Box Office: 'Superman' Nabs $57M Friday

The Last Son of Krypton's latest cinematic reboot is thus far earning domestic grosses nearly identical to both 'Man of Steel' and 'The Batman'.

James Gunn’s Superman got off to a strong start at the domestic box office, earning $56.5 million on Friday, including $22.5 million in Thursday previews, for what looks to be an over/under $128 million Fri-Sun debut. The irony is that the figures for this David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult-led superhero action fantasy are thus far identical to Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, which earned $21 million in previews, a $56 million Friday and a $128 million Fri-Sun opening weekend in June of 2013.

Both franchise relaunches A) cost a reported $225 million and B) earned an A- from CinemaScore. Superman had better pre-release reviews (83% and 7.2/10 versus 57% and 6.2/10 for Man of Steel), but the earlier relaunch still pulled in what today would be around $178 million in its domestic launch. Given the better reviews, better buzz (not just within the online bubble) and explicitly kid-friendly elements (I hope Krypto negotiated first-dollar gross), Warner Bros. Discovery’s Superman might leg out and end up with an opening weekend closer to WBD’s The Batman.