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Grosses

'Man of Steel' Sets New June Opening Weekend Record with $116.6 MillionJune 17, 2013 11:45 AM

by Daniel Garris

Warner's Man of Steel took in a strong $116.62 million this weekend. That figure doesn't include the $12.06 million the film grossed from Thursday night 7 p.m. shows from the corporate group sale screening program with Walmart, as Warner Bros. is officially reporting those grosses separate from the film's opening weekend performance. When including those grosses, Man of Steel was off to a $128.68 million start. With or without the $12.06 million, Man of Steel established a new unadjusted opening weekend record for the month of June, as it topped the $110.31 million opening weekend take of previous record holder Toy Story 3.

The opening weekend take of Man of Steel was the second largest of 2013 thus far (behind only the $174.14 million start of Iron Man 3). Of great importance for Warner Bros. is that the start of Man of Steel represents a vast improvement over the start of 2006's Superman Returns, which had a far more modest opening weekend take of $52.54 million and a five-day start of $84.59 million (that film opened on a Wednesday).

Without the $12.06 million from corporate screenings, Man of Steel grossed $44.01 million on Friday. The film fell a very reasonable 17.5 percent on Saturday to gross $36.32 million (which was up an impressive 4 percent from Friday when factoring out midnight grosses). With aid from the Father's Day holiday, Man of Steel then exceeded expectations on Sunday with a $36.29 million take, which was essentially unchanged from Saturday's performance. The opening weekend to Friday ratio for Man of Steel was 2.65 to 1.

In addition to a strong marketing campaign, there is no doubt that the involvement of Christopher Nolan with the film as a writer and producer helped build up excitement for Man of Steel. The film was also helped out by grosses from IMAX and 3D engagements; IMAX grosses were an estimated $13.3 million this weekend, while 41 percent of the film's overall grosses came from 3D shows. Man of Steel received an A- rating on CinemaScore, which is an encouraging early sign as the film goes forward in its run.

Sony's This Is The End claimed second place this weekend with $20.72 million. The ensemble R-rated comedy has now grossed $33.03 million in its first five days of release. This Is The End opened in line with the lower end of expectations and was off to a very solid start when taking into account its modest price tag for a high profile summer release. In comparison, 2008's Pineapple Express grossed $23.25 million during its opening weekend and $41.32 million in its first five days of release.

While This Is The End is currently running 20 percent behind the five-day start of Pineapple Express, it is displaying stronger holding power in its initial days of release, as its five-day to opening weekend ratio of 1.59 to 1 came in notably below the 1.78 to 1 ratio of This Is The End. That is an encouraging sign for the film going forward, as is the film's B+ rating on CinemaScore. With that said, generating truly exceptional holding power may be easier said than done given the amount of high profile releases that will continue to enter the marketplace over the next few weeks now that the summer season is into full gear.

This Is The End grossed $6.95 million on Friday, increased 9 percent on Saturday to gross $7.58 million and fell 18 percent on Sunday to take in $6.19 million. The audience breakdown for the film skewed towards male moviegoers (60 percent) and slightly towards moviegoers over 25 (52 percent).

With Man of Steel dominating the marketplace this weekend, it came as no surprise that holdovers in general took significant hits (and that is with Father's Day boosting grosses in general on Sunday). The weekend's most impressive holdover among wide releases, both in ranking and percentage hold was Lionsgate's Now You See Me. The crowd pleasing ensemble thriller placed in third with $11.02 million. That was down 42 percent from last weekend and brings the 17-day total for Now You See Me to $80.71 million. The surprise hit of early summer is now $19.29 million away from reaching the $100 million domestic milestone.

Not holding up anywhere near as well this weekend was Universal's The Purge. After an exceptionally strong first place debut last weekend, the ultra-low budget sci-fi thriller was down four spots and a massive 76 percent this weekend to place in fifth with $8.32 million. That placed The Purge behind fellow Universal release Fast & Furious 6 in this weekend's rankings. Fast & Furious 6 fell 51 percent to gross $9.58 million. To date, Fast & Furious 6 has grossed $219.72 million in 24 days. Despite displaying very poor holding power so far, The Purge has still grossed a strong $51.96 million in ten days thanks largely to its opening weekend performance.

Fox's The Internship didn't hold up very well this weekend either. On the heels of last weekend's so-so start, the PG-13 rated comedy starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn fell 59 percent and two spots this weekend to claim sixth with $7.15 million. In addition to having to deal with the rush out of moviegoers to Man of Steel, there is no doubt that The Internship has taken a direct hit from This Is The End since Wednesday. The ten-day start for The Internship stands at an underwhelming $31.09 million.

