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Superman's Friday figures
Superman Returns did $16,727,000 yesterday (Friday, 6.30) -- another indication of good but not great business. If this film had serious across-the-board heat yesterday's tally would have been higher than Wednesday's (6.28) haul of $18.3 million, which is what Warner Bros. claimed. (The $3 million earned from Tuesday's late-night shows made a total of $21.3 million.) On a long holiday weekend, it's axiomatic that Friday-night business on a film that's really working will overtake the mid-week opening-day total...and this didn't happen. The three-day weekend projection (factoring in a strong Sunday) is $50.1 million, which will take it to an $82 million total, leaving Monday and Tuesday business to bring in the final $20 million or so (perhaps $25) for a seven-day total of just over $100 million. Next weekend's business (i.e., up against Pirates 2) will be in the low to mid 20s.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 1, 2006 at 8:40 AM
comment #1
Marc says ...
"SR" is such an enjoyable popcorn blockbuster. I'll be seriously upset if this thing doesn't generate some "Batman Begins" style word-of-mouth and quadruple its opening weekend. I'm sure heads will roll at Warner Bros. for letting Bryan Singer spend so much on an event film that fails to break even domestically.
Posted by Marc at July 1, 2006 9:43 AM
comment #2
Telemachos says ...
$16.2 million from 4000+ theaters is a terrible opening for a tentpole film like this. It better develop awesome legs in a hurry, or it's toast. Compare this to SPIDEY 2's opening, which had six straight days of $20+ million and whose lowest day was still higher than Superman's best.
Posted by Telemachos at July 1, 2006 10:00 AM
comment #3
jse says ...
Yeah, and Superman Returns had to follow The Quest for Peace. Whereas Spidey 2 followed one of the biggest films in history. Plus, there was no other big screen version of Spiderman, nothing to compare it to.
Superman Returns also deals with the fact that people have Christopher Reeve cemented in their heads as being the only real Superman. I'm sure selling SR was much tougher to do that selling Spider-Man 2.
Posted by jse at July 1, 2006 10:08 AM
comment #4
Bob says ...
Immediately after seeing (and loving) it, my next immediate thought was that Warners has a serious problem on their hands. They've gone and let Singer make a movie that's TOO GOOD.
It's set up and executed as a straight-up character drama (...about SUPERMAN, but a character drama none the less,) it doesn't rush ahead too fast to meet the Holy 90 Minute Running Time, it's action scenes are about grand-spectacle instead of perfunctory fisticuffs, and most-importantly it takes it's material 100% SERIOUSLY with no goofy half-efforts that reek of "don't worry, it's just a comic book" (I'm looking at YOU "X-Men 3!")
Even better is the stuff it DOESN'T have: There's no horrible tie-in hip-hop or pop ballad, the score never turns into action-techno, no winking asides to the popular culture, etc. Thusly, the word-of-mouth among the 16-30s is probably going to be that it's "boring," especially among the roving groups of late-teen idiots (aka the "Fast & Furious" demo) looking for action films that primarily serve as distraction in-between other "stuff to do that night."
Posted by Bob at July 1, 2006 10:27 AM
comment #5
travis b. says ...
saw it again last night and i liked it even better than i did the first time. i really think this movie will do what batman begins did...start off with decent numbers and then when the word of mouth hits, it'll see steady business. pirates may beat it next week, but i think superman is in for the long term.
Posted by travis b. at July 1, 2006 10:33 AM
comment #6
Matt says ...
The "average american" does not know or care that Warner Bros spent 75 million the past decade in costs for the Tim Burton/Mcg/Brett Ratner pre production messes. In the past decade the average american has had plenty of superman on their tv, with the Terri Hatcher/Dean Cain on abc in the mid 90's and then Smallville on the WB. Warner Bros foolishly felt that they was such a demand to see Brandon Routh?!!? and "Cocaine" Kate Bosworth play Lois and Clark that they greenlight a 210 million dollar mess, Cocaine Kate who is now at a ravishing 96 pounds, please lay off the coke and eat a double burger with a large shake. This film will be LUCKY to hit 225 Million in the USA, with a budget of over 300 million worldwide .... this is a bomb plain and simple. The entire superman enterprise is an utter disaster, John Peters should have his PGA card revoked and hopefully Jeff Robinov finally gets the boot from the WB before he can champion another action masterpiece of Ecks vs. Sever 2.
Posted by Matt at July 1, 2006 10:43 AM
comment #7
Anonymous says ...
In any cae, I wouldn't blame this movie for its poor performance. I'd blame the bonehead audience who wouldn't know a quality blockbuster if it kicked them in the face...and are settle for nonesense like Pirates of the Caribbean.
Posted by Anonymous at July 1, 2006 11:04 AM
comment #8
Daniel says ...
