'Man of Steel' Soars Over Box Office Records With $113M Opening Weekend

Man of Steel clark kent — Henry Cavill as Clark Kent in "Man of Steel." Warner Bros

Superman just leaped over box office records in a single bound. After decades of sub-par offerings, the Superman franchise is finally back after Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” conquered the weekend box office with a $113.1 million opening, setting a record for the largest June opening weekend ever.

On top of “Man of Steel’s” excellent Friday-Sunday numbers, the film also opened for advance corporate screenings on Thursday night, bringing in an additional $12 million in revenue. Overall, “Man of Steel” has brought in $125 million since its Thursday night debut.

Not only did “Man of Steel” win the weekend box office, but it also set a record for the highest ever opening weekend in June. “Toy Story 3” from 2010 previously held the record with $110.3 million, a mark that “Man of Steel” was narrowly able to edge out.

Based on those numbers, it’s extremely likely that “Man of Steel” will become the first part of a trilogy. Previously, Warner Bros. and DC Comics attempted to revive Superman for the big screen in 2006 with “Superman Returns,” a quasi-sequel to 1980’s “Superman II.” The $270 million film was released to mixed reviews and fan reaction, and “Superman Returns” only grossed about $200 million at the domestic box office. Plans for a 2009 sequel were scrapped, effectively killing the Superman franchise for years. Now, however, Warner Bros. seems to have taken the right approach, and we can almost certainly expect more Superman before long.

"Anything over $100 million means the franchise is back," Jeff Bock, vice president and chief analyst of Exhibitor Relations, told USA Today. "The studio gave the movie the right tone for today's audiences — something dark."

In second place this weekend was the apocalyptic stoner comedy “This is the End,” which brought in a healthy $20.5 million in its first weekend. The comedy, which stars actors like Seth Rogen, James Franco and Chris Robinson as themselves in a struggle to survive the apocalypse, cost only some $32 million to make, meaning that “This is the End” is well on its way to earning a healthy profit.

Check out the top 10 movies at this weekend’s box office below, courtesy of Box Office Mojo.