\n\tIt\u2019s a bird\u2026 it\u2019s a plane\u2026 it\u2019s a box office hit!<\/p>\n
\n\tAt least that\u2019s how Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is touting the initial results for \u201cSuperman<\/a>,\u201d which climbed to $122 million domestically<\/a> and $217 million globally in its opening weekend.<\/p>\n \n\tThe comic book adaptation, starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, marks a vital reset in the DC Universe. After its last iteration of superhero adventures combusted with four major money losers in \u201cThe Flash,\u201d \u201cAquaman and the Lost Kingdom,\u201d \u201cShazam: Fury of the Gods\u201d and \u201cBlue Beetle,\u201d Zaslav hired Gunn and Peter Safran in 2022 to overhaul DC Studios. The duo has outlined a 10-year-plan of interconnected stories and spinoffs, including 2026\u2019s \u201cSupergirl\u201d and \u201cClayface,\u201d as well as a new take on \u201cWonder Woman\u201d that is being developed. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThree years ago, I hired James Gunn and Peter Safran to reimagine and unify the creative direction of DC under one leadership team, by breathing new life and excitement into one of the most iconic storytelling franchises in the world,\u201d Zaslav said on Sunday of \u201cSuperman\u2019s\u201d opening weekend. \u201cJames and Peter\u2019s commitment to honoring the legacy of the DC Universe while forging something new and enthralling is inspired.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn his bid to match the commercial success of Disney\u2019s Marvel Cinematic Universe, Zaslav was searching for a Kevin Feige-like figure to reinvigorate the perpetually floundering DC Studios. He recalled his first meeting with Gunn, who directed \u201cSuperman\u201d while overseeing the studio with Safran. Zaslav says he knew Gunn, best known for directing Marvel\u2019s \u201cGuardians of the Galaxy\u201d trilogy, was the best person to helm the rebooted universe\u2019s first feature because when he spoke about the DC characters \u201cthey were like his family.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAn opening weekend above $200 million globally<\/a> is something to celebrate, and positive reviews as well as a strong audience response indicate that \u201cSuperman\u201d will stick around during the busy summer season. However, the $225 million-budgeted tentpole will require box office staying power to qualify as a true blockbuster. Disney\u2019s CEO Bob Iger was similarly celebratory<\/a> about Marvel\u2019s latest adventure, \u201cThunderbolts,\u201d only to see the comic book installment collapse on the big screen in subsequent weekends<\/a>. Meanwhile, Superman\u2019s last solo outing, 2013\u2019s \u201cMan of Steel\u201d with Henry Cavill, started strong with $116 million but failed to generate the kind of lasting enthusiasm that spawns an enduring cinematic universe.<\/p>\n \n\tNone of these potential headwinds stopped Zaslav from popping the Champagne over the weekend.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis weekend, we watched\u00a0Superman\u00a0soar as James Gunn\u2019s passion and vision came to life on the big screen.\u00a0Superman\u00a0is just the first step,\u201d Zaslav said. \u201cOver the next year alone, DC Studios will introduce the films\u00a0\u2018Supergirl\u2019\u00a0and\u00a0\u2018Clayface\u2019\u00a0in theaters and the series\u00a0\u2018Lanterns\u2019\u00a0on HBO Max, all part of a bold 10-year plan. The DC vision is clear, the momentum is real, and I couldn\u2019t be more excited for what\u2019s ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a bird\u2026 it\u2019s a plane\u2026 it\u2019s a box office hit! At least that\u2019s how Warner Bros. Discovery…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":62987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[171,9180,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-62986","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-superman","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114847592137826351","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}