despite a distinctly mixed bag of reviews in the U.K. press, it posted an opening £14.62 million or $20.7 million from 612 theaters, a record for 2016 so far and for a superhero title on straight Friday to Sunday, but fell short of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, when accounting for previews.[276][277]

text: In Japan, it opened in third place, behind two local films, Assassination Classroom: Graduation and Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan 2016.[278] In South Korea, it scored the biggest March opening after opening on a Tuesday and dominating 68.3% of the market share with $10.2 million.[279] In China, after scoring the biggest Hollywood opening Friday (behind Transformers: Age of Extinction),[280] it earned an estimated $57.2 million from approximately 16,000 screens in its opening weekend, besting all other DC Comics adaption film just by its weekend haul except for Man of Steel and gave Warner Bros. its biggest three day opening there with $7 million coming from 557 IMAX screens.[216][281] However, the opening figure fell below analysts projections of $70–80 million.[282] It held the top spot for its first seven days only, after which it faced stiff competitions from local productions,[269] and fell dramatically from then onwards in accruing revenue.[283] As a result, it fell to third place in its second weekend after falling enormously by 78% to $12.7 million, a record for a superhero film.[227][284]

text: It became the Warner Bros.' highest-grossing film of all time in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.[285] It also crossed $100 million Latin American markets, making it Warner Bros.' second highest-grossing film there.[285] In total earnings, its biggest markets outside of North America are China ($95 million), which analysts predicted that it would not cross $100 million there, followed by the UK ($52.1 million), Mexico ($36 million) and Brazil ($35.5 million).[286]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice received generally negative reviews from film critics.[287][288][289][290] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 27% based on 360 reviews, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice smothers a potentially powerful story – and some of America's most iconic superheroes – in a grim whirlwind of effects-driven action."[291] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average to critics' reviews, gave the film an average score of 44 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[292] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[293] It earned "B–" from men, "B" from women, a "B" from those under 25 and a "B–" from those over 25.[249] BBC News reported that, "the film had been widely praised by fans after its first screening in New York".[294]

text: Critics were generally less enthusiastic. Lindy West in The Guardian described it as "153 minutes of a grown man whacking two dolls together", asking "(h)as the definition of 'movie' changed from 'motion picture story that a human wrote on purpose' to '700 only tangentially related 12-second grey and red vignettes'?"[295] A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote: "The point of Batman v Superman isn't fun, and it isn't thinking, either. It's obedience. The theology is invoked ... to buttress a spectacle of power. And in that way the film serves as a metaphor for its own aspirations. The corporations that produce movies like this one, and the ambitious hacks who sign up to make them, have no evident motive beyond their own aggrandizement."[296] Writing in The Telegraph, Robbie Collin called the film "humourless" and "the most incoherent blockbuster in years".[297] Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters said, "As you’re watching this movie, you might also contemplate your own part, in being swayed into consuming so much of what you’ve consumed before." Adding, "Wonder Woman’s remains Batman v Superman‘s most compelling story, precisely because it’s untold."[298] Matt Patches of Thrillist wrote "what Batman v Superman can do, it does, at the cost of coherency and thrills. The movie is bat-shit crazy. A dour, disdainful demeanor, plus a gluttony of complex plot twists, dissipates most of the contact high."[299] Michael Philips of Chicago Tribune wrote, "A near-total drag, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice plays like a loose, unofficial quarter-billion-dollar remake of The Odd Couple, in which Oscar and Felix are literally trying to kill each other."[300] On his podcast Hollywood Babble-On, film director Kevin Smith, a long-time friend and collaborator of Affleck, praised Affleck's performance but panned the film, commenting that it "didn't really have a heart" and was "humorless", arguing that "there seems to be a fundamental lack of understanding of what those characters are about. It's almost like Zack Snyder didn’t read a bunch of comics, he read one comic once, and it was [The] Dark Knight Returns, and his favorite part was the last part where Batman and Superman fight."[301] On a second viewing, however, Smith via his Instagram lightened his stance.[302] Jeremy Irons expressed displeasure with the film, feeling it was "deservedly so" savaged by critics and calling the feature "very muddled" while expressing hope that the forthcoming Justice League (2017) would be better due to its story being "...a lot smaller, it's more linear".[303]

text: Conversely, David Betancourt of The Washington Post and Scott Mendelson of Forbes praised the film's visual spectacle and performances from Affleck and Gadot, though Mendelson also called the film "an utter mess of thinly sketched characters, haphazard plotting, surprisingly jumbled action".[304][305] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film "better than Man of Steel but below the high bar set by Nolan's Dark Knight, adding that "Dawn of Justice is still a colossus, the stuff that DC Comics dreams are made of for that kid in all of us who yearns to see Batman and Superman suit up and go in for the kill."[306] Jake Coyle of Associated Press wrote, "it hurtles not with the kinetic momentum of Mad Max: Fury Road nor the comparatively spry skip of a Marvel movie, but with an operatic grandeur it sometimes earns and often doesn't."[307] Mark Hughes of Forbes called it "the follow-up to The Dark Knight that many viewers and fans wanted or hoped for", adding that it's "visually stunning, with powerful emotional storytelling and awe-inspiring action spectacle."[308] Andrew Barker of Variety said "as a pure visual spectacle... Batman V Superman ably blows the hinges off the multiplex doors."[309] Charles Koplinski of the Illinois Times called it "a brooding, but most importantly intelligent take on the seminal figures of our 20th century pop culture mythology, a movie that at once pays tribute to these characters' roots while offering up modern incarnations of them that ring true for our times."[310] Nicolas Barber of the BBC called the film "a four-star epic" praising Affleck's performance as Batman and the visual grandeur of Fong's cinematography.[311] Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian gave an ambivalent review; he especially criticized the "very bad writing", but conceded "there are a lot of moments... that work" and praised Affleck and Gadot's performances, calling Gadot as Wonder Woman the best thing in the film.[312]

