UPDATE EARLY SUNDAY: Sources are telling us that Superman‘s Saturday is coming in around $37M, -34%, which is indicating a $123M opening for the James Gunn directed DC Studios film, the first in the phase “Gods and Monsters”.
These figures do not come from Warner Bros. If they hold, execs should be doing the Krypto doggie dance in the morning as it’s Warners second $100M-plus opening this year after A Minecraft Movie ($162M), the second-best opening for a Superman movie overall behind Batman v. Superman ($166M), the best opening for a Superman first franchise installment ahead of Man of Steel ($116.6M reported 3-day), and the second best opening, as we said all along, for Gunn behind Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($146.5M).
Wait, weren’t some source expecting Superman to go hog wild after the $22M previews with a $140M-$150M opening? Is MAGA to blame? Is Gunn’s “immigrant” comments to blame? It’s my understanding, not at all, because the red county zones for this type of movie aren’t underperforming (more on this in the AM), rather they’re churning out the average amount of cash for a PG-13 family adventures movie. At $120M+, this is the ceiling for a standalone Superman movie when he’s not fighting Batman in the desolate remains of Gotham.
Superman‘s legs aren’t that different from Man of Steel‘s, but that’s only for each movie’s first three days (Thursday-Saturday), read the Zack Snyder movie between its Thursday and Friday did…$56M. Its Saturday fell -35% for $36M [And as we told you further down, Matt Reeves’ The Batman eased -24% between its Friday/previews and Saturday]. Back in the whip and buggy days of 2013, Warners didn’t combine Thursday into Friday, and they didn’t include the $12M the Zack Snyder movie made on Thursday into the 3-day opening weekend. Sunday held like a miraculous rock for Man of Steel earning $36.2M, even with Saturday. When does that ever happen?
We’ll have more updates in the morning.
UPDATED SATURDAY AM: Warner Bros/DC Studios’ Superman after a $56.5M first day/previews is now looking at $115M-$121M opening. Many rivals believe that’s on the high-end.
For a first superhero movie in a franchise with excellent scores at a time when the fanboy audience can toss these comic book movies away like tissues, you can get down on your knees and thank the almighty for that opening. Very good start here for a movie where there was cynicism early on about the trailer (more on that in a bit). Superman is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound in a way that the Marvel Cinematic Universe’ Thunderbolts* ($74.3M) and Captain America: Brave New World ($88.8M) haven’t.
Also, it’s another great start for the summer box office, the second $100M+ opening after Lilo & Stitch‘s $146M. Superman cost before P&A $225M net. Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel opened to $116.6M back in 2013, unadjusted for inflation.
In terms of walk-up business, 49% told Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak that they bought their tickets same day, a prized number. Compare this to 41% who bought their tickets on the first Friday of Deadpool & Wolverine and the 57% who bought their tickets on day one for A Minecraft Movie.
What’s great about Superman: it has excellent audience exits of A- CinemaScore, 74% definite recommend and 86% positive on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak. Solid A CinemaScores from the Under 24 set including kids. If it was just all beefcake grosses and so-so audience sentiment, there would be pause for concern. That’s what happened with Batman v Superman. Despite holding the record for the biggest U.S./Canada opening for a DC movie at $166M stateside, that B CinemaScore was a tell-tale sign that audiences weren’t entirely in love with the dark dwellings of the Snyderverse.
Superman‘s A- CinemaScore is the same as Snyder’s Man of Steel (A-) and ahead of Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns (B+), and the Christopher Reeves 1987 bomb, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (C).
On the high end, Superman is poised to rank second among Gunn’s domestic openings behind Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($146.5M). Gunn’s Man of Steel is playing evenly throughout the country with overindexed business in West, South and East. AMC Burbank is currently the highest grossing venue stateside with close to $170K. PLFs and Imax are driving 42% of the box office. The 7:15pm Imax show at the Mann’s Chinese Theatre last night was close to sold out with many sitting through the credits and some cheering.
