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It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Warner Bros. second $100 million+ opening of the year. The studio once again has a major hit on its hands with Superman, James Gunn’s bright, humanist take on the Man of Steel. The David Corenswet-led film brought in $122 million in its opening weekend, placing it in the bronze medal position for best opening of the year to date. Warner Bros.’ A Minecraft Movie is still in first with $163 million, followed by Lilo & Stitch with $146 million.
Nü-Superman couldn’t quite beat Batman V. Superman‘s pre-COVID record for best franchise opening ever with $166 million in 2016, but it’s currently sitting comfortably in second place. No real sweat for DC, though; this is still a triumphant start for Gunn’s rebooted universe. “I’m incredibly grateful for your enthusiasm and kind words over the past few days,” the director wrote in a statement on Threads (via Deadline) in response to the film’s success. “We’ve had a lot of ‘Super’ in Superman over the years, and I’m happy to have made a movie that focuses on the ‘man’ part of the equation – a kind person always looking out for those in need. That that resonates so powerfully with so many people across the world is in itself a hopeful testament to the kindness and quality of human beings. Thank you.”
That message seemed to resonate across the country, despite Fox News’ attempt to paint Superman as being a little too “SUPERWOKE” for comfort. Deadline reports that ticket sales were right in line with expectations for both red and blue counties, based on previous PG-13 family adventure films (especially ones that managed to go undetected by Fox’s sensors). Maybe Superman really can save the day after all.
Check out this weekend’s full top 10, courtesy of Box Office Mojo, below:
- Superman, $122,000,000
- Jurassic World: Rebirth, $40,000,000
- F1: The Movie, $13,000,000
- How To Train Your Dragon, $7,800,000
- Elio, $3,900,000
- 28 Years Later, $2,725,000
- Lilo & Stitch, $2,700,000
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, $1,420,000
- M3GAN 2.0, $1,350,000
- Materialists, $720,498