text: Multiple commentators have criticized Eisenberg on the grounds that his interpretation of Lex Luthor hewed too close to character traits associated with another DC Comics villain, the Joker.[313] Even before the film was released, Affleck compared Eisenberg's performance to that of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.[314] Once the film came out, critics lambasted Eisenberg's take on Luthor. Sonny Bunch of The Washington Post lamented that "As the film progresses, Lex degenerates into a gibbering mad man, some strange mix of the Riddler and the Joker with a little bit of Mark Zuckerberg added for flair."[315] Charlie Jane Anders of Gizmodo wrote that "Someone clearly told Jesse Eisenberg that this movie is the Dark Knight to Man of Steel’s Batman Begins, and he’s doing his damndest to give a Heath Ledger-esque performance... Watching the trailers, I had thought Eisenberg’s loopy acting might be this movie’s saving grace – but a concentrated dose of his faux mania actually turns out to be the worst thing." Andy Scott of Grunge, in an article titled "How Jesse Eisenberg Ruined Batman v Superman," wrote that "Eisenberg's speech patterns and mannerisms felt almost entirely lifted from Ledger's iconic performance, to the point where he walked the dangerous grey line between respectful homage and downright thievery."[316]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
List of awards and nominations

Award
Category
Recipient(s)
Result
Ref(s)

Critics' Choice Awards
Best Actress in an Action Movie
Gal Gadot
Nominated
[317]

Golden Raspberry Awards
Worst Picture
Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder
Nominated
[318]
[319]

Worst Director
Zack Snyder
Nominated

Worst Screenplay
Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer
Won

Worst Actor
Ben Affleck
Nominated

Henry Cavill
Nominated

Worst Supporting Actor
Jesse Eisenberg
Won

Worst Screen Combo
Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill
Won

Worst Prequel, Remake, Ripoff or Sequel
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Won

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
Favorite Movie
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Nominated
[320]

Favorite Movie Actress
Amy Adams
Nominated

Favorite Movie Actor
Ben Affleck
Nominated

Henry Cavill
Nominated

Favorite Butt-Kicker
Ben Affleck
Nominated

Henry Cavill
Nominated

Favorite Frenemies
Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill
Nominated

People's Choice Awards
Favorite Action Movie
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Nominated
[321]

Saturn Awards
Best Comic-to-Film Motion Picture
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Nominated
[322]

Teen Choice Awards
Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie - Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Nominated
[323]

Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Henry Cavill
Nominated

Ben Affleck
Nominated

Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Amy Adams
Nominated

Choice Movie: Scene Stealer
Gal Gadot
Nominated

Choice Movie: Villain
Jesse Eisenberg
Nominated

Choice Movie: Liplock
Henry Cavill and Amy Adams
Nominated

Jupiter Awards
Best International film
Zack Snyder
Nominated

Golden Trailer Awards
Most Original Poster
Warner Bros. Pictures
Won

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
Best Actress in an Action Movie
Gal Gadot
Nominated

text: Home media[edit]

text: An extended cut of the film dubbed the Ultimate Edition was released on home media platforms, alongside the theatrical cut. This version received an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, for more violence than the PG-13 rated theatrical cut,[93][324] and is longer by 31 minutes,[325] totalling 182 minutes.[326][327] The film debuted in first place on the home video sales chart for the week ending July 24, 2016.[328] With the release of the Ultimate Edition, which was the director's original version of the film before additional editing, critics noted that the film would have likely been better received with the additional footage.[329][330] Ben Kendrick of Screen Rant stated that while it was more "intelligible", character portrayal was not "fundamentally changed" and "for viewers who didn't like Man of Steel or Batman v Superman for larger reasons, such as tone, approach, and the darker characterization of DC’s most iconic heroes, the Ultimate Edition is only a longer... version of a film that... is likely to remain divisive, even if the final product is a better film."[331]

text: The film proved to be a financial success with its home video release. Making $20,524,500 in DVD sales, and $54,399,899 in Blu-Ray sales for a total of $74,924,399.[332]

text: Notes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ Even though the film never explicitly identifies the mysterious man who warns Bruce nor where he comes from, producer Deborah Snyder has confirmed that he is The Flash, played by Ezra Miller, who is traveling back in time.[7]
Jump up ^ While never identified onscreen or in the credits, beyond Luthor telling Superman the creature is "your doomsday," actor Robin Atkin Downes has identified the character as Doomsday.[8]

tag: ol


document_title: MLS Cup

question_text: when was the last time the la galaxy won the mls cup

question_tokens: when was the last time the la galaxy won the mls cup

root

text: MLS Cup

text: History[edit]

text: D.C. United's Early Successes[edit]

text: The MLS Cup's roots trace back to the foundation of Major League Soccer, when the league decided to have a championship format similar to its contemporary North American sports leagues by having the season culminate in a postseason tournament to determine the league champion.

tag: p

text: For the first few MLS Cup finals, the championship was dominated by D.C. United, who appeared in the first four MLS Cup finals, winning three of them. The inaugural MLS Cup, MLS Cup '96 was the first MLS Cup championship match, featuring United and Los Angeles Galaxy. The inaugural match had the Galaxy take an early 1–0 lead, and double in early in the second half. However, their lead was relinquished towards the end of the match when Tony Sanneh pulled one back in the 72nd minute. Nine minutes later, Shawn Medved tied the match at two, resulting in overtime between the two sides. Four minutes into overtime, Eddie Pope gave United the golden goal victory.

