LOS ANGELES (AP) ― “Man of Steel” leaped over box office expectations in a single weekend.
The Warner Bros. superhero film earned $113 million in its opening weekend at the box office, according to studio estimates Sunday. The retelling of Superman’s backstory earned an additional $12 million from Thursday screenings, bringing its domestic total to $125 million. Original box-office expectations for “Man of Steel” ranged from $75 million to $130 million.
“They finally got the Superman formula right,” said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. “Superhero movies really are the bread and butter of the summer box office. The fact that ‘Iron Man 3’ has the biggest opening of the year so far and ‘Man of Steel’ has the second biggest opening of the year just proves that.”
A scene from “Man of Steel.” (Warner Bros. Korea)
“Man of Steel,” which stars British actor Henry Cavill as Superman and Amy Adams as Lois Lane, also nabbed the record for June’s biggest opening away from “Toy Story 3,” the Disney-Pixar film which banked $110.3 million when it opened in 2010. “Superman Returns,” the previous Superman film starring Brandon Routh in the titular role, launched with $52.5 million in 2006.
The new take on Superman’s origin also performed solidly overseas, earning $71.6 million from 24 territories, including the Philippines, India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom, where “Man of Steel” earned $17.1 million. The film, which also stars Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon, is set to open next weekend in 27 more territories, such as Russia and China.
