Shannon Nutt

I think the script for MAN OF STEEL must have been pretty damn good, otherwise you wouldn't have people like Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Amy Adams, and Kevin Costner jumping on board. None of those guys (even Costner these days) is just looking to cash in on something - they're all pretty in-demand right now.

RichC2

Russell Crowe - Man with the Iron Fists (2012), Broken City (2013)
Michael Shannon - Premium Rush, Machine Gun Preacher
Amy Adams - Trouble with the Cruve, On the Road
Kevin Costner - Hah

Those are some pretty lackluster movies as of late. I haven't seen Costner in anything for a while now, but I imagine he hasn't been offered roles in too many big budget movies featuring an iconic superhero.

Groucho

I don't think that A-list talent is an indicator of a good script. Many many examples to disprove that.

GoldenJCJ

Here's something else to consider that might lean in Man of Steel's favor; All the previous Marvel movies were made to lead up to The Avengers. I wonder how many people will start to drop off of the Marvel movies feeling that they've hit their peak so to speak. Each Marvel movie seemed to be just another exciting step which ultimately culminated in The Avengers. Now that The Avengers has been released will people feel as if the Marvel movies are no longer building toward anything and thus are no longer essential to see?

Groucho

I think everybody realizes that we're now in the second Avengers cycle.

Hokeyboy

Michael Caine would like a word.

Artman

Man of Steel's also in 3D (conversion) right? Hadn't factored that.. I think it's a lock for 250+... but IM3 should be at about 350+. (counting some dropp-off, but new 3D revenue)

Michael Corvin

That was the idea. I was supposed to be a pseudo sequel to SII, IIRC.

I liked the concept, but outside of a couple cool scenes it just fell short. Did you at least make it to the airplane sequence?

Hokeyboy

^Unfortunately, SR ended up as a pseudo remake of the first Reeve movie. Trying to hit most of the same beats, but missing anything new, original, exciting, or compelling.

EDIT: The plane rescue sequence excluded.

RichC2

You're considering a smaller percentage of the people viewing it. There's a reason why Captain America, Thor and Incredible Hulk all grossed well under $200m while both Iron Man movies easily exceeded $300m.

Plus The Avengers connection hurt Iron Man 2 (in terms of the movie itself). I actually know a lot of people that enjoyed the hell out of the Iron Man movies (#2 included) that couldn't make it through The Avengers.

Man of Steel has Nolan's name going for it, not sure how much they're pushing it but that's about the only thing of interest that really sets it apart. Zack Snyder hasn't made a particularly memorable movie yet and the "realism" aspect that boosted Batman (alright it wasn't realistic but it was more grounded than any other super hero flick not called Super) isn't really applicable to an alien in tights.

Also while Nolan had input on the story, Goyer was lead writer, that worries me, the guy has great ideas but isn't a particularly strong writer, even if he did write one of my favorite movies (Dark City).

Ash Ketchum

The one where he stops the plane Lois is on from crashing? Yeah, I got through that. I thought it was pretty impossible that the plane didn't plow Superman underground for a mile or two and take out half the baseball fans. If they'd done that in a Japanese movie, everyone in the stands would have died and they still would have treated him like he was a hero! (They do that in the sentai/Power Rangers shows all the time--their Zords fight the giant monsters in Tokyo cityscape and invariably knock down a few buildings that simply wouldn't have had the time to evacuate. Yet the Power Rangers are high-fiving each other afterwards in every episode.)

One thing really bothered me this time (in SUPERMAN RETURNS). Superman's been gone for five years. And so has Clark Kent. Clark returns and gets his old job back and then Superman makes his first appearance in five years! Perry, Lois, and Jimmy would all have looked at Clark immediately and said, "Hey, when you come back, Superman also comes back. Take off those glasses!"

RichC2

My main issue with Superman Returns is it just felt like complete and total filler. Filler for what? I don't know.

PenguinJoe

I don't really have much interest in Man of Steel I'll see it but I don't have much interest in it. Kind of like Thor. I could care less if Thor came out or not never been a character I thought was that great but I saw the movie.

Mr. Cinema

So basically you're saying Iron Man 3 will open to $150 million and that's what Man of Steel is going to do for its entire run? I think that's a bit ridiculous.