text: In 1997, the second league cup final was contested at RFK Stadium, where United won back-to-back titles, a feat that would not be accomplished for another decade (when Houston Dynamo won the 2006 and 2007 finals). The game ended 2–1 in United's favor over Colorado Rapids, who would not win a championship until 2010. Jaime Moreno was declared Man of the Match for his goal in the 37th minute of play. This season was also the first time in league history any MLS team won the regular season (Supporters' Shield) and postseason title in the same season.

text: D.C. United's run ended the third year, when they made a third run to the MLS Cup finals, only to lose to the expansion-side Chicago Fire by 2-0. However the following year, United repeated their "double" of winning both the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup the same season. This time, it was a 2–0 win over the Galaxy in the 1999 MLS Cup final.

text: Rise of the California Clásico[edit]

text: For the first time since 1997, the 2000 MLS Cup final saw a new club reach the finals along with the Fire. This time the Kansas City Wizards won their first MLS Cup with a 1–0 victory over the Fire.

text: From 2001 through 2004, the MLS Cup finals saw a rising of the California Clásico when stateside rivals, L.A. Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes clashed together in the 2001 final. The match also saw the rise of U.S. national Landon Donovan who won a Newcomer of the Year award and tallied the equalizer in the Earthquakes 2–1 championship victory over the Galaxy.

text: With the largest crowd in MLS Cup history at hand, the New England Revolution took on the Galaxy in the 2002 finals. For the match, over 61,000 fans were in attendance at Gillette Stadium to witness the final. In the second period of sudden-death overtime, the Galaxy nabbed their first MLS Cup title, and sparked the start of a string of MLS Cup losses for the Revolution.

text: The 2003 final saw the league leaders for that season go head-to-head. Two clubs that had MLS Cup experience, the Fire and Earthquakes, played for the final that year. The two clubs had successful regular season campaigns with the Fire winning their first ever Supporters' Shield, and the Earthquakes being the Western Conference regular season and post-season champions as well as having the second best overall regular season record. In a hotly contested match, the Earthquakes won with their second MLS Cup title with a 4–2 score making it the highest scoring MLS Cup final in league history (six goals).

text: After a four-year absence, United made their fifth trip to the MLS Cup final, playing against the Wizards for MLS Cup 2004. The match had four goals scored in the first 25 minutes, with United rallying for a 3–1 lead. Midway through the second half, United had relinquished a penalty kick. Josh Wolff scored for Kansas City, bringing the game within a goal. D.C. United was able to retain the lead, by winning their fourth MLS Cup title, by a score of 3–2.

text: Format changes[edit]

text: Until 2005, the MLS Cup championship games had been dominated by clubs that had either won or had come close to winning the Supporters Shield. In the 2005 MLS Cup championship, the match was won by the Los Angeles Galaxy, who won the league title by having a 9th-place overall record.[3] Consequently, the Wizards had a better record, but did not qualify for the playoffs because they finished 5th in the Eastern Conference, in spite of an 8th-place overall record.[3] The result prompted MLS to create new wild-cards that were used starting in 2006, where only a certain number of clubs per conference could qualify, and the next best overall teams regardless of conference would also qualify. That in itself prompted debates about the league switching to a single table and a balanced schedule. The single table has yet been instituted, but in 2010 the league instituted a balanced schedule.[4]

text: Scudetto era[edit]

text: At the start of the 2006 season, MLS created their version of the scudetto (Italian for "small shield"), a symbol worn on the jersey by the team who won the previous season's Serie A (the top Italian league).

text: The MLS scudetto was originally a curved, triangular badge featuring a backdrop of the American flag behind a replica of the Alan I. Rothenberg MLS Cup trophy. First worn by Los Angeles Galaxy in 2006, following their 2005 MLS Cup title,[5] the Houston Dynamo wore the same triangular scudettos in 2007 and 2008 during their dual-cup run. It was redesigned after the 2008 season after the change to the MLS Cup trophy. It is now an oval-shaped black badge with the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy in the middle. The MLS scudetto is worn by the winning team the season following the victory. It is only during the subsequent season (two years after winning the championship), that the team adds a star – a common soccer signifier of titles won – above the team logo. The team can display the star on other items beside their jersey in the year after winning the Cup, but only if the scudetto is not shown. The Columbus Crew was the first team to wear the redesigned scudetto. Real Salt Lake would wear the scudetto in 2010 after winning their first MLS cup in 2009. A year after the Colorado Rapids would also wear the scudetto after their cup run in 2010 for the 2011 season. Finally the Los Angeles Galaxy would wear the scudetto after winning the MLS Cup in 2011, ironically it would be the last team to wear the redesigned scudetto. After the 2012 season, MLS decided not to use the scudetto for upcoming season and instead the defending MLS Cup champions would have a gold star above one or more silver stars indication the team's MLS Cup wins, followed by an additional silver star added to the lined stars the following season. The Los Angeles Galaxy were the first to receive the gold star above the team's three silver stars for the 2013 season.