Solid diversity demos here on Superman with 26% Latino and Hispanic, 19% Black, 9% Asian American and 41% Caucasian. Demo-wise, it looks like a fanboy film with exits similar to Deadpool & Wolverine even though that’s a R-rated title. Male/female is 68%/32% (D&W was 63%/37%) with 66% under 35 (the same turnout as D&W). Demo quads in order are Men over 25 (43%, 87% grade), men under 25 (25%, 90% grade), women over 25 (19%, 81% grade) and women under 25 (13%, 90% grade). Biggest quad was 18-24 at 31%, which was the same exact percent as Deadpool & Wolverine.
Reasons why people went on PostTrak: 49% said it looked fun and entertaining, 43% said it’s because it was a superhero movie, while 40% say it’s part of a franchise they like, with David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult and the cast overallcoming in at 26%.
Most influential marketing materials per PostTrak were social media (20%), in-theater trailer (15%), online trailer (13%), friends and family (12%).
Forever and a day from the time the first Superman trailer dropped in December through CinemaCon, some were put off by what they saw, whether it was the over-sentiment with the dog (sorry, but Krypto is one of the best parts of the movie), the robots, whatever. The point is that clearly a lot was kept out of the trailer, and that’s a selling point sometimes on these Gunn movies or for any superhero movie. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in its trailers seemed to convey that nothing great would be going on, that it was more of the same, but then when one sat down in the theater, there was the Eureka that the sequel was significantly more in its fresh thread about Peter Quill and his father. Sometimes movie marketing has to risk it and keep their powder dry, with the actual film in the end being the biggest selling point, evident here in the great reviews at 82% and 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Overall second weekend of July is coming in at $197M for all titles, the best ever for the frame post Covid. That’s 60% ahead of a year ago when Despicable Me 4 posted a second weekend of $43.5M, and it’s +40% ahead of 2023 which was the frame’s previous high mark post pandemic with $140M for all titles.
1.) Superman (WB) 4,135 theaters, Fri $56.5M, 3-day $115M-$121M/Wk 1
2.) Jurassic World Rebirth (Uni) 4,324 (+16) theaters, Fri $11.3M (-57%), 3-day $38.7M (-58%), Total $230.8M/Wk 2
3.) F1 (WB) 3,412 (-320) theaters, Fri $3.7M (-47%) 3-day $12.8M (-50%), Total $136M/Wk 3
4.) How to Train Your Dragon (Uni) 3,285 (-429) theaters, Fri $2.3M (-21%) 3-day $7.75M (-31%), Total $239.7M/Wk 5
5.) Elio (Dis) 2,730 (-505) theaters, Fri $1.2M (-20%), 3-day $4M (-31%), Total $63.7M/Wk 4
6.) 28 Years Later (Sony) 2,208 (-709) theaters, Fri $815K (-26%), 3-day $2.7M, Total $65.7M/Wk 4
7.) Lilo & Stitch (Dis) 2,075 (-485) theaters, Fri 3-day, Total/Wk 8
8.) M3GAN 2.0 (Uni) 1,658 (-1,475) theaters, Fri $410k (-57%), 3-day $1.35M (-66%), Total $22.3M/Wk 3
9.) Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning (Par) 1,132 (-413) theaters, Fri $400K (-53%), 3-day $1.4M (-49%), Total $193.9M/Wk 8
10.) Materialists (A24) 589 (-438) theaters, Fri $210K (-41%), 3-day $700K (-48%), Total $35.1M/Wk 5
UPDATED FRIDAY MIDDAY: Warner Bros/DC Studios’ Superman is looking at a great $55M first day, including all those $22.5M previews. This puts the James Gunn directed movie on course as of this minute for a $115M+ 3-day. The weekend is still young, and there’s room for upside. Some are spotting $120M.
Is the MAGA sentiment hurting this movie? The notion is ‘No’. According to box office stat org EntTelligence, red county theaters average 33% of the weekend box office for PG-13 family adventure movies, while blue counties average 61%. Superman‘s presales through Wednesday saw 60% of its business from blue county theaters, and 34% from red county venues. Meaning, business is right in line for the movie in regards to where it’s suppose to be grossing; there’s no sour sentiment. Also, non-frequent moviegoers don’t make their ticket purchase decisions based on a director and his opinions. EntTelligence is currently seeing 44% percent of the Peter Safran-Gunn production coming from population centers with over a million people (the norm is 44%). That’s a very good sign.
