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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, Mar. 9 - Sun, Mar. 11

Wide (1000+)

#TitleweekendLocationsAvg.TotalWks.Dist.
1Dr. Seuss' The Lorax$38,846,020-45%3,74617$10,370$121,724,8502Universal
2John Carter$30,180,188--3,749--$8,050$30,180,1881Disney
3Project X (2012)$11,142,103-47%3,0550$3,647$39,717,0982Warner Bros.
4Act of Valor$6,991,877-48%2,951-102$2,369$56,092,4743Relativity Media
5Silent House (2012)$6,661,234--2,124--$3,136$6,661,2341Open Road
6A Thousand Words$6,176,280--1,890--$3,268$6,176,2801Paramount
7Safe House$4,801,510-35%2,144-409$2,240$115,605,3255Universal
8The Vow$3,842,485-36%2,478-348$1,551$117,456,2315Sony / Screen Gems
9This Means War$3,756,060-32%1,949-393$1,927$46,895,4104Fox
10Journey 2: The Mysterious Island$3,611,388-45%2,525-535$1,430$90,641,9995Warner Bros. / New Line
11Tyler Perry's Good Deeds$2,904,004-59%1,516-616$1,916$30,446,4533Lionsgate
12The Artist$2,079,910-43%1,505-251$1,382$40,234,93316Weinstein Company
13Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance$1,965,123-58%1,804-683$1,089$48,065,2704Sony / Columbia
14Wanderlust$1,653,645-57%1,220-782$1,355$15,517,7653Universal
15Gone$895,788-70%1,144-1042$783$10,727,0703Summit

Limited (100 — 999)

#TitleweekendLocationsAvg.TotalWks.Dist.
1Friends With Kids$2,019,083--369--$5,472$2,019,0831Roadside Attractions
2Chronicle$904,569-53%595-459$1,520$62,267,4416Fox
3A Separation$728,376-23%28138$2,592$4,780,20811Sony Pictures Classics
4The Descendants$676,862-48%517-177$1,309$81,454,62417Fox Searchlight
5Hugo$623,315-49%313-93$1,991$72,269,11916Paramount
6The Iron Lady$567,974-33%447-64$1,271$27,931,79111Weinstein Company
7The Woman in Black$491,037-57%433-379$1,134$53,031,2836CBS Films
8The Secret World of Arrietty$417,697-72%501-930$834$17,572,9654Disney
9Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D$341,581-69%258-473$1,324$42,845,7545Fox
10Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol$310,78897%229122$1,357$208,394,55413Paramount
11Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked$287,184-17%287-27$1,001$131,187,52513Fox
12We Bought a Zoo$188,221-23%228-38$826$74,669,87712Fox
13The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)$173,213-40%211-45$821$102,363,77112Sony / Columbia
14Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy$172,494-34%109-17$1,583$23,922,14414Focus
15Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows$158,193-39%208-58$761$186,523,36613Warner Bros.
16Big Miracle$153,660-49%238-121$646$19,594,7656Universal
17The Adventures of Tintin$140,931-24%153-62$921$77,384,66712Paramount
18The Grey$123,740-52%151-157$819$50,960,0417Open Road
19Red Tails$115,201-40%178-71$647$49,343,1888Fox
20Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close$114,978-49%202-101$569$31,711,09312Warner Bros.
21My Week with Marilyn$80,673-38%1200$672$14,486,30316Weinstein Company
22Contraband$78,540-35%119-29$660$66,489,4259Universal
23Joyful Noise$58,552-49%103-99$568$30,867,7069Warner Bros.

Platform (1 — 99)