text: "Buffalo Bills" of MLS[edit]

text: While the Galaxy earned their second MLS Cup trophy and the Houston Dynamo earned consecutive cups, the New England Revolution went on a run of making three consecutive MLS Cup finals, losing all of them. Two of their three losses were in extra time, while the other was lost on penalty kicks. The infamy gave the club the title of being the Buffalo Bills (an NFL American football team) of MLS.[6] This was in reference to the Buffalo Bills Super Bowl games in the early 1990s, in which they lost in every single appearance. In the 2005 final, they lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy, a rematch of 2002, in the final. Held at Pizza Hut Park (now Toyota Stadium) in Frisco, Texas, the Galaxy defeated the Revolution by a score of 1–0 thanks to a 105th-minute overtime goal from Galaxy midfielder and Guatemalan international, Guillermo Ramírez. Ramírez's goal sealed the Galaxy's second MLS Cup title, and left the Revs searching once again.

text: In 2006, the championship was once again played in Frisco at Pizza Hut Park. This time the Revolution took on the Houston Dynamo. Both were coming off a successful season, in which they fell short of winning the Supporters' Shield. A sellout crowd of 22,427 attended the match, which is to date the largest crowd in the stadium's history.[citation needed] Revolution forward Taylor Twellman scored an overtime goal in the 113th minute to give the Revolution the 1–0 lead. However, Dynamo captain and forward Brian Ching immediately tied the score following the Revolution's goal. The match went to penalties, in which the Dynamo won 4–3. This left the Revolution for a second-consecutive year searching for league glory. It was also the first time in league history that a club made the MLS Cup final and lost consecutively.[7]

text: In the 2007 final, the Revolution and Dynamo played each other once again for the 2007 cup. Played in Washington, D.C. at RFK Stadium, a crowd just shy of 40,000 witnessed the championship.[7] The announced crowd of 39,859 made it the largest MLS Cup crowd since 2002.[citation needed] The Revolution had a successful season, earning their first U.S. Open Cup title. The Revolution wanted their first ever MLS Cup crown, and wanted to win their first ever "Double" in club history. Houston, finishing just shy once again to D.C. United of winning the MLS Supporters' Shield were determined to finish their second season with some hardware, and to defend their MLS Cup title.[7] The match went in the Revolution's favor early on, as the Revolution's captain, Twellman, netted in the 20th minute to give New England a 1–0 lead. However, midway through the second half, the Dynamo retaliated. Dynamo striker Joseph Ngwenya leveled things at one apiece in the 61st minute, and MLS Cup Man of the Match, Dwayne De Rosario gave the Dynamo a 2–1 lead in the 74th.[7] The goal also proved to be the winning goal, as the Dynamo earned the first back-to-back MLS Cup titles since D.C. United in 1996 and 1997.[7]

text: Underdogs winning the cup[edit]

text: Early in the 2008 Major League Soccer season, the league announced that the championship would be returning to Home Depot Center. Throughout the regular season, the league was dominated by the Columbus Crew, who finished the season with 57 points, and secured the Supporters' Shield title with three matches remaining before the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs. Traditionally, the Shield winners only rarely made it to the league championship, in spite of usually being the heavy favorites going into the playoffs. However, for the first time in eight years, a regular season champion made it to the MLS Cup final. The Sigi Schmid-led club made their first ever run to the championship, along with their opponents the New York Red Bulls. For the Crew, being the Shield winners, their run to the final was a bit expected. The Red Bulls making the final was seen as a large surprise, possibly even a fluke. The Red Bulls did not qualify for the playoffs until the last day of the season, where they were the weakest team, in terms of regular season record, to qualify for the playoffs. The match ended up being dominated by the Crew as Columbus defeated New York with ease, 3–1. The point gap between the two clubs was the largest in history, and the scoreline between the two clubs made it tied for the largest margin of victory in MLS Cup history. New York's run to the finals was further emphasized as a fluke when the club had the worst record in 2009.

text: The following championship saw two intra-conference clubs meet in the final for the second consecutive year, this time in Seattle's Qwest Field (now CenturyLink Field). The Western Conference regular season and postseason champions, Los Angeles Galaxy took on Real Salt Lake, who finished fifth in the West. Although the Sounders FC management had originally planned on capping the seats available in Qwest Field to 35,700, surging demand led to the release of an additional 10,000 seats, expanding the total capacity to roughly 45,700. The announced crowd was 46,011. The crowd size was the first championship crowd since 2002 to draw over 45,000 spectators. Televised on ESPN, it was the first time that the MLS championship match was televised on the cable network; the first thirteen were carried on ABC. In the 41st minute, Galaxy striker Mike Magee scored, only for Salt Lake's Robbie Findley to make the tying goal in the 61st. The stalemate was not broken in regulation nor overtime, requiring penalty kicks to decide the match. Thanks to a strike from Salt Lake's Robbie Russell, Salt Lake won their first major trophy. By winning the championship, they gained entry into the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League. There, they made it to the final, only to lose to Monterrey of Mexico.

text: At the 2010 season's end, six teams from the Western Conference qualified for the playoffs, whereas only two clubs from the East qualified, making it the largest disparity between the two conferences in league history. The league's seeding at the time awarded conference winners earned the top seeds, the two weakest Western Conference teams, San Jose Earthquakes and Colorado Rapids were seeded against the Eastern Conference champion, New York Red Bulls and runner-up Columbus Crew, respectively. Some cited this as an unfair advantage for the Rapids and Earthquakes, as both teams made the semi-finals. In the end, the Rapids played FC Dallas for MLS Cup 2010, winning 2–1 in overtime.

text: Galaxy dynasty[edit]

text: Between the 2011 and 2014 MLS Cups, the LA Galaxy appeared in three MLS Cup finals, winning every single final, having the most success in MLS Cup in a short period of time since United's late 1990's dynasty. The only final that the Galaxy did not win, came in 2013, where they lost in the 2013 Western Conference finals to eventual runner-up, Real Salt Lake. During that time, the Galaxy became the first MLS franchise to win five MLS Cups, when they won MLS Cup 2014. These teams contained several high-profile players including Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, Gyasi Zardes, David Beckham and Omar Gonzalez.