On the limited front, films had a tough time expanding in the shadow of Man of Steel. Sony Pictures Classics' Before Midnight took in $1.38 million this weekend from 897 locations. While that was up 163 percent over last weekend, the Richard Linklater directed film only managed a per-location average of $1,541 this weekend. Meanwhile, Roadside's Much Ado About Nothing grossed $161,625 from 23 locations. That gave the Joss Whedon directed film a per-location average of $7,027 for the frame, but was down 6 percent from last weekend's start in 5 locations.

A24's The Bling Ring fared significantly better this weekend with a debut of $212,537 from 5 locations in New York and Los Angeles. The Sofia Coppola directed film earned an impressive per-location average of $42,507. The Bling Ring will receive a major expansion on Friday.

Also off to a noteworthy platform start in New York and Los Angeles was RADiUS-TWC's 20 Feet from Stardom. The music documentary grossed $54,596 from 3 locations, giving it a healthy per-location average of $18,199.

Weekend Actuals (Domestic) Fri, Jun. 4 - Sun, Jun. 6

Wide (1000+)

#TitleweekendLocationsAvg.TotalWks.Dist.
1Shrek Forever After$25,486,465-41%4,38619$5,811$183,229,4533Paramount / DreamWorks
2Get Him to the Greek$17,571,000--2,697--$6,515$17,571,0001Universal
3Killers$15,837,266--2,859--$5,539$15,837,2661Lionsgate
4Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time$14,019,131-53%3,6460$3,845$59,621,7212Disney
5Sex and the City 2$12,344,000-60%3,4450$3,583$73,128,0002Warner Bros. / New Line
6Marmaduke$11,599,661--3,213--$3,610$11,599,6611Fox
7Iron Man 2$7,918,708-52%3,007-797$2,633$291,429,8705Paramount
8Splice$7,385,000--2,450--$3,014$7,385,0001Warner Bros
9Robin Hood$5,366,000-48%2,599-774$2,065$94,496,0004Universal
10Letters to Juliet$3,036,367-48%1,962-863$1,548$43,337,8364Summit

Limited (100 — 999)

#TitleweekendLocationsAvg.TotalWks.Dist.
1Raajneeti$850,000--111--$7,658$850,0001UTV Communications
2Date Night$775,810-57%658-468$1,179$95,334,4529Fox
3Just Wright$767,818-64%518-677$1,482$20,193,7784Fox Searchlight
4How to Train Your Dragon$488,283-58%343-482$1,424$213,883,14311Paramount / DreamWorks
5The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)$397,705-13%1605$2,486$3,992,3198Sony Pictures Classics
6The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)$313,774-17%152-12$2,064$7,382,56112Music Box
7City Island$308,840-25%177-24$1,745$5,272,44412Anchor Bay
8Alice in Wonderland (2010)$300,515-49%277-64$1,085$333,627,87814Disney
9Babies$252,958-47%181-120$1,398$6,529,1795Focus
10A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)$212,000-77%294-597$721$62,412,0006Warner Bros. / New Line
11Diary of a Wimpy Kid$208,515-17%244-39$855$63,067,07912Fox
12The Bounty Hunter$201,928-27%249-38$811$65,958,84612Sony / Columbia
13The Losers$131,00027%206123$636$23,398,0007Warner Bros.
14Clash of the Titans (2010)$122,000-45%134-91$910$161,562,00010Warner Bros.
15Hot Tub Time Machine$121,000-46%203-161$596$50,214,00011MGM
16The Last Song$99,096-53%119-95$833$62,139,15210Disney
17MacGruber$99,000-94%177-2369$559$8,461,0003Universal / Rogue
18The Back-up Plan$95,610-67%153-238$625$36,793,6587CBS Films
19The Ghost Writer$90,28424%14789$614$15,441,07616Summit
20Furry Vengeance$81,989-54%125-122$656$16,612,7926Summit
21Shutter Island$77,735-54%152-49$511$127,968,40516Paramount
22Death at a Funeral (2010)$75,708-65%102-145$742$42,092,5148Sony / Screen Gems
23Kick-Ass$73,155-52%117-46$625$47,641,5618Lionsgate
24Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?$49,076-56%105-72$467$60,072,59610Lionsgate

Platform (1 — 99)

