With $113 million over the weekend and another $12 million from Thursday screenings, "Man of Steel" racked up $125 million in total in its first few days in theaters, not only setting the June record but giving Warner Brothers the potential for a lucrative new franchise. Also hitting theaters was "This is the End," an R-rated comedy that brought in a steady $20 million over the weekend.
With great release timing and an enormous marketing push from Warner Brothers, franchise-hopeful "Man of Steel" hits theaters this weekend with expectations of posting one of the biggest openings of the year as it reaches roughly 4,200 venues across the country. Also getting launched this week is "This is the End," an R-rated screwball comedy.
Even with a production budget of just $3 million and a relatively small release of only 2,536 theaters, "The Purge" hit a home run with thrill-seeking audiences over the weekend, earning a spectacular $36 million according to early studio estimates. While "The Purge" easily found its target audience, "The Internship" struggled to make much of an impact in theaters.
After two weeks of dominance from "Fast & Furious 6," Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson's comedy "The Internship" looks like it's in great shape to finish the weekend as the top overall box office draw as it hits an expected 3,000 total theaters. Another title getting launched this weekend is "The Purge," an R-rated horror-thriller starring Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey.
Even with thriller "Now You See Me" posting a decent opening, "Fast & Furious 6" still had a big enough audience to make it the top box office draw for a second straight weekend, grossing $34.54 million to bring its 10-day domestic total to an impressive $170 million.
Even with some major new competition from both "After Earth" and "Now You See Me," "Fast & Furious 6" is in great shape to finish as the number one movie at the box office for a second straight weekend, bringing it to close to $200 million domestically in the process. M. Night Shyamalan's sci-fi epic "After Earth" stands the best chance of knocking "Fast & Furious 6" out of the top spot.
With $96 million over the three-day weekend and more than $120 million including Memorial Day, "Fast & Furious 6" is off and running following one of the busiest weekends of all-time. In an extended weekend that saw four movies earn at least $40 million, "The Hangover III" crossed $50 million, while "Star Trek Into Darkness" hauled in $47 million and animated release "Epic" racked up $42 million.
With three new big-budget releases and several other prominent titles still hanging in the balance, it's expected to be one of the busiest weekends of the year at the box office, with "Fast & Furious 6" leading the way as it launches at more than 3,600 theaters across the country. Another release in great position to rack up a big opening total is "The Hangover III."
Though a $70 million opening might sound big, the debut weekend total for "Star Trek Into Darkness" isn't quite what Paramount had in mind, as the highly touted sequel made even less than the original amidst heavy competition. Meanwhile, "Iron Man 3" and "The Great Gatsby" both posted strong weekends and continue to have plenty of sway with their target audiences.