text: Some claim that the Galaxy's dynasty began in 2009, when they reached the playoffs for the first time since 2005, and marched to the finals, only to lose on penalties to Real Salt Lake. In 2010, and again, in 2011, the Galaxy won consecutive Supporters' Shield, and completed the league double winning both the Shield and MLS Cup in 2011. This was the first time this had been accomplished since the Columbus Crew achieved it in 2008. In the 2011 MLS Cup final, the Galaxy defeated the Houston Dynamo, 1–0 off a 72nd minute Donovan goal. The goal was scored off a Galaxy counter where Beckham fed a through ball to Donovan who slotted it past Hall. The 2012 final featured both the Galaxy and Dynamo again, making it the first since 2007 that an MLS Cup final was a rematch of the previous final. Again, the Galaxy won the final, this time coming from behind to defeat the Dynamo by a 3–1 scoreline. The match was Beckham's final MLS match.

text: During the 2013 season, the Galaxy's chance to three-peat was thwarted by Real Salt Lake. Salt Lake defeated the Galaxy, 2–1 on aggregate, to advance to the MLS Cup final, where they eventually lost to Sporting Kansas City.

text: The following season, the Galaxy reached the MLS Cup final again, playing the New England Revolution, making it a rematch of MLS Cup 2002 and MLS Cup 2005. In extra-time a Robbie Keane goal propelled the Galaxy to their fifth MLS match, a victory in the 2014 MLS Cup.

text: Cascadia wins and first Canadian victory[edit]

text: The Portland Timbers won the 2015 MLS Cup, defeating the Columbus Crew 2–1. Portland's Diego Valeri scored the fastest goal in MLS Cup history at 27 seconds when Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark made a fundamental error after he miscontrolled his defender's back-pass while Valeri had advanced towards the ball to strike at the opportunity.[8]

text: The Seattle Sounders FC faced Toronto FC in the 2016 MLS Cup, which was played at BMO Field in Toronto on the evening of December 10, 2016. The temperature at the start of the match was 21 °F (−6 °C) (10 °F (−12 °C), when adjusted for wind chill), with strong winds coming off Lake Ontario. The field was watered shortly before the match, and resultant field was described as icy by players. The Seattle Sounders FC defeated Toronto FC 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out after a scoreless match of 90 minutes regular time and 30 minutes overtime. The Sounders did not register a single shot on goal, becoming the first MLS club to do so in a match, regular season or otherwise. The Sounders, despite a very poor start and mid-season managerial change, became the second team from the Pacific Northwest to win the cup, after Portland in 2015.

text: In the 2017 MLS Cup, Toronto FC and Seattle faced off in a rematch of the previous edition, also at BMO Field. Toronto FC won the match 2–0, and became the first Canadian team to win the MLS Cup, and the first MLS team to complete a domestic treble, after winning the Canadian Championship and Supporters' Shield earlier in the year.[9]

text: Broadcasting[edit]

text: The first 13 Cup finals were aired on ABC. ESPN was awarded the rights in 2008. All MLS Cup playoff games are televised on ESPN, Fox Sports, or Univisión networks. UniMás will air two exclusive playoff matches, while ESPN and its affiliated networks will split the rest of the contests – including MLS Cup – with Fox Sports. Univision also airs the MLS Cup in Spanish.[10]

text: The 2016 edition of the final was the first to be aired by Fox.[11]

text: Format[edit]

text: Over the history of the MLS Cup Playoffs, numerous formats have been used.

text: From 1996 to 1999 and 2003 to 2006, the top four teams per conference qualified for the playoffs.

text: In 2000 and 2001, the three division winners plus the next five teams with the next best records made the playoffs.

text: In 2002, the top 8 teams qualified for the playoffs regardless of conference.

text: In 2007, the top two teams per conference plus the next four teams with the next most points qualified.

text: At the 2008 season's end, the top three teams of each conference made the playoffs; in addition the clubs with the next two highest point totals, regardless of conference, were added to the playoffs. In the first round of this knockout tournament, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners; the Conference Championships were one match each, with the winner of each conference advancing to MLS Cup. In all rounds, the tie-breaking method was two 15-minute periods of overtime, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was not used.

text: At the 2009 and 2010 season's end, the top two teams of each conference made the playoffs; in addition the clubs with the next 4 highest point totals, regardless of conference, were added to the playoffs. In the first round of this knockout tournament, aggregate (total) goals over two matches determined the winners; the Conference Championships were one match each, with the winner of each conference advancing to MLS Cup. In all rounds, the tie-breaking method was two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was not used.[12]

text: At 2011 season's end, the top three clubs in each of the league's two conferences earned the six automatic spots in the conference semi-finals.[13] The wild-card entrants, seeded seventh through tenth, entered based upon their overall position in a single table of the league standings.[13] The new format was assembled so that the weakest seed to qualify out of the wild-card rounds had to play the Supporters' Shield winner.[13] The other entrant played the conference champion that did not win the Shield.[13]

text: The play-ins proper were single matches, with the higher seeded club playing at their home field.[13] The conference semi-finals were two-leg aggregate series.[13]

text: The conference championships were single matches at the field of the higher seed; the cup final was at a predetermined venue.[13]

text: From the 2012 season through 2014, the playoff structure were further tweaked. While the number of playoff teams remained at 10, the "wild cards" disappeared. Instead, the top five teams in each conference qualified. The No. 4 seed in each conference hosted the No. 5 seed in a single match for a place in the conference semi-finals against the top seed in its conference. The conference semi-finals remained two-legged while the conference finals changed from a single match to a two-leg aggregate series. Finally, the MLS Cup final was held at the home field of the finalist with the highest point total during the regular season. Since 2014 the away goals rule is used, but does not apply after extra time.[14]

text: From 2015, the top six teams per conference qualify for the playoffs (12 total teams). The first round of each conference involves the No. 3 seed hosting the No. 6 seed, and the No. 4 hosting No. 5. In the Conference Semi-finals the top seed plays the lowest remaining seed, and the No. 2 seed plays the next lowest seed.

