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Superman is back on top.
Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan ‘s Man of Steel is on course for a North American debut in the $122 million to $125 million range after topping Friday’s chart with $44.1 million, putting the tentpole’s early domestic total at $56.1 million. (The film grossed $12 million Thursday night from special Walmart screenings.)
Overseas, Man of Steel is likewise off to a strong start, grossing $17.6 million from 24 markets on Friday for a three-day total of $25.9 million and worldwide cume of $82 million. It’s doing notable business in the U.K., home country of star Henry Cavill.
Sony’s innovative end-of-the-world comedy This Is the End finished at No. 2 on Friday at the North American box office with roughly $6.9 million. The R-rated pic opened Wednesday, marking the directorial debut of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and should cross $30 million by Sunday.
PHOTOS: ‘Man of Steel’ Premiere: Superman Takes Off in New York City
Man of Steel appears to be a notable win for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures as they try to resurrect the marquee superhero franchise. Directed by Snyder and produced by Nolan, Man of Steel should easily race past the $200 million mark globally by the end of the weekend.
The event pic, costing a hefty $225 million to produce, received an A- CinemaScore, portending good word of mouth.
Cavill stars as Clark Kent, aka Superman, in the origin tale, which sees his character trying to hide his superpowers and live a normal life on Earth. Amy Adams stars as Lois Lane and Michael Shannon takes on the role of the menacing General Zod.
David S. Goyer penned the script based on a story he crafted with Nolan. Warners and Legendary turned to Nolan as a producer on the project after he successfully revived the Batman franchise with his Dark Knight trilogy. In the summer of 2005, Nolan’s Batman Begins opened to $48.7 million and had incredible staying power.
Overseas, Man of Steel is opening day-and-date in 24 markets, landing first in the Philippines and Taiwan on Wednesday, where it earned $1.7 million and $794,742, respectively. It was the largest opening day ever in the Philippines and the largest Warners opening in Taiwan.
Among other major markets, it opens in the U.K. and Mexico on Friday. The following weekend, the tentpole opens in 26 additional markets, including China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Spain.
VIDEO: Final ‘Man of Steel’ Trailer: Dazzling Set Pieces and Few Words
This Is the End stars Rogen opposite Jonah Hill, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson , Michael Cera and Emma Watson. Sony insiders say the film is on course to make back its modest $32 million budget by the time Sunday rolls around.
In the comedy, the actors — all playing fictional versions of themselves — meet at a star-studded party at Franco’s house when the apocalypse begins, and they’re forced to work together to survive. The film is based on a short film created by Rogen and Baruchel in 2007 titled Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse. Rogen and Goldberg also co-wrote the scripts for Superbad, The Green Hornet and The Watch.
This is the End, which will play in more than 2,900 theaters, also features several other cameos during the early scenes at Franco’s house party, including appearances by Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd and Kevin Hart.
Twitter: @PamelaDayM
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