Man of Steel's $46 Million Friday Puts it On Pace For Best June Opening Ever

It wasn't that long ago that ComicBook.com was wondering, "Could Man of Steel have the best June opening ever?" Well, barring an absolutely catastrophic rest of the weekend, it looks as though breaking that particular record is now a done deal. Yesterday, the Superman reboot brought in between $46 and $50 million (depending on who you ask, as official numbers are not yet released), putting the film on pace for an opening weekend of between $132 and $135 million. Currently, the record for the biggest opening weekend ever for a movie opening in June is $110.3 million for Toy Story 3. Passing that number at this point seems like a foregone conclusion, although we'll know officially probably late tonight or early tomorrow morning if it's actually been done. The audience response has been positive, with over 80% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- CinemaScore (putting it about even with this year's biggest box office draw, Iron Man 3), so there's a good chance that the movie will have legs, at least among older audiences. With Monsters University getting great buzz and hitting theaters soon, Man of Steel may not be a dominant force for the rest of the month, but looks to be at least an impressive one, making its production budget back in 2-3 weeks on top of the $170 million it already raked in from its promotional partners. All of that spells good news for fans hoping to get a sequel or spinoff; Warner Bros. have said that Man of Steel 2, Justice League and other DC Entertainment properties' fates would be tied to Man of Steel's box office performance.