When it comes to box office records, some movies will take what they can get. And Man of Steel has a lot riding on it at the moment. Its success is the future of DC Comics on the big screen, with both Justice League and an Untitled Batman Reboot waiting to hear how it fares with audiences both critically and monetarily before they can even begin to dream of moving forward.
Thus far, Man of Steel has pulled in an impressive $56.1 million through its Friday debut. The movie took in a little over $12 million from an early ticketing program set up through Walmart, which saw the film into theaters on Thursaday night at 7:30 pm. It then proceeded to pull in another $46 million from general audiences on Friday ($9 million of which came from Midnight showings). This makes it the biggest June opening in the history of cinema. It is also the second highest grossing opening of 2013, behind Iron Man 3.
Faster than a speeding bullet, word of mouth is spreading across the country. Despite some bad reviews (it is only at 57% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences are giving the film an A- cinema score. Early predictions have the film's final first weekend tally at $130, maybe a little over or under. That's almost $15 million more than Green Lantern made during its entire run ($53 million opening; $116 final domestic box office take). And it should have no problem out pacing 2006's Superman Returns with its $52 million opening and final $200 million domestic take.
This is an audience film, with fans generally applauding what they see. That means it has strong staying power at the box office. Expect word of mouth to keep Man of Steel afloat for at least a couple of weeks. All you DC comic fans who are anxiously awaiting the next step in their cinematic plan can breath a little easier. It looks like this is a hit. We may see Justice League after all.