text: Champions[edit]

text: The winner of Major League Soccer's MLS Cup, the final match of the MLS Cup Playoffs, determines that season's league champion. The playoff tournament is organized by the league at the conclusion of the regular season in a format similar to other North American professional sports leagues. The tournament is open to the top six clubs of the Eastern and Western Conference.

text: The first MLS Cup final was played on October 20, 1996. As of 2016, the record for the most championships is held by the Los Angeles Galaxy with five cup titles. The record for the most championships lost is held by the New England Revolution, who lost the game five times during their history. The championship has been won by the same team in two or more consecutive years on three occasions.

text: Results[edit]

text:
Season
Date
Champions
Final Score
Runners-up
Venue
Attendance
U.S. television

1996 MLS Cup !1996
October 20
D.C. United
 †3–2 *
Los Angeles Galaxy
Foxboro Stadium
34,643
ABC

1997 MLS Cup !1997
October 26
D.C. United
2–1
Colorado Rapids
RFK Memorial Stadium
57,431

1998 MLS Cup !1998
October 25
Chicago Fire
2–0
D.C. United
Rose Bowl
51,350

1999 MLS Cup !1999
November 21
D.C. United
2–0
Los Angeles Galaxy
Foxboro Stadium
44,910

2000 MLS Cup !2000
October 15
Kansas City Wizards
1–0
Chicago Fire
RFK Memorial Stadium
39,159

2001 MLS Cup !2001
October 21
San Jose Earthquakes
2–1 *
Los Angeles Galaxy
Crew Stadium
21,626

2002 MLS Cup !2002
October 20
Los Angeles Galaxy
 †1–0 *
New England Revolution
Gillette Stadium
61,316

2003 MLS Cup !2003
November 23
San Jose Earthquakes
4–2
Chicago Fire
Home Depot Center
27,000

2004 MLS Cup !2004
November 14
D.C. United
3–2
Kansas City Wizards
Home Depot Center
25,797

2005 MLS Cup !2005
November 13
Los Angeles Galaxy
 †1–0 *
New England Revolution
Pizza Hut Park
21,193

2006 MLS Cup !2006
November 12
Houston Dynamo
 †1–1 †
New England Revolution
Pizza Hut Park
22,427

2007 MLS Cup !2007
November 18
Houston Dynamo
2–1
New England Revolution
RFK Memorial Stadium
39,859

2008 MLS Cup !2008
November 23
Columbus Crew
3–1
New York Red Bulls
Home Depot Center
27,000

2009 MLS Cup !2009
November 22
Real Salt Lake
 †1–1 †
Los Angeles Galaxy
Qwest Field
46,011
ESPN

2010 MLS Cup !2010
November 21
Colorado Rapids
 †2–1 *
FC Dallas
BMO Field
21,700

2011 MLS Cup !2011
November 20
Los Angeles Galaxy
1–0
Houston Dynamo
Home Depot Center
30,281

2012 MLS Cup !2012
December 1
Los Angeles Galaxy
3–1
Houston Dynamo
Home Depot Center
30,510

2013 MLS Cup !2013
December 7
Sporting Kansas City
 †1–1 †
Real Salt Lake
Sporting Park
21,650

2014 MLS Cup !2014
December 7
Los Angeles Galaxy
2–1 *
New England Revolution
StubHub Center
27,000

2015 MLS Cup !2015
December 6
Portland Timbers
2–1
Columbus Crew SC
Mapfre Stadium
21,747

2016 MLS Cup !2016
December 10
Seattle Sounders FC
0–0 †
Toronto FC
BMO Field
36,045
Fox

2017 MLS Cup !2017
December 9
Toronto FC
2–0
Seattle Sounders FC
BMO Field
30,584
ESPN

tag: table

text:
Key

*
Match went to extra time

†
Match decided by a penalty shootout after overtime

Bold
Team won the MLS Supporters' Shield

Italics
Team won the U.S. Open Cup or the Canadian Championship

text: Records and statistics[edit]

text: MLS Cup titles[edit]

text: As of the 2018 season, a total of 23 teams have competed in MLS. Fifteen of these teams have appeared in a cup final, with 12 of these teams having won the MLS Cup.

text:
Club
Winner
Runner-up
Years won
Years runner-up

LA Galaxy
5
4
2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014
1996, 1999, 2001, 2009

D.C. United
4
1
1996, 1997, 1999, 2004
1998

Houston Dynamo
2
2
2006, 2007
2011, 2012

Sporting Kansas City
2
1
2000, 2013
2004

San Jose Earthquakes
2
0
2001, 2003

Chicago Fire
1
2
1998
2000, 2003

Columbus Crew
1
1
2008
2015

Real Salt Lake
1
1
2009
2013

Colorado Rapids
1
1
2010
1997

Seattle Sounders FC
1
1
2016
2017

Toronto FC
1
1
2017
2016

Portland Timbers
1
0
2015

New England Revolution
0
5

2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2014

New York Red Bulls
0
1

2008

FC Dallas
0
1

2010

text: MLS Cup finalists records in CONCACAF competition[edit]

text: For most of the league's history, the MLS Cup champions and runners-up have earned berths into the CONCACAF Champions League.