Matt,
"A bomb, plain and simple"? Seriously? Speaking as somebody whose reaction to the film was positive, but hardly rapturous, I don't have any problem saying that if Superman Returns does $225 million domestic and $300 million international, for $500-550 worldwide, it might go down as a disappointment for Warner Bros. It's not a "bomb pure and simple" because it'll go from those figures to huge numbers when it goes out on DVD and then probably secondary numbers with Warners Home Entertainment releases a Collector's Edition or something six or seven months after the release of the first DVD.
When all the production and advertising costs are factored in, is this a huge moneymaker for WB? Nah. Not at this point. But will it crush the studio? Of course not.
Oh and, stupid as it is to say this -- the movie's been out for, um, four days. "Batman Begins," for example, had a soft opening, but found its audience over the next few weeks when people went back and told their friends. It's conceivable (not likely, but possible) that "Superman" will have some strong word-of-mouth.
All this "bomb"/"disaster" stuff is utter nonsense until we see just how badly Pirates crushes "Superman" when it opens. It will, of course, totally crush Superman. But how totally?
Is Superman an out-of-the-box smash? No. Otherwise, who knows?
Daniel
Posted by Daniel at July 1, 2006 11:59 AM
comment #9
Nick says ...
Why are so many people flippin shit to Singer about the budget being overblown, the film spent 20 years in pre-production, WB was probably close to 100 million in when he got hired.
Posted by Nick at July 1, 2006 12:51 PM
comment #10
lesterg says ...
Daniel, it's still too early to tell - but I believe Batman jumped 100% on it's first Friday. Why? Word of mouth. Supes WOM just doesn't appear to be at that level.
With this and Poseidon...poor Warners.
Posted by lesterg at July 1, 2006 1:42 PM
comment #11
AH says ...
This is ridiculous i.e. people saying that the film is not a mega-hit, in its first weekend, because "its too good", "the bonehead audience", etc.
First, the movie has only been out for four days, let's see how it plays and comment in a week.
Second, the movie is fighting a strong apathy about Superman. No one cares about him. I spoke with everyone I know and no one wants to see it.
So, all the success that this movie has, will have, all comes down to the audience's perception about the quality of the flick. We won't know the answer to that till next week.
Posted by AH at July 1, 2006 2:05 PM
comment #12
nola says ...
I may not agree with all of Matt's points but he brings up a very good one. the avg. american doesn't know the back story of Supes, like us industry people. they do know they can watch Smallville and Lois and Clark reruns for free and do not know who Brandon routh is. Hollywood is pushing KB big time and she does get a lot of magazine covers but I bet more women under 30 know who Anne hathaway is. I don't think this movie was well marketed.
Posted by nola at July 1, 2006 2:09 PM
comment #13
Todd J says ...
Jeff. Why do you think SR isn't doing better? I'm interested in your thoughts. Saving their $ for Pirates? Gay rumors? Bad casting of Kate Bosworth? Something about Chris Reeve's and wife passing? Respect for him? Any more about Chris when you interviewed him? Now's the time for that stuff. I'm envious.
Posted by Todd J at July 1, 2006 3:12 PM
comment #14
gh says ...
I loved the movie. It will find it's audience even if it takes DVD to do it. 2 will open bigger.
Posted by gh at July 1, 2006 5:06 PM
comment #15
Dick says ...
No interest whatsoever in seeing this outdated fanboy movie. "Oooh, special effects...." Please. Superman is so cornball it has no resonance with today's audiences...yeah, it will make money but only because of the hype..the hype audience will go, no one else cares. XMen resonates more because we are all feel like ALIENATED MUTANTS not ALL AMERICAN SUPERHEROES...we only have our own (XMen style) neuroses to concern us, not some glorified red white and blue American dream...living in the US with this administration tells us that every day. Our change has to come from within, not from outside sources...
Posted by Dick at July 1, 2006 5:06 PM
comment #16
gh says ...
Dick... you were aptly named.
Posted by gh at July 1, 2006 5:30 PM
comment #17
Mickey says ...
It might have something to do with the character. Superman is essentially a goody-two shoes and really not as interesting or complex a character as say Batman. There was a poll on IMDB (and I know it's not scientific, but it did get around 20,000 votes) in which they were asked which superhero they prefered, where Batman won with impossible large margin: Batman got 70% leaving Superman behind with a meagre 20% (10% didn't care either way). I think that really says something about Superman's popularity and I would not be suprised if Spiderman is way more popular as a character as well.
Posted by Mickey at July 1, 2006 8:13 PM
comment #18
dmac says ...
Too much over-analysis here, folks. The facts are the facts: too long, not enough action, the little kiddies get bored, zero repeat business. $200 mil a lock; not much more, if at all.
Next big story: POTC2 "only" does $275 mil. Hollywood in free fall.
Posted by dmac at July 1, 2006 9:04 PM
comment #19
delbomber says ...
