Superman Returns flexed its box office muscles both domestically and abroad over the weekend. The latest big-screen outing for DC Comics’ Man of Steel pulled in approximately $74 million in North America over the long Fourth of July weekend, bringing its total to around $106 million since opening on Wednesday. Receipts from 11 foreign markets kicked in another $20 million for Warner Bros., which was no doubt hoping for an even bigger debut.
Despite topping the charts at home and abroad, Superman Returns has failed to match the success of Sony’s Spider-Man films. The first flick based on Marvel’s web slinger series crossed the $100 million mark on its opening weekend, while its sequel opened to $88 million. Even Marvel’s X-Men, a marginal superhero franchise compared to Superman, has done better at the box office. The latest installment, X-Men: The Last Stand, debuted to $102 million in May.
Providing an alternative to the testosterone-fueled vfx extravaganza was 20th Century Fox’s The Devil Wears Prada, which dared to open opposite Superman and proved to be quite in vogue with moviegoers. The Meryl Streep chick flick earned and estimated $39 million over the three-day period, pulling ahead of holdovers with higher theater counts. Sony/Revolution’s Click dropped to third with around $29 million while Disney/Pixar’s Cars placed fourth with an estimated $22 million. Paramount’s Nacho Libre took in around $9.5 million to finish out the top five.
Cars, which has taken in around $190 million domestically, picked up some more foreign coin over the weekend as it gradually rolls out wider in Europe. Overseas box office for the CG comedy currently stands at around $24 million, bringing its worldwide total to approximately $214.4 million. Disney is looking to stuffing its treasure chest even fuller as the studio releases the highly anticipated Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest on Friday.
Leave a Reply