James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ Flies Toward Unprecedented Box Office Heights as ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Slows Down

Director James Gunn’s hotly anticipated Superman is on its way to giving the freshly-launched DC Universe franchise an auspicious start. The superhero film debuted to positive reviews and an even better audience response, as it targeted the $100 million mark in its domestic box office debut. Not only will the film certainly pass this coveted milestone, it’s also going to challenge director Zack Snyder’s franchise-launching 2013 film Man of Steel. Both movies are currently neck-and-neck at the box office, with Superman having a slight edge, at least as things stand.

The movie made $56 million on opening day, which is identical to the $56 million that Man of Steel debuted with over a decade ago. That film, which divided critics and audiences, eventually grossed $116 million in its first weekend at the domestic box office. Superman, on the other hand, is currently targeting $115 million across its first three days of release, but with a $120 million haul also on the cards. This could be possible mainly because of the positive reviews it has received, and perhaps even some of the controversy that it has attracted. Starring David Corenswet in the lead role, Superman is sitting at a “certified fresh” 82% haul on Rotten Tomatoes, where its audience score is even higher, at 94%. The movie also earned an A- CinemaScore from the opening day crowds, which is a positive sign of things to come.

Superman pushed last week’s champion, Jurassic World Rebirth, to the number two spot. The seventh installment of the long-running action adventure franchise has already passed the $200 million mark domestically and the $400 million mark worldwide. It grossed over $11 million on its second Friday, as it aims for more than $35 million for the weekend. Featuring Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey in the central roles, Jurassic World Rebirth is all set to pass the $500 million mark globally this weekend, although its chances of hitting $1 billion are still up in the air.

Two Massive Holdover Hits Stayed On Course

Slipping to the number three spot, the sports drama F1 grossed around $3 million on its third Friday, as it looks at around $11 million for the weekend. This should take the film’s running domestic total past the $130 million milestone. This weekend, F1 will also aim to surge past the $400 million mark globally, having already recovered its reported budget of $300 million. Starring Brad Pitt and directed by Joseph Kosinski, F1 has been aided tremendously by solid audience reviews, and a certain “event movie” appeal. The fourth spot on this Friday’s charts was claimed by How to Train Your Dragon, which is projected to gross just under $6 million in its fifth weekend, pushing its running domestic total towards the $240 million milestone.

The top five list was rounded out by Pixar’s Elio, which took another tumble. Now in its third weekend, the movie is eyeing only around $3 million, which should take its running domestic total past the $65 million milestone. It still hasn’t recovered even half of its budget, which is said to be as high as $200 million thanks to a complete overhaul after a significant portion had been completed. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.