erik lundegaard

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Sunday June 16, 2013

75 Years After Superman's Debut, 'Man of Steel' Sets June Box-Office Record

If projections hold, Zack Snyder's “Man of Steel” will set a June record with a $113 million opening weekend, besting the $110 million “Toy Story 3” grossed in June 2010. The weekend numbers here.

It will be the biggest June opening ever but only the 18th-biggest opening weekend ever. Currently, seven films have grossed more than $150 million on opening weekend, and five of those feature superheroes: “The Avengers” ($207), “Iron Man 3” ($174), “The Dark Knight Rises” ($160), “The Dark Knight” ($158), and “Spider-Man 3” ($151). And the non-superheroes are still superpowered: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” ($169) and “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” ($152).

Reactions to “Man of Steel,” among both critics and fanboys, have been mixed, so it'll be interesting to see how its number hold next weekend. Either way, up or down, the movie is destined to blow away the biggest-grossing Superman movie ever, Bryan Singer's “Superman Returns,” which grossed $200 million in 2006. Adjust for inflation, though, and “Man of Steel” has some ground to make up: “Superman: The Movie,” starring Christopher Reeve, grossed $134 million, or $450 million adjusted, in 1978. It was the second-highest grossing film of the year, after “Grease.”

Meanwhile, Seth Rogen's apocalyptic comedy, “This is the End,” performed well, if not superheroic, grossing $20 million after a Wednesday/Thursday tally of $12 million.

I suppose a Happy Anniversary is in order. It's been exactly 75 years since Superman debuted, in June 1938, in Action Comics #1.

Superman turns to the sun

Superman: a moment in the sun.

Posted at 10:54 AM on Sunday June 16, 2013 in category Movies - Box Office