"Superman" flies off with $21 million in opening

Warner Bros. has a lot riding on "Superman Returns," which stars Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel. The studio spent more than $200 million to make the movie and tens of millions more to promote it, hoping to rekindle a franchise that all but died in 1987 after the last "Superman" film flopped at box offices.

Big-budget action movie "Superman Returns" raked in an estimated $21 million from its debut at U.S. box offices, including early previews, film studio Warner Bros. said on Thursday.

The opening tally fell short of a record but proved a solid start for the comic book adventure ahead of a holiday weekend, box office analysts said.

"We’re flying," said Warner Bros. domestic distribution chief Dan Fellman. "We have this long wonderful weekend ahead of us and the balance of the summer."

Warner Bros. has a lot riding on "Superman Returns," which stars Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel. The studio spent more than $200 million to make the movie and tens of millions more to promote it, hoping to rekindle a franchise that all but died in 1987 after the last "Superman" film flopped at box offices.

Including Tuesday night previews, the movie took in slightly over $21 million in a 3,915 theaters, which breaks down to $3 million on Tuesday and $18 million on Wednesday.

The 18 million figure ranks it No. 11 on the list of all-time Wednesday openers, just below "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co., Inc.

"It’s a very solid number," said Exhibitor Relations President Paul Dergarabedian. "For this movie, it’s not about breaking an opening weekend record. I think it’s about maximizing their playing time" in upcoming weeks.

The Tuesday-Wednesday opening total puts "Superman Returns" just below $21.5 million grossed by "War of the Worlds," which starred Tom Cruise and opened ahead of the US Independence Day holiday last year.