Box Office Dominance of Superman
In its second weekend, “Superman” remains the top box office attraction, outperforming new releases such as “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Smurfs,” and “Eddington.”
Box Office Earnings
The reboot by DC Studios garnered $16.6 million on its second Friday, bringing its domestic total to $194.4 million. Excluding last week’s preview screenings, this marks a 50% decline. It has surpassed “Thunderbolts” ($189 million), making it the eighth-highest grossing North American release of the year.
Future Projections
“Superman” is projected to close its first ten days with a total of around $235 million. Comic book movies often see significant weekend-to-weekend drops due to initial fan enthusiasm. However, the James Gunn-directed installment appears to be mitigating that trend. For comparison, Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” films experienced second-weekend drops of 55%, 55%, and 47%, while “The Batman” saw a 50% decline.
Production Costs and Upcoming Features
With a hefty production budget of $225 million, “Superman” needs to maintain solid week-to-week performance. DC Studios and Warner Bros. aim to prove the longevity of their cinematic universe, with upcoming installments “Supergirl” and “Clayface” set for release in 2026, alongside a reboot of “Wonder Woman” currently in development.
New Releases Overview
Among the newcomers, Columbia Pictures’ horror film “I Know What You Did Last Summer” leads the pack with $5.8 million from Friday and preview screenings across 3,206 theaters. It is anticipated to open above $13 million, albeit short of earlier estimates of $15 million, representing a lower-risk endeavor with an $18 million production budget.
Performance of Other New Films
Trailing closely, Paramount’s animated film “Smurfs” made $4 million on its opening day and is projected to achieve a three-day total of around $12 million. This would be a disappointing result for the nearly 70-year-old comic franchise, given its $58 million production budget and its previous film’s opening of $13 million in 2017.
Other Notable Releases
A24’s “Eddington,” a pandemic-themed film, opened outside the top five with about $1.8 million from 2,111 venues. The film, featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal, is expected to fall short of its projected $5 million debut. “Jurassic World Rebirth” took second place, grossing $6.5 million and expected to surpass $275 million in total by Sunday.
Warner Bros.’ “F1” rounded out the top five, adding $2.8 million on Friday, maintaining a slim 24% drop from last week’s earnings, with a total expected to reach $154 million by Sunday.
