Faster than speeding bullet, ‘Man of Steel’ sets June box office record

LOS ANGELES – “Man of Steel,” the big-budget reboot of the Superman franchise, leaped over the apocalyptic buddy comedy “This is the End,” collecting a muscular $113.1 million to lead the domestic box office with the year’s second-largest debut weekend and the biggest June opening ever.

“Man of Steel,” starring British-born Henry Cavill in the first Superman movie released in seven years, carried a hefty budget of $225 million and took in a total of $125 million through Sunday including early screenings, according to BoxOffice.com.

The special-effects laden film is the story of the infant Kal-El, who escapes his doomed home planet Krypton and grows up in the idyllic town of Smallville with his parents, played by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane. Amy Adams plays the budding super hero’s girlfriend Lois Lane.

The film, directed by Zack Snyder, with Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight,” “Inception”) serving as co-writer and one of its producers, added $71.6 million from overseas box offices in 24 markets.

“Today is a big day for us,” said Warner Bros’ president of theatrical distribution Dan Fellman, noting the film’s record opening. He added that “Man of Steel” was now well-poised to reap big box office “in the heart of the summer play time.”

The studio was also pleased by 56 percent male, 44 percent female audience, which Fellman said bodes well being a higher-female makeup than was usual for superhero-centered pictures.

“The film is playing extremely well for fan boys as well as the family,” he said.

“This is the End,” written by star Seth Rogen and his childhood friend Evan Goldberg, collected $20.5 million at theaters in the domestic market comprised of the United States and Canada, according to studio estimates collected by Reuters.

“We’re off to a really good start,” said Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures’ president of worldwide distribution.

Citing “great word of mouth,” Bruer predicted the movie “is going to be one of those films that’s going to be around for a good part of the summer. It’s so fresh and original,” he added.

The comedy depicting the end of the world stars more than a dozen well-known Hollywood actors including James Franco, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Emma Watson.

In third place, the comedy heist caper “Now You See Me” continued its stronger-than-expected showing with ticket sales of $10.3 million, bringing its three-week total to $80 million.

“Man of Steel” came out of the gate roaring, with $9 million in midnight showings early on Friday morning, according to the box office division of Hollywood.com, adding $12 million in Thursday showings in association with retailer Walmart.

The film broke the record of $110.3 million held by 2010′s “Toy Story 3″ for a June opening and was this year’s second-biggest debut weekend after “Iron Man 3.”

“The Purge,” made for $3 million by the producer of the low-budget “Paranormal Activity” series, finished fifth with $8.2 million, behind the speeding car franchise sixth film, “Fast & Furious 6,” which took in $9.4 million in its fourth week in release for a total of $220 million since Memorial Day.

Starring Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, “The Purge” is set in 2022 when the U.S. government reduces crime by allowing almost all crime to go unpunished during a 12-hour “purge” period.

“The Internship,” a comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson based on the antics of nerds in search of a job at internet giant Google, continued its lackluster box office showing, selling $7 million worth of tickets to finish sixth.

“After Earth,” a $130 million post-apocalyptic thriller starring Will Smith and his teenage son Jaden, continued its weak showing at U.S. and Canadian box office with $3.6 million, in ninth place. “After Earth” did perform well overseas, selling $24 million worth of tickets outside the domestic market.

“Man of Steel” was released by Warner Bros. Sony/Columbia released “This is the End.” “The Purge” and “Fast and Furious 6″ were distributed by Universal, a unit of Comcast’s NBC Universal unit. “The Internship” was released by Fox, a unit of News Corp. “Now You See Me” was distributed by Summit Entertainment, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment.

source: interaksyon.com

Latest trailer of ‘Man of Steel’ reveals more of Superman’s new enemies

And it’s not Lex Luthor. In fact, the most famous nemesis of the DC Comics superhero is not even in “Man of Steel”, Zach Snyder’s highly anticipated reboot of the Superman film franchise.

But the filmmaker who specializes in the science fiction genre (“Watchmen”, “300”) is bringing back another famous villain that became a household name from “Superman II”. Yes, General Zod, that pesky Kryptonian who held a grudge against Superman’s old man, Jor-El, is back to wreak havoc in the new film.

Originally played by British actor Terence Stamp, the megalomaniac Kryptonian general with the same superpowers as Superman will now be essayed by acclaimed character actor Michael Shannon, who received an Academy Award nomination for Sam Mendes’ “Revolutionary Road” in 2008.

Aside from Shannon, the trailer dubbed as “Fate of Your Planet” also includes a glimpse of Lawrence Fishburne as Perry White, the editor-in-chief of The Daily Planet newspaper where Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent works as a reporter. (British actor Henry Cavill plays Clark Kent, as well as Kal-El and Superman himself.)

There’s also a close-up of German actress Antje Traue who plays Faora, a member of Zod’s surviving Kryptonian army. In “Superman II”, Zod’s lone female follower Ursa was played by Sarah Douglas.