Spiderman is juvenile and treads a fine line between comic-book humor and hokiness, while this Superman deals with adult, complex emotions in a world similar to ours...not quite as dry as Burton's 'Batman', but at least within the same area of the spectrum...
Saw it today...not quite up to par with Jeff's initial orgasmic review, but very, very good. KB was fine as Lois Lane, and Kevin Spacey managed NOT to revive Kpax as I had feared he would.
The only I could have wished for would have been to see Supes actually FAIL to save someone now and again...
One word of advice...if you're going to see it in an IMAX that happens NOT to be in 3D, avoid at all costs...even if the only other mega-screen is 30 miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic, earth will understand and give you a pass for your carbon emissions...
All shows for the day were sold out...my neighbor saw it at the King of Prussia theater (the third largest mall in America), and almost every show was sold out. Two small samples, but on a beautiful day in Philly on 4th of July weekend, this is no small feat. In a city where people have literally been killed for parking spots, you could park a semi on almost every block in my neighborhood, as hundreds of thousands have flocked to "the shore". Saturday's numbers should be interesting.
Posted by delbomber at July 1, 2006 9:12 PM
comment #20
CharlieDontSurf says ...
Crappy trailer, looked a bit soft and fluffy to the under 20 crowd,
Superman has been around plenty for the last 10 years...Lois and Clark, Smallville, and Chris Reeves. Also...Superman is an alien...not human. Spiderman,Batman, X-men....all human.
Bosworth,Routh,Spacey...borring...nobody cares.
I'm a movie junkie...see the good, the bad, and the ugly in theatres and on DVD. For reasons I don't even know...I have absolutly no interest in seeing this movie. That was the first indication that it was going to do poorly...I see everything, and yet for whatever reason when I saw the trailer or heard about this movie only one thing came to mind...blah.
I'm sure at some point next week I'll end up seeing it...and maybe it will be good. It won't change one key fact...the public doesn't care about Superman...it is not that interesting of a action hero/character when compared with Spidermen, Neo, Xmen, Batman, Jason Bourne, Jack Bauer.
Add to the fact that when someone thinks of Superman they recall one thing...Chris Reeves. Not a movie, or comic book character, but a former actor who gave a lot of people hope and inspiration before passing away.
Posted by CharlieDontSurf at July 1, 2006 9:48 PM
comment #21
Neeb says ...
>>Next big story: POTC2 "only" does $275 mil. Hollywood in free fall.
Probably. But guess what? Depp, Bruckheimer, Bloom, et al ain't going to have to wait to buy that mansion in Aspen.
Posted by Neeb at July 1, 2006 11:27 PM
comment #22
Fielding says ...
CharlieDontSurf, it's Chris REEVE, dumbass.
Jason Bourne?? Jack Bauer?? What do THEY have to do with Superman's viability as a character?
Posted by Fielding at July 1, 2006 11:31 PM
comment #23
Telemachos says ...
Can't say I understand the love for SR. Good intentions don't mean good delivery. I didn't think Singer brought much to the table at all -- there were about a half-dozen other films in SR, and none of them were very well developed. Too bad, there were some interesting concepts there. But what came out was 2.5 hours of bland.
Posted by Telemachos at July 2, 2006 12:22 AM
comment #24
Anonymous says ...
So much negative chat makes me weary. A 2 1/2 runung time and a character driven story will automatically limit box office and turn off MTV-bred action fetishists. Gone are the days when epic spectacle with a heart almost guarantees huge audiences.
SR will get its £200 mil - not too shabby. International receipts will be good, especially from European countries that appreciate quality.
Posted by Anonymous at July 2, 2006 10:00 AM
comment #25
Bob says ...
One important thing being overlooked here, at least as far as Warners' business-prospects for this goes, is that for the company-proper the actual film reciepts are just the "key" peice of the bigger whole. That the film is even a "respectible" success means that the Superman "franchise" gets a big across-the-board interest-injection, and for the company as a whole that's the important thing.
This isn't like "Spider-Man" where Sony only gets to keep the merch dollars that directly tie into the film. Warners owns DC Comics, which means every single penny made off ANYTHING Superman comes right back to them. Every toy, every t-shirt, every collectible, every comic trade-paperback, all those DVDs of every Superman TV show or animated series ever produced, all of that sees some kind of sales bump from this. Not to mention they'll probably double-dip on the DVD (theatrical out for the Holidays, innevitable "extended version" later) and maybe TRIPLE-dip when it comes time for Part 2.
When you look at it, Batman Begins had a harder job to do in this respect. It had to SAVE it's franchise. Batman had to show up, look good, declare "I don't suck anymore!" and then PROVE it for it to be an over-arching success for WB. All Superman had to do, really, was say "I'm still here!" and simply hold his own. That parts done.
Posted by Bob at July 2, 2006 12:00 PM
comment #26
lester says ...
"...especially from European countries that appreciate quality"
Like Poseidon?
Posted by lester at July 2, 2006 4:37 PM
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