With the major studios crying over fewer moviegoers watching their trailers, here’s some great news: EntTelligence reports that the in-theater run of the Superman trailer reached 95.7M moviegoers, aided by prominent placement on Warner Bros/Legendary’s A Minecraft Movie. Kudos to Warners for running a great in-theater marketing campaign.
The comps of it all: Matt Reeves’ The Batman posted a $56.6M first day/previews and eased -24% for $43.2M on Saturday turning into a $134M 3-day. Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 posted a $56M first day/previews, dipped -9% on Saturday for a $146.5M 3-day. Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 posted a $48.1M first day/previews, -19% Saturday decline with $38.8M for a 3-day of $118.4M.
Wait, didn’t you write $140M-$150M? Yes, sources get excited by big numbers. Here in L.A., you can forget about getting a good seat at the 7PM AMC Citywalk Imax. Premium seats are selling out.
How the rest of the weekend is shaking out:
1.) Superman (WB) 4,135 theaters, Fri $55M, 3-day $115M-$120M/Wk 1
2.) Jurassic World Rebirth (Uni) 4,324 theaters, Fri $10.8M, 3-day $37M (-60%), Total $229.1M/Wk 2
3.) F1 (WB) 3,412 theaters, Fri $3M 3-day $10.7M (-58%), Total $133.8M/Wk 3
4.) How to Train Your Dragon (Uni) 3,280 theaters, Fri $1.7M 3-day $5.7M (-49%), Total $237.7M/Wk 5
5.) Elio (Dis) 2,730 theaters, Fri $950K, 3-day $3.1M (-46%), Total $62.8M/Wk 4
(From L-R) NATHAN FILLION as Guy Gardner, ISABELA MERCED as Hawkgirl and EDI GATHEGI as Mr. Terrific in DC Studios’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ “SUPERMAN,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
Warner Bros.
UPDATED FRIDAY AM AFTER EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros is seeing $22.5M all in for previews for James Gunn’s Superman. Not only is that still the best previews YTD and a record for James Gunn, but it’s higher than the previews for 2023’s Barbie ($22.3M, 3-day $162M) and ahead of all the previews for Matt Reeves’ The Batman ($21.6M, $134M opening in 2022).
What do audiences think? It’s a 78% definite recommend on PostTrak for general audiences — you can take that to the bank, seriously. Five stars from kids under 12 and parents. Superman is flying around everywhere.
Will President Donald Trump’s meme posted on the White House X handle be Kryptonite to business in addition to the snarks from right-wingers on Fox News? Not a chance, insiders say. Get out of the way, here comes Superman.
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Gunn told the Sunday Times last week: “I mean, Superman is the story of America … an immigrant that came from other places and populated the country. But for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”
The statement was a reflection of the current aggressive immigration policies set forth by Trump. The filmmaker and co-DC Studios Boss in his chat with the Sunday Times isn’t losing sleep over any criticism.
“Yes, it plays differently,” Gunn said. “But it’s about human kindness, and obviously there will be jerks out there who are just not kind and will take it as offensive just because it is about kindness. But screw them.”
During an episode of Fox’s table talk The Five this week, Republican operative Kellyanne Conway said: “We don’t go to the movie theater to be lectured to and have someone throw their ideology on to us. I wonder if it will be successful.”
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Read Ted Johnson’s coverage here.
Yes, Ms. Conway, the movie will be extremely successful. At this level, industry projections have raised to $140M-$150M+ for the weekend. As we told you, Thursday night’s previews include the Tuesday Amazon Prime Members shows, which collected $2.8M.
It’s gonna be a fun weekend, and Warner Bros, you’ve done it again with an overperformance streak that includes A Minecraft Movie ($162.7M), Sinners ($48M), Final Destination Bloodlines ($51.6M), F1 ($57M) and now Superman. Weekend 28, the second weekend of July last year, brought in $123M with the second frame of Despicable Me 4. The marketplace is going to boom past that easily.