Also starring in “Man of Steel” are Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Jonathan and Martha Kent and Russell Crowe as Jor-El. Christopher Meloni, Harry Lennix, Michael Kelly and Richard Schiff round up the rest of the cast.

In “Man of Steel”, a young man embarks on a journey after he learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not from this Earth. But with the world on the brink of annihilation, he must find the hero in him and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film opens in the Philippines on June 12 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and regular theaters nationwide.

trailer

source: interaksyon.com

Why There Will Never, Ever Be Another Great Superman Movie

On Saturday, at San Diego Comic-Con, Warner Bros. will reveal something—a trailer? footage?—from its new Superman movie, Man of Steel.

And maybe the crowd will ooh and aah. (All right, the crowd will ooh and aah.) In any case, when the crowd oohs and aahs, maybe it'll do so because the pitch is great. And maybe the pitch will be great because the movie, directed by 300's Zack Snyder and produced by Dark Knight mastermind Christopher Nolan, is great.


The thing is, even if Man of Steel is great, it won't be a great Superman movie.

It can't be.





Miracles are not subjects for duplication, and Superman: The Movie was nothing if not a miracle.

There had never a superhero movie like it. There hasn't been a good Superman movie since.

And come this December, on the occasion of the Richard Donner-directed film's anniversary, "since" will be going on 34 long years.

Superman II, the first sequel from the hero's Christopher Reeve era, is entertaining enough, but its on-screen flaws—the creeping silliness, cheapness and disregard for Lois Lane, whose Fortress of Solitude affair with Superman is insultingly erased with a superkiss—are signs of far worse things to come.

Bryan Singer's 2006 attempt at a reboot, Superman Returns, while far better than any of the Reeve sequels, isn't a good Superman movie, either. Rather, it's a well-meaning attempt at making a Donner Superman.

If Brandon Routh's hero hadn't been so closed-off as to have ceded the movie to Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor, if not some guy named Richard (James Marsden), maybe Superman Returns would've worked better. But even then, it wouldn't have worked entirely because only Donner can make a Donner Superman movie, and only Donner could make it when he made it.

In 1978, Superman: The Movie's flying credits fly because Star Wars, released the year before, had made sci-fi wanted and desired. Metropolis looks like a place that needs saving because its stand-in, New York City, like many U.S. urban centers of the time, was a decaying place that needed saving. The Daily Planet is abuzz because newspapers could still do that then. Lois Lane smokes because she's a Virginia Slims ad come to life.

Above all, Superman is a confident, unburdened hero because Donner and his writers let him be. And Donner and his writers let him be because, all those years ago, they didn't have graphic-novel-prescribed psychoanalysis to answer to or sift through.

Today, the modern movie superhero is a wreck.

He (and it's still almost always a he) must be touched by a form of madness in order to get to the point where he dons a suit.

The Superman in Superman: The Movie, by comparison, just does it.

One scene, a teenager is sifting through his late Kryptonian father's archives. The next, a fully-grown man is decked out in a cape, uniform and trunks, as ready as he'll ever be to fight for truth, justice and the American way.

Because Reeve's Superman doesn't wonder who he is or why he is, the citizens of Metropolis (aside from ever-inquiring editor Perry White) don't wonder, either.

He's a hero, plain and simple. Let the battle with the bad guy begin.

That's how a great Superman movie is built.

And that's how Man of Steel probably won't be built.

Nolan is the last filmmaker who should be expected to let Superman be. He's been given the keys to the franchise precisely because he's been so successful at not letting Batman sleep soundly.

And maybe, hopefully he'll work his magic again on the new film. Maybe, hopefully, together with Snyder, he'll torture the last son of Krypton all the way back to the top.

But remember, no matter how good their movie looks this weekend, no matter how much the Comic-Con crowd oohs and aahs, Man of Steel can't possibly be a great Superman movie.

There's no more like that one back home.

Today, the modern movie superhero is a wreck.

He (and it's still almost always a he) must be touched by a form of madness in order to get to the point where he dons a suit.

The Superman in Superman: The Movie, by comparison, just does it.

One scene, a teenager is sifting through his late Kryptonian father's archives. The next, a fully-grown man is decked out in a cape, uniform and trunks, as ready as he'll ever be to fight for truth, justice and the American way.

Because Reeve's Superman doesn't wonder who he is or why he is, the citizens of Metropolis (aside from ever-inquiring editor Perry White) don't wonder, either.

He's a hero, plain and simple. Let the battle with the bad guy begin.

That's how a great Superman movie is built.

And that's how Man of Steel probably won't be built.

Nolan is the last filmmaker who should be expected to let Superman be. He's been given the keys to the franchise precisely because he's been so successful at not letting Batman sleep soundly.

And maybe, hopefully he'll work his magic again on the new film. Maybe, hopefully, together with Snyder, he'll torture the last son of Krypton all the way back to the top.

But remember, no matter how good their movie looks this weekend, no matter how much the Comic-Con crowd oohs and aahs, Man of Steel can't possibly be a great Superman movie.

There's no more like that one back home.

source: eonline.com