Superman can lift up collapsing buildings, Godzilla-sized monsters and, now, the box office.
“Superman,” the newly rebooted comic book adventure starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, flew to $122 million in its first weekend of release. Those are strong ticket sales, enough to rank as the year’s third-largest debut after “A Minecraft Movie” ($162 million) and “Lilo & Stitch” ($146 million).
Turnout was slightly softer-than-expected at the international box office with $95 million from 78 markets, bringing its global tally to $217 million.
Warner Bros. and DC Studios have a lot at stake, and not just because “Superman” cost a hefty $225 million to produce and roughly $100 million to promote. The superhero film is the first entry in the relaunched DC Universe and has the colossal responsibly of igniting a new interconnected comic book universe for the studio. (“Supergirl,” featuring the caped hero’s cousin, arrives in summer 2026.) James Gunn and Peter Safran took over the leadership of DC Studios in 2022 after its last iteration of superhero movies imploded with the epic losing-streak of “The Flash,” “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” and “Blue Beetle.”
Gunn, best known for “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Suicide Squad,” directed “Superman. The story follows the eternally optimistic hero as he proves to the world that he’s trying to do good after the villainous Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) executes a plan to turn public opinion against Supes. Critics and audiences have embraced the film with an 82% average on Rotten Tomatoes and “A-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls.
Positive word-of-mouth will be vital for the movie’s box office staying power. That’s because big opening weekends are rarely a problem for comic book movies, especially ones anchored by a hero as universally recognizable as Superman. But the ability to keep drawing crowds over the busy summer season will be a truer test of the property’s cinematic strength. Just look at what happened to Disney’s recent Marvel Cinematic Universe installments like 2023’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” ($106 million debut) and this year’s “Captain America: Brave New World” ($100 million debut over the Presidents Day holiday). Those big-budget tentpoles started strong at the box office, only to completely collapse in subsequent weekends. Meanwhile Superman’s last solo outing, 2013’s “Man of Steel” with Henry Cavill, managed to generate $116 million in its opening weekend before ending its run with $670 million globally (not adjusted for inflation). It seems reasonable for Warner Bros. to want the newest film to exceed that figure since more than a decade has passed.
As “Superman” soared to the top of domestic box office charts, the Last Son of Krypton likely took a massive bite out of ticket sales for last weekend’s champion, Universal’s “Jurassic World Rebirth.” The dinosaur epic added $40 million from 4,324 venues in its second weekend of release, a painful 57% drop from its debut. Even with a substantial second-weekend decline, “Jurassic World Rebirth,” which rebooted the long-running series with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali, has sunk its teeth into a mighty $232 million domestically and $529 million worldwide to date.
Third place went to “F1: The Movie” with $13 million from 3,412 theaters in its third lap around the track, marking a 50% decline from the prior weekend. So far, the Apple film has generated $136 million in North America and more than $393 million worldwide. Though “F1,” starring Brad Pitt as a has-been Formula One driver, carries a massive $250 million price tag (and requires many laps around the track to justify its cost), its ticket sales are notable for an adult-skewing tentpole that’s not part of an existing film franchise.
Two kid friendly tentpoles, Universal’s “How to Train Your Dragon” reboot and Disney’s Pixar adventure “Elio,” rounded out box office charts.
In the No. 4 spot, “How to Train Your Dragon” collected $7.8 million from 3,285 theaters in its fourth weekend on the big screen. The live action remake of 2010’s “How to Train Your Dragon” has powered to $239 million domestically and $560 million globally to date.
“Elio” landed in fifth place with $4 million from 2,730 screens in its fourth outing. The intergalactic tale has grossed just $63 million in North America and finally surpassed the $100 million mark globally after a month of release. With $117 million in worldwide ticket sales, the $150 million-budgeted tentpole will end its theatrical run as a major money lose for Disney and Pixar.
Disney isn’t hurting too much because “Lilo & Stitch” is imminently joining the billion-dollar club. The live-action remake has grossed $414.6 million in North America and $994 million globally after eight weeks of release. Since “Lilo & Stitch” is practically minting money for the studio (box office returns are nothing compared to Stitch-related consumer product sales), it’s no surprise a live-action sequel is already in the works.
More to come…
Source link