#TitleweekendLocationsAvg.TotalWks.Dist.
1Kahaani$270,081--46--$5,871$270,0811Viva Entertainment
2Salmon Fishing in the Yemen$225,894--18--$12,550$225,8941CBS Films
3We Need to Talk About Kevin$156,79918%6020$2,613$1,035,66514Oscilloscope
4Born to Be Wild 3D$121,87727%400$3,047$17,007,78049Warner Bros. / IMAX
5Pina$120,652-24%50-14$2,413$3,030,12112IFC Films
6In Darkness$114,5887%5015$2,292$573,8765Sony Pictures Classics
7Rampart$74,900-37%586$1,291$663,3555Millennium Entertainment
8War Horse$68,360-41%86-45$795$79,349,57812Disney / DreamWorks
9Thin Ice$64,128-23%432$1,491$556,4784IDP/ATO Pictures
10Undefeated$57,578-30%130$4,429$254,3884Weinstein Company
11Lost Woods$55,902-4%11-2$5,082$135,3172Nocturnal Features
12A Dangerous Method$52,325-23%541$969$5,533,57816Sony Pictures Classics
13Hubble 3D$50,57013%21-1$2,408$31,364,867104Warner Bros. / IMAX
14Coriolanus$49,82334%195$2,622$474,7908Weinstein Company
15Sea Rex: Journey To A Prehistoric World$48,3010%120$4,025$4,960,609963D Entertainment
16Footnote$47,528--2--$23,764$47,5281Sony Pictures Classics
17Being Flynn$44,5711%128$3,714$102,9862Focus
18Jiro Dreams of Sushi$42,035--2--$21,018$42,0351Magnolia Pictures
19The Muppets$41,574-48%84-54$495$88,542,49116Disney
20Haywire$41,369318%8250$505$18,898,1798Relativity Media
21Albert Nobbs$38,356-40%45-23$852$2,791,4087Roadside Attractions
22Under the Sea 3D$37,86223%11-4$3,442$30,773,972161Warner Bros. / IMAX
23The Salt of Life$36,00188%108$3,600$63,0572Zeitgeist
24W.E.$35,569-18%245$1,482$384,9626Weinstein Company
25One For the Money$35,240-41%64-53$551$26,119,7687Lionsgate
26Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie$30,808-65%339$934$143,0802Magnolia Pictures
27Shame$22,263-25%20-2$1,113$3,896,10115Fox Searchlight
28The Forgiveness of Blood$22,06124%126$1,838$81,3783IFC Films
29Pariah (2011)$22,004104%196$1,158$758,09911Focus
30Chico & Rita$21,741-17%13-1$1,672$198,9975GKIDS
312012 Oscar Nominated Short Films$21,638-72%18-41$1,202$1,673,1235Shorts International
32Boy$17,506-18%42$4,377$44,0492Paladin
33Carnage (2011)$16,858-12%190$887$2,516,27713Sony Pictures Classics
34Love$15,416-66%150$1,028$283,3864China Lion Film
35Let The Bullets Fly$11,7094%105$1,171$29,2032Variance Films
36Children of Paradise (2012 re-issue)$10,741--2--$5,371$10,7411Janus Films
37The Women on the 6th Floor$9,121-14%60$1,520$646,67123Strand Releasing
38This Is Not A Film$7,638--2--$3,819$30,4512Palisades Tartan
39Paan Singh Tomar$7,588-63%5-5$1,518$33,9132UTV Communications
40The Sitter$6,956-49%12-9$580$30,538,66914Fox
41Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya$6,179-81%10-16$618$171,7763UTV Communications
42Sound of Noise$5,877--3--$1,959$5,8771Magnolia Pictures
43Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness$5,67176%42$1,418$881,84836International Film Circuit
44Beauty and the Beast 3D$5,038-66%7-17$720$47,270,1979Disney
45Le Havre$4,96419%4-2$1,241$595,01821Janus Films
46The Conquest$4,420--4--$1,105$194,88818Music Box Films
47Ranchero$4,38748%20$2,194$14,00935Indican Pictures
48Midnight in Paris$4,124-41%4-7$1,031$56,809,85343Sony Pictures Classics
49Attenberg$3,998--1--$3,998$3,9981Strand Releasing
50Better Than Something: Jay Reatard$3,750-34%2-2$1,875$14,2392Undefined
51The Flowers of War$3,670-74%4-2$918$279,6568Wrekin Hill Entertainment
52The Viral Factor$3,486--13--$268$217,7178China Lion Film
53Apart$3,161--2--$1,581$3,1611Truly Indie
54Addiction Incorporated$2,964170%53$593$32,91813Variance Films
55My Reincarnation$2,903--2--$1,452$89,28920Long Shot Factory
56Last Days Here$2,569-4%10$2,569$6,6952IFC Films
57Declaration of War$2,532--8--$317$46,2257IFC Films
58The Pruitt-Igoe Myth$2,4721653%10$2,472$34,9548First Run Features
59El Bulli: Cooking in Progress$2,256--1--$2,256$237,18133Alive Mind Cinema
60The Devil Inside$2,239-57%10-7$224$53,205,75910Paramount
61On the Ice$2,10558%21$1,053$44,2834PMK*BNC
62The Snowtown Murders$1,99657%21$998$3,8782IFC Films
63Falling Away$1,76437%20$882$4,5602Indican Pictures
64Young Goethe In Love$1,754--2--$877$150,82319Music Box Films
65Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu$1,544-85%4-21$386$1,153,3605UTV Communications
66The Long Day Closes (2012 re-issue)$1,407--1--$1,407$2,0401The Film Desk
67Circus Columbia$651--1--$651$3,1634Strand Releasing
68The Skin I Live In$560-60%52$112$3,182,56622Sony Pictures Classics
69The Decoy Bride$542--1--$542$5421IFC Films
70Putin's Kiss$528252%10$528$3,6364Kino Lorber
71Kung Fu Joe$50422%10$504$11,9085Indican Pictures
72Take Shelter$458-47%1-2$458$1,728,95324Sony Pictures Classics
73The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu$403-81%10$403$33,29227The Film Desk
74Tyrannosaur$337-65%20$169$22,08817Strand Releasing
75Playback$252--1--$252$2521Magnolia / Magnet
76The Way$237-82%1-1$237$4,430,65023Producers Distribution Agency
77Amigo$234--1--$234$183,49030Variance Films
78Charlotte Rampling: The Look$199-85%10$199$19,81219Kino Lorber
79The Whale$161-80%10$161$76,17127Paladin
80Michael (2012)$114--1--$114$14,3064Strand Releasing