The Hollywood Outsider – Film and Television Podcast | Reviews An award-winning film and television podcast for the fan in all of us
Contrary to all the people proclaiming Superman KIA in theaters, the Kryptonian immigrant managed to swoop back into theaters with a vengeance this weekend to the tune of $116 million and $128m since its Thursday opening, according to studio estimates. Man of Steel is officially the largest June opening ever (slightly ahead of Toy Story 3’s $110m), not bad for a film many were writing off prior to launch.
Either way, that is the 2nd best opening of the year and proof that people still love the indestructible man…even if he does forget to shave a lot in his new endeavor. The first true reboot of the franchise since Christopher Reeve famously donned the tights way back in 1978, Man of Steel focused a bit more on the difficulties to adopting to the current state of the world and audiences are responding. With a solid A- from CinemaScore audiences (those polled walking out of the theater), the film could have decent legs too. $300m is a distinct possibility. Be sure to read our review of Man of Steel here!
This is the End got beat down by Big S to the tune of $20.5m and $32m since its Wednesday opening. That is much lower than Sony thought their big comedy experiment would bring in, with James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and Craig Robinson all headlining. Still, with a decent B+ CinemaScore rating, audiences like it but don’t love it, so word-of-mouth might help it along. With it already matching its production budget, This is the End is already profitable.
The rest of the top 5 was very familiar: Now You See Me held up against General Zod and company with $10m for an $80m total, and looking at about $100m when it is all said and done. Fast & Furious 6 drove home another $9.4m for $219m total…and became the biggest film in the long running franchise, both here and abroad.
Rounding out the Top 5 – The Purge, which plummeted 75% (one of the worst drops in history) to $8.2m for a $51m total. With a combination of better competition and audiences not loving it, The Purge is already quickly vacating theaters only 2 weeks after releases. Ouch.
Listen to Episode 96 for reviews of Now You See Me and After Earth. And to hear our review of The Purge as well as about World War Z and Monsters University, both opening up this weekend, listen to our all-new HO – Ep 97 at the link or below. Come back Thursday to hear our reviews on Man of Steel and This is the End an a brand-new The Hollywood Outsider – the movie podcast for FANS!