text:
Champions
Runners-up
Third place

text:
QR1 = Qualification First Round
PR = Preliminary round
GS = Group stage
R16 = Round of 16
QF = Quarter-finals
SF = Semi-finals or Consolation match
CON = Consolation match
F = Final

tag: ul

text:
Year
MLS Cup Champions
Result
MLS Cup Runners-up
Result

1997
D.C. United
CON
LA Galaxy
F

1998
D.C. United
F
Colorado Rapids
QR1

1999
Chicago Fire
CON
D.C. United
CON

2000
D.C. United
CON
LA Galaxy
F

2002
Kansas City Wizards[1]
SF
Did not qualify

San Jose Earthquakes
QF
Chicago Fire
QF

2003
D.C. United
SF
Kansas City Wizards
QF

2006
LA Galaxy
QF
New England Revolution
QF

2007
Houston Dynamo
SF
Did not qualify[2]

2008
Houston Dynamo
SF

2008–09
Houston Dynamo
QF
New England Revolution
PR

2009–10
Columbus Crew
QF
New York Red Bulls
PR

2010–11
Real Salt Lake
F
LA Galaxy
PR

2011–12
Colorado Rapids
GS
FC Dallas
GS

2012–13
LA Galaxy
SF
Houston Dynamo
QF

2013–14
LA Galaxy
QF
Houston Dynamo
GS

2014–15
Sporting Kansas City
GS
Real Salt Lake
GS

2015–16
LA Galaxy
QF
Did not qualify[3]

2016–17
Portland Timbers
GS

2018
Toronto FC[4]
SF
Seattle Sounders FC
QF

2019
TBD

text:
^ 1: The 2001 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was canceled, so both MLS Cup 2000 winner, Kansas City Wizards and the MLS Cup 2001 winner, San Jose Earthquakes qualified for the 2002 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
^ 2: The other berth went to the Supporters' Shield winner.
^ 3: The runners-up berth was reallocated to the winner of the conference opposite that of the Supporters' Shield winner.
^ 4: Toronto FC qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League playoff by winning the 2016 Canadian Championship.

text: Trophies[edit]

text: Culminating the championship, the winning team is presented with a trophy, known as the Phillip F. Anschutz Trophy, named for the contributions and investment to American soccer and MLS by Phillip Anschutz. Typically, the award presentation is held on a podium in the center of the field, where the league commissioner will award the team with the cup.

text: Before the actual award presentation, the finalists are awarded with silver medals with the league's logo imprinted on them. The champions are then presented with gold medals, before the trophy is handed to the winning team's captain.

text: In cup history, the MLS Cup champions have been awarded with three different trophies. For the first three MLS Cup finals, the winning team was awarded with the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy, named for Rothenberg's contributions to American soccer. The Rothenberg Trophy was a dark gold trophy that had two handles around a soccer ball, with the league's logo imprinted on the plaque. In 1999, the Rothenberg Trophy was redesigned with a soccer ball placed on a beacon. In 2008, the trophy was redesigned again to its present state and renamed the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy.

text: Venues[edit]

text: In MLS Cup history, seven matches have been played in the Greater Los Angeles area. The next closest is the Washington, D.C. metro area, which has hosted three finals, all of which have been played at RFK Stadium, and Toronto, which hosted the matches three times at BMO Field.

text: Through the 2011 season every MLS Cup had been played at a predetermined site (i.e., announced before the playoff participants were known). On the day before the 2011 Cup, MLS announced that starting in 2012, Cup finals would be hosted by the participant with the highest point total during the regular season.[14]

text: Before the 2012 Cup and the change to awarding the final to the participant with the higher point total, only three teams played the match on their home field. In the 1997 MLS Cup final, D.C. United won the match in their home stadium over Colorado Rapids,[15] RFK Stadium. The same occurrence applied in the 2002 MLS Cup final, where the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the New England Revolution 1–0, in the Revolution's home stadium Gillette Stadium. As a result, the 1997 and 2002 MLS Cup finals have drawn the largest crowds in MLS Cup history.[16] In 2011, the LA Galaxy won their 2011 MLS Cup match in their home stadium (Home Depot Center), 1–0, over the Houston Dynamo. The Galaxy became the second team (and first since D.C. United in 1997) to win the Cup at home.

text: After MLS adopted its current criteria for awarding the MLS Cup match, the first three Cup finals were won by the hosts. The 2012 MLS Cup saw a rematch of the 2011 Cup at the same site, with the Galaxy successfully defending the title with a 3–1 win. In 2013, Sporting Kansas City became the third team to win the cup in their home stadium (Children's Mercy Park) when they beat Real Salt Lake in the penalty kicks, which was the longest shootout in MLS Cup history.[17] Then, in 2014, the Galaxy defeated the New England Revolution 2–1 at the renamed StubHub Center in a match that was also notable as the final competitive match for U.S. national team all-time leading goal scorer Landon Donovan.[18] The pattern was broken in 2015, however, when the Portland Timbers defeated the Columbus Crew in the Crew's home stadium.

