Superman beat Batman at the box office. But he was only half as strong as Spider-Man.
“Superman Returns” took in $21.04 million on its opening day, making it No. 8 on the all-time list of movies that debuted on a Wednesday, according to distributor Warner Bros.
The No. 1 Wednesday premiere was for “Spider-Man 2,” which took in $40.4 million on its first day in business before July 4, 2004. “Superman Returns” came in just behind the No. 7 movie, last year’s “War of the Worlds,” which took in $21.3 million on the Wednesday before July 4.
Last year’s “Batman Begins” ranks 13th among Wednesday debuts with $15.1million.
“War of the Worlds” wound up doing just over $100 million in its first five days over the Independence Day weekend last year. If “Superman Returns” comes close to matching that, it will be well on its way to joining this year’s blockbusters.
With generally positive reviews, “Superman Returns” drew a wide audience equally divided among those 25 and older and those younger, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner.
With nine days between the debut of “Superman Returns” and Hollywood’s next big movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” Warner Bros. positioned the superhero’s revival for a strong start, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
———-
The Personals page was compiled by Emily Rosenbaum from Tribune news services and staff reports.
