'Man of Steel' Box Office Record for June Offers Possibility of Expanding Other Comic Franchises
"Man of Steel" produced a record-breaking $125 million during its debut at the North American box office.
The studio rolled out "Man of Steel" in 4,207 theaters and took in an average of $29,731 per-location. It also helped that 3,350 of the screens were 3D and Imax, with many moviegoers opting to pay premium prices for "Man of Steel." Forty-one percent of the gross earnings came from 3D, which includes 12 percent from Imax. The Imax screens brought in $13.3 million, averaging $40,181 per location, also a June record.
This was the first Superman movie in seven years and "Man of Steel" did not disappoint. The movie recorded the biggest opening by any movie in June, and its debut tops the openings of the previous five films in the franchise combined.
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The strong showing allows Warner Bros. the ability to create a new franchise based on those superheroes and villains, in the same way Disney has done with its Marvel Comics characters such as "Iron Man" and "The Avengers."
"We already know a Superman sequel is in the works, but what fans truly crave is a Justice League of America movie," Exhibitor Relations vice president and senior analyst Jeff Bock told TheWrap. "Well, thanks to Superman successfully rebooting, it's much closer to a reality now than ever before. Watch out, Avengers, the battle for spandex domination has just begun!"
Zack Snyder, who directed "Man of Steel," insisted that there was never any consideration of editing or removing that scene involving a tornado given the recent death and destruction caused in Oklahoma.
"He's changed by those events," said Snyder during an interview to promote the movie. "If anything, we feel like our Superman has a connection – not to make light of it – to the kind of grief that happens during those kinds of natural disasters. Also, in a sad way, even Superman can't change that."
