Some people thought the Man of Steel box office was going to be around $80,000. I even heard that Warner Bros. said they would be thrilled if it made between $85,000 and $100,000. Well, they must be doing back flips right about now. According to Deadline on June 15, Man of Steel is on pace for a $125 million domestic weekend and a $151 million worldwide take. That should also break the record for an opening weekend in June (Toy Story 3, $110.3 million).

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Both Aidan’s Man of Steel review and Jesse’s Man of Steel review said how great the movie was, and while Jesse had some reservations about its greatness, he said he liked it more when he went back to see it a second time. While a lot of critics are giving it bad reviews (check out Aidan’s reaction to Man of Steel’s bad reviews here and D-Rock’s counter argument here), that is not stopping people from going to see it themselves.

Deadline reports that the $9 million from the midnight showings was followed by an impressive matinée showing on opening day and a great showing that night as well. The CinemaScore ranking (fans reactions leaving the theater) gives Man of Steel an “A-” which means more considering what some comic book fan boys complained about with the end of the movie.

It is also enough to guarantee there will be a sequel (rumored to be called “Man of Tomorrow”). The Man of Steel box office on its opening weekend was also destroys Superman Returns opening weekend take of $52.5 million, which is a big enough difference to not pretend that this is all 3D and IMAX numbers making the difference. Man of Steel is a hit, pure and simple, and it will probably hold strong all the way through the Fourth of July weekend as well.

Source: Deadline