Man of Steel Comes in at Low End of Expectations, Passes Superman Returns

The final numbers, which tend to adjust up slightly, aren't in just yet but it looks as though Man of Steel suffered from heavy competition from World War Z and Monsters University more than expected and grossed only $41.7 million this weekend. That's at the low end of the original $40-$45 million projections, although as recently as Friday million some experts were expecting $45-$50 million so it's quite a step down from there. It was still enough for the film to cross the $200 million mark, beating out Superman Returns as the highest-grossing Superman movie of all time at the domestic box office. Man of Steel currently has $210 million domestically and it's expected that by the time international numbers start to flow in, it will have made between $300 million and $350 million. Superman Returns made $391 million globally during its entire theatrical run. Monsters University made an estimated $82 million this weekend, about $3 million above estimates, and World War Z blew away its fairly modest expectations of a $45 million opening to make $66 million. Suddenly, rather than being considered one of the major flops of 2013, star Brad Pitt and director Marc Forster are talking about the possibility of sequels--which are certainly left wide open by the film's ending. Monsters University now becomes the second-biggest opening in Pixar history, behind only Toy Story 3, which previously held the record for best opening weekend ever in June. Man of Steel broke that record only last week. Reviews on the film have been generally positive, and there isn't another major family film opening next week, so Monsters should have some legs as The Heat and White House Down are the only major new releases.