‘Man of Steel’ forges $113 million weekend

Superman saved the day after all. Man
of Steel delivered comfortably over the $100 million benchmark set by
industry insiders, finishing the weekend with $113 million and an
additional $12 million from Thursday evening shows. Consistent with many
recent blockbusters, 3D underperformed while IMAX overperformed. IMAX accounted
for 12% of overall ticket sales, while 3D (which usually includes IMAX
showings) comprised 41% of box office  For Warner Bros., this is great
news for a potential franchise. Their 2006 film Superman Returns opened
to less than half of Man of Steel, and failed to spawn any future films.
For Man of Steel, this is likely only the beginning.

 This is the End didn’t draw in the broad audiences that some expected,
earning $20 million over the weekend and $32.8 million since its
Wednesday opening. The stoner comedy earned decent marks in exit polls (B+), so
this Seth Rogen and James Franco-led apocalyptic comedy should play reasonably
well in weeks to come. However, it underperformed compared to Pineapple
Express and Tropic Thunder, similar comedies that may have benefited
from a slightly more accessible premise and broader appeal.

 Within the top ten, the biggest
surprise was the 75% drop from The Purge. The home invasion
picture overperformed in its opening weekend, but its second-week drop was on
par with a poorly received horror movie: $8 million, from $34 million
the weekend before. Poorly reviewed After Earth fell 65% in week
three, another steep fall that put its weekend total down to $3.7 million.
The ninth-place finisher has returns of $54 million to date, but that’s with a
reported budget over $130 million. Ouch. In sixth place, The Internship
was also a loser in the top ten, falling 60% to earn just $7 million in
week two. Domestically, both of these movies aren’t even close to making back
their budget.

 Writer/director Sofia Coppola’s The
Bling Ring averaged $42,000 per screen in five locations, an
excellent start for the conversation-starting look at privileged teens who
broke the law in pursuit of celebrities' designer gear. This Friday, the
tale of teen fashion-lovers turned burglars will expand into over 500 theatres.

Sundance pickup 20 Feet from
Stardom opened to $17,000 per screen in three locations. The
documentary about backup singers is a Radius-Weinstein Co. release, which means
the distributor will also be heavily focusing on the on-demand part of
distribution.

This Friday, the zombie tentpole
World War Z will open opposite the kid-friendly prequel Monsters
University.

Will 'Man of Steel' have a superhero debut over $100 million?

Warner Bros. has estimated that Man of Steel (4,207 theatres) will earn around $80 million this weekend, but that conservative figure could easily be exceeded to come in line with many forecasters' predictions of a $100 million opening. That would put the superhero movie well behind the $174 million opening of Iron Man 3, but slightly ahead of the $96 million earned by
Fast & Furious 6. The film itself is tracking 58% positive, consistent with the mixed appraisal by our critic Chris Barsanti, who applauds the performance of Henry Cavill as Superman but faults director Zack Snyder for "[burying] him inside a drearily violent, flashback-riddled story." In comparison, Iron Man 3 earned approvals from 78% of critics, and Fast & Furious 6 had a "fresh" rating from 71% of critics. However, those two movies are established franchises, while Man of Steel relaunches one--could curiosity boost opening weekend?

A comedy filled with stars playing versions of themselves, This Is The End (3,055 theatres) is a "masterful comedy filmmaking, all the more impressive for its
loose-limbed apparent casualness," our Frank Lovece notes approvingly. Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, and James Franco
star as versions of themselves who (humorously) struggle to survive an apocalypse. Rogen also co-directed and co-wrote the comedy with filmmaking partner Evan Goldberg. This Is The End opened to $7.8 million on Wednesday, and could end up in the mid-$30 million range by the weekend, which would put it in the same company as another well-regarded Rogen comedy, Pineapple Express. Good reviews for this feature will keep it running in coming weeks.

The real-life story about a group of teens who robbed celebrities for their designer bags and heels gets the Sofia Coppola treatment in The Bling Ring (5 theatres). Sure, the multiple robberies carried out by the clan are "repetitive," as explained by our critic David Noh, but I also found them
to be hypnotic. Once caught, the well-clad teens describe their foibles as "learning experiences," one reason Noh was astonished by how "little comprehension the perps show
that they've, like, violated the law. Lying seems second nature to
them, though it's unclear whether they know they're lying." This one is a recommendation for anyone who liked Queen of Versailles.

The third in an indie romantic trilogy, Before Midnight, will expand into 891 theatres. In three weekends, it's earned $1.5 million and stellar per-screen averages. Its strong performance in limited release plus the name recognition suggests this Sony Pictures Classics release could have the same good fortune as another one of their similarly titled releases, Midnight in Paris. The Woody Allen-directed light romance had a similar expansion pattern and ended up earning $56 million over several months. That movie earned $5.8 million when it expanded to 900 locations, so if Before Midnight hits that target, it should be in excellent shape.

On Monday, we'll see if Man of Steel hit Warner Bros.' opening estimates or those of outside prognosticators, if This Is The End earned the stoner comedy seal of approval from its fans, and if Before Midnight is on track to be a specialty hit on par with Midnight in Paris.