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Here’s how the rest of the week went down:
1.) Jurassic World Rebirth (Uni) 4,308 theaters Thu $7.5M (-25% from Wed), Wk $136.3M/Wk 1
2.) F1 (Apple/WB) 3,732 theaters, Thu $2.5M (-34%), Wk $39.66M (-52%), Total $123.1M/Wk 2
3.) How to Train Your Dragon (Uni) 3,714 theaters, Thu $1.67M (-10%), Wk $19M (-41%), Total $232M/Wk 4
4.) Elio (Dis) 3,235 theaters, Thu $985K (-14%), Wk $10.3M (-42%), Total $59.7M/Wk 3
5.) 28 Years Later (Sony) 2,917 theaters, Thu $557K (-20%) Wk $7.4M (-50%) Total $63M/Wk 3
EXCLUSIVE: Count gravitational pull as a superpower for James Gunn’s Superman as the first movie under the filmmaker’s DC Studios, which he co-runs with Peter Safran, is heading to a massive $21M+ in overall previews, sources tell us tonight.
Oh, and audiences love it at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Gunn and Safran and all of Warner Bros can rest easy after the cynics’ snarking over the first trailer back in December. That’s the best RT audience score ever for a Superman movie, even better than Richard Donner’s 1978 original (86%). Take that, trolls.
Superman‘s preview figure includes Tuesday night’s Amazon Prime members screenings cash of $2.8M, plus monies from showtimes which began today at 2 p.m.
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Lots of records flying around here for the first title in DC’s Phase One “Gods and Monsters”: First, Superman‘s previews rep a record for a James Gunn-directed film, besting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s $17.5M ($118.4M 3-day in 2023). It’s also the best damn previews we’ve seen all year, ahead of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch ($14.5M, $146M 3-day opening) and Captain America: Brave New World ($12M, $88.8M 3-day).
While Warners was hoping for a $100M 3-day start and tracking and exhibition were spotting $115M-$130M, Superman, looks to be leaving all those projections in the dust. The IP has been done several times through history — not just on the big screen but going back to radio with several iterations on TV including the first 1950s George Reeves black-and-white show. So what’s the deciding factor for non-frequent moviegoers to discover this superhero on the big screen again? Why, reviews. This Superman stands at 82% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the second-best reviewed Superman ever after Richard Donner’s 1978 original, which stands at 86%.
Other intriguing benchmarks: Gunn’s Superman is easily ahead of the preview box office of Zack Snyder’s 2013 Man of Steel ($9M, 10 p.m. start time, different era for previews, which turned into a $116.6M opening). There’s also a shot when we wake up tomorrow morning it could be higher than Matt Reeves’ The Batman from 2022, which did $21.6M in overall previews (including $4M Tuesday shows and Thursday showtimes that began at 3PM; $134M opening). Gunn’s Superman is close to the sun as far preview records go for Superman movies overall, but hasn’t surpassed it (and that’s not a bad thing), meaning 2016’s Batman v. Superman holds the record for the best previews ever for a Superman movie with $27.7M ($166M 3-day).
Social media analytics firm RelishMix has noticed positive word of mouth leading up to opening with a massive social media universe across YouTube, TikTok, X, Instagram and Facebook of 953.8 million, +20% of superhero genre pics’ reach before their openings. That reach buries that of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (709.7M) and The Batman (631.7M), Joker Folie à Deux (567M), and it’s not far from Deadpool & Wolverine (1.15 billion).
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Says RelishMix: “The exuberant tone and dedication to the characters is winning many fans over, i.e. ‘A comic book movie that’s not ashamed to be a comic book is something we desperately needed,’ and, ‘The trailers we’ve gotten for this movie have given me the warm fuzzy feelings…this Superman feels right.’ After his widely popular Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy for Marvel, James Gunn in the director chair is inspiring a lot of confidence: ‘Mr. James Gunn is going to do us DC fans right for once.’ The nostalgia is strong with this film, capturing the heart of the original 1978 film, ‘His look reminds me of Reeves Superman,’ and, ‘The actors are great. And the theme music a remix of the old theme. Take my money now.’”
These numbers do not come from Warners and by tomorrow business could be higher.