'Man of Steel' Soars with Record-Setting Opening

By
Warner Bros.


Man of Steel
, starring British actor Henry Cavill, soared to incredible heights at the box office this weekend, setting its own record in the process.

The Superman film reaped an estimated domestic total of $125.1 million in its opening weekend, which is the highest June domestic opening of all time.


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Man of Steel
's mammoth opening blocked any daylight for the comedy This Is The End, whose $32.8-million opening was overshadowed by the Superman flick.

Nevertheless, This Is The End, starring Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill¸ James Franco, covered its roughly $32-million budget in its opening weekend, while Man of Steel, which grossed $196.7 million worldwide, fell short of its $225-million budget.

As Man of Steel began its run in theaters, fellow blockbusters Fast & Furious 6 (4th: $9.4 million, $219.5 million), Star Trek Into Darkness (8th: $5.6 million, $210.4 million), and Iron Man 3 (10th: $2.9 million, $399.6 million) added to their hefty box-office totals.


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Iron Man 3
, which has garnered over $1.2 billion worldwide, is now within spitting distance of crossing the $400-million domestic mark, which only 17 films have done in history.

As blockbusters pounded their chests, second-week films The Purge (5th: $8.2 million, $51.8 million) and The Internship (6th: $7 million, $30.9 million), experienced meager numbers.


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The Purge
, a horror film starring Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, plummeted 76 percent after an unanticipated massive $43.6-million opening.

Sitting in the middle of the spectrum, magic film Now You See Me continued its steady numbers with a $10.3-million third weekend of release ($80 million).