News — Man of Steel Soars on Opening Day in North America
Author: Daniel Rester
Superman is back, and he’s still bringing in the numbers at the box office. According to Deadline, Man of Steel brought in an estimated $46 million on Friday in North America. The film made part of that on Thursday night, earning an estimated $9 to $10 million just from midnight shows.
Bryan Singer’s 2006 film Superman Returns ended up grossing just above $200 million at the North American box office. If Steel continues its success, it should pass those numbers before it even finishes up its second weekend next week.
Steel was directed by Zack Snyder and was co-written and co-produced by Christopher Nolan. The film stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, and a slew of other fine actors. It tells the origins story of Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman with a darker and more emotional touch than previous Superman films had.
While the numbers at the box office are high, critics have been torn. The film currently only has a 57% on the Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, while it earned an A- over on Cinemascore. The folks here on Welivefilm have also been split, with critics like myself, WeWatchedAMovie, Nick Iacobucci, and Scott Menzel giving the film good reviews, while critics like Chad Gleason and Mark Ellis (of The Schmoes Know) have been less favorable.
While Steel looks to set records box office-wise for June, it is followed by the comedy This is the End in the #2 spot. The R-rated, all-star comedy made around $6.8 million on Friday and has received mostly positive reviews as well.
Sources:
Deadline: http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/
Rotten Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/superman_man_of_steel/
Cinemascore: http://www.cinemascore.com/