text: Through the 2011 season, MLS typically announced the championship location either prior to the start of its respective season, or even a few weeks into the campaign. For the 2011 championship, the league selected Home Depot Center in Carson, California, making it a fourth time the league's championship had been hosted at the venue.[19]

text: To date, the coldest MLS Cup final was the 2013 championship game played in Kansas City, Kansas at Sporting Kansas City's Children's Mercy Park where the temperature was 20 °F (−7 °C).[20] The hottest MLS Cup final was the 2005 championship game played in Frisco, Texas at FC Dallas's Pizza Hut Park where the temperature was 75 °F (23 °C).[21][22]

text: The 2010 edition of the MLS Cup was the first final in league history to be played outside of the United States. The match was played in Canada at Toronto's BMO Field, the home ground of MLS club Toronto FC.

text: Stadiums[edit]

text:
Name
Location
Hosted
Years hosted

StubHub Center
Carson, California
6
2003, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014

RFK Stadium
Washington, D.C.
3
1997, 2000, 2007

BMO Field
Toronto, Ontario
3
2010, 2016, 2017

MAPFRE Stadium
Columbus, Ohio
2
2001, 2015

Toyota Stadium
Frisco, Texas
2
2005, 2006

Foxboro Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts
2
1996, 1999

CenturyLink Field
Seattle, Washington
1
2009

Children's Mercy Park
Kansas City, Kansas
1
2013

Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts
1
2002

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California
1
1998

text: Italics indicate a stadium that is now inactive.

text: Most valuable player[edit]

text: Following each championship, a player on the winning club is awarded with the title of being the Most Valuable Player (MVP). Usually, but not necessarily, the winner of the award is the player who scores the game-winning goal, or sets up the game-winning goal. This is the case of the 2017, 2010, 2008 and 2007 recipients, who all scored game-winning goals, or assisted several goals for the winning side.

text: Exceptions to this occurred in 2000, 2009, and 2016, where the Most Valuable Player award went to goalkeepers Tony Meola, Nick Rimando, and Stefan Frei, respectively. Meola and Frei, with the Kansas City Wizards and Seattle Sounders FC, both earned shutouts for their respective teams in the cup, while Rimando made two saves in a penalty kick shootout to give Real Salt Lake the title over the Los Angeles Galaxy.

text: List of MVP award recipients[edit]

text:
Year
Winner
Position
Club

1996
 Marco Etcheverry
Midfielder
D.C. United

1997
 Jaime Moreno
Forward
D.C. United

1998
 Peter Nowak
Midfielder
Chicago Fire

1999
 Ben Olsen
Midfielder
D.C. United

2000
 Tony Meola
Goalkeeper
Kansas City Wizards

2001
 Dwayne De Rosario
Forward
San Jose Earthquakes

2002
 Carlos Ruiz
Forward
Los Angeles Galaxy

2003
 Landon Donovan
Forward
San Jose Earthquakes

2004
 Alecko Eskandarian
Forward
D.C. United

2005
 Guillermo Ramírez
Midfielder
Los Angeles Galaxy

2006
 Brian Ching
Forward
Houston Dynamo

2007
 Dwayne De Rosario
Midfielder
Houston Dynamo

2008
 Guillermo Barros Schelotto
Midfielder
Columbus Crew

2009
 Nick Rimando
Goalkeeper
Real Salt Lake

2010
 Conor Casey
Forward
Colorado Rapids

2011
 Landon Donovan
Forward
Los Angeles Galaxy

2012
 Omar Gonzalez
Defender
Los Angeles Galaxy

2013
 Aurélien Collin
Defender
Sporting Kansas City

2014
 Robbie Keane
Forward
Los Angeles Galaxy

2015
 Diego Valeri
Midfielder
Portland Timbers

2016
 Stefan Frei
Goalkeeper
Seattle Sounders FC

2017
 Jozy Altidore
Forward
Toronto FC

text: Players with multiple MLS Cup titles[edit]

text: At least 39 players have won 2 MLS Cups, mostly for teams with sequential or near-sequential titles (D.C. '96–'99, San Jose '01 and '03, L.A. '02 and '05, and '11–'12, and Houston '06–'07). Players who have won 2 cups with 2 different teams include Joseph Ngwenya, Brandon Prideaux, Frankie Hejduk, Brian Carroll, Ned Grabavoy, Nick Rimando, Will Johnson, Nat Borchers, Brad Evans, Chad Marshall, and Drew Moor.

text:
MLS Cups
Players (Years Won)

6
Landon Donovan ('01, '03, '05, '11, '12, '14)

5
Jeff Agoos ('96, '97, '99, '01, '03), Todd Dunivant ('03, '05, '11, '12, '14) and Brian Mullan ('02, '03, '06, '07, '10)

4
Jaime Moreno ('96, '97, '99, '04), Craig Waibel ('02, '03, '06, '07), Dwayne De Rosario ('01, '03, '06, '07), Eddie Robinson ('01, '03, '06, '07), and Josh Saunders ('03, '05, '11, '12),

3
Richard Mulrooney ('01, '03, '07), Marco Etcheverry ('96, '97, '99), Brian Kamler ('96, '97, '99), John Maessner ('96, '97, '99), Clint Peay ('96, '97, '99), Eddie Pope ('96, '97, '99), Richie Williams ('96, '97, '99), Chris Albright ('99, '02, '05), Brian Ching ('03, '06, '07), Jesse Marsch ('96, '97, '98), Alejandro Moreno ('02, '06, '08) and Ezra Hendrickson ('02, '04, '08), Pat Onstad ('03, '06, '07), Vitor Gomes Pereira Júnior ('11, '12, '14), Omar Gonzalez ('11, '12, '14), Robbie Keane ('11, '12, '14), A. J. DeLaGarza ('11, '12, '14), José Leonardo Ribeiro da Silva ('11, '12, '14)