'Man of Steel' Grosses $21M From Thursday and Midnight Screenings: Can Superman Soar Past $100M?

Man of Steel finally hit theaters today, with many analysts predicting Zack Snyder's Superman reboot will debut to at least $100 million for the weekend. The film is off to a great start already, bringing in $21 million through Wal-Mart screenings* on Thursday and midnight showings. Unfortunately, the $12 million that Man of Steel earned through the Wal-Mart screenings won't count toward the movie's weekend box office numbers, as they showings didn't run into Friday morning.

When Superman Returns debuted in 2006, the Bryan Singer film opened with a $52.54 million weekend, a number Man of Steel should easily surpass. Considering that Man of Steel is the best Superman movie ever released, it's only appropriate that it becomes the Superman movie to perform the best at the box office too.

Let's quickly touch on those subpar Man of Steel reviews you may have seen. Don't believe them. They don't know what they're talking about. If you love Superman and have always wanted to see him in an insanely epic movie, you'll like Man of Steel. If you want to see him finally take on a villain who was a real threat to not only Superman but also the entire Earth, you've been waiting to see Man of Steel.

If you're hopelessly wedded to those original Superman movies and that's the only version of the character you know, you probably won't like Man of Steel. I'm sorry, but there isn't an actor chewing scenery as a corny version of Lex Luthor carrying out some land scheme. There aren't any giant kryptonite islands, kids with asthma who are actually Superman's son or characters played by Kal Penn. If those are the things that you're looking for in a Superman movie or the elements that made you love Superman Returns, yeah, you're probably going to hate Man of Steel. And that' your loss.

Man of Steel is a bold retelling of Superman, and it should be the foundation Warner Bros. needs to finally launch a Justice League franchise.

*The Wal-Mart screenings weren't screenings of Man of Steel in a Wal-Mart. They were screenings at normal movies theaters with tickets given out through a Wal-Mart program. I'm not quite sure where you would show a movie in a Wal-Mart.