#TitleweekendLocationsAvg.TotalWks.Dist.
1Please Give$264,56732%8737$3,041$1,707,1506Sony Pictures Classics
2Hubble 3D$229,000-30%47-1$4,872$7,561,00012Warner Bros. / IMAX
3Solitary Man$174,453107%2216$7,930$439,8893Anchor Bay
4Micmacs$142,622234%3531$4,075$210,8622Sony Classics
5Exit Through the Gift Shop$135,575-23%43-3$3,153$2,155,1538Producers Distribution Agency
6Mother and Child$123,804124%5118$2,428$477,3615Sony Pictures Classics
7Harry Brown$88,258-33%50-4$1,765$1,195,9076Samuel Goldwyn
8Avatar$76,692-36%46-38$1,667$749,202,09025Fox
9Oceans$54,885-57%95-83$578$19,015,6637Disneynature
10Kites$47,722-82%58-118$823$1,602,4663Reliance Big Cinema
11Princess Kaiulani$43,717-51%25-13$1,749$708,2324Roadside Attractions
12Agora$41,32624%42$10,332$95,3902Newmarket
13Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief$41,019-33%81-27$506$88,665,12017Fox
14Metropolis (1927) (2010 re-issue)$35,024--6--$5,837$177,3495Kino International
15Under the Sea 3D$33,000-30%17-1$1,941$22,301,00069Warner Bros. / IMAX
16Holy Rollers$30,075-46%16-4$1,880$177,20119First Independent Pictures
17The Father of My Children$27,574-12%61$4,596$94,4313IFC Films
18Ondine$27,497--5--$5,499$27,49714Magnolia
19Mademoiselle Chambon$26,33757%42$6,584$59,8762Lorber
20The City of Your Final Destination$22,000-4%151$1,467$321,0008Screen Media Films
21Breathless (2010 re-issue)$22,000-32%3-1$7,333$77,0002Rialto
22The Secret of Kells$20,968-18%24-1$874$570,48714GKIDS
23The Tooth Fairy$17,070-44%46-30$371$59,995,00520Fox
24The Human Centipede (First Sequence)$16,11536%173$948$157,6256IFC
25Mid-August Lunch (Pranzo di Ferragosto)$14,710-31%8-4$1,839$477,07012Zeitgeist
26Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead$14,000--2--$7,000$14,0001Indican Pictures
27The Square$13,130-22%172$772$306,9789Apparition
28Our Family Wedding$11,000-54%18-34$611$20,236,00013Fox Searchlight
29John Rabe$9,314117%40$2,329$23,8213Strand
30Madeo (Mother)$7,840-25%11-1$713$537,72954Magnolia
31BoyBand$7,600--1--$7,600$7,6001Artigo Ajemian Films
32Survival of the Dead$7,387-83%13-7$568$77,7292Magnolia / Magnet
33The Good, the Bad, the Weird$7,189-24%9-4$799$111,7889IFC
34Vincere$7,109-5%11-1$646$604,03312IFC
35Casino Jack and the United States of Money$6,668-68%14-7$476$151,0505Magnolia
36Cropsey$6,305--1--$6,305$6,3051Cinema Purgatorio
37Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure$5,943-17%5-1$1,189$23,209,063140National Geographic
38Ajami$5,900--10--$590$594,08538Kino International
39Sweetgrass$5,830103%41$1,458$172,13237Cinema Guild
40The Little Traitor$5,299-37%40$1,325$333,57426Westchester Films
41Double Take (2010)$4,650--1--$4,650$6,6481Kino International
42The Last Station$4,5301248%41$1,133$6,612,06821Sony Pictures Classics
43The Cremaster Cycle (2010 re-issue)$4,371-63%10$4,371$62,1929International Film Circuit
44Best Worst Movie$4,350-16%20$2,175$47,0257Area23a
45No One Knows About Persian Cats$3,96329%6-1$661$74,6838IFC
46Chloe$3,684-53%10-8$368$3,025,36711Sony Pictures Classics
47Everyone Else$3,112--3--$1,037$58,65151Cinema Guild
48A Prophet (Un prophète)$3,009-60%4-10$752$2,070,92615Sony Classics
49The Eclipse$2,876-32%72$411$123,58211Magnolia
50Deadfall Trail$2,480-61%50$496$35,8554Nocturnal Features
51U2 3D$2,325496%10$2,325$10,331,984124National Geographic
52When You're Strange$2,166--2--$1,083$234,1799Abramorama
53Looking for Eric$2,091-70%7-1$299$38,1414IFC
54180° South$2,007-64%40$502$29,0843Magnolia
55October Country$1,986267%43$497$24,85417International Film Circuit
56Letters to God$1,903-49%9-5$211$2,842,8909Vivendi
57The Joneses$1,766-44%7-1$252$1,438,5938Roadside Attractions
58Two in the Wave$1,680--1--$1,680$24,3123Lorber Films
59After the Cup: Sons of Sakhin United$1,387-8%20$694$7,1443Variance Films
60Terribly Happy$1,154-28%2-1$577$170,05918Oscilloscope
61OSS 117: Lost in Rio$1,148-71%1-2$1,148$52,16960Music Box
62Spring Fever$854--1--$854$8541Strand
6335 Shots of Rum$801--1--$801$177,51138Cinema Guild
64The Living Wake$495--1--$495$10,8294Mangusta Productions
65Dream Boy$220--1--$220$6,04111Regent
66Just Say Love$93--1--$93$3,89811Regent
67Manuela and Manuel$83--1--$83$1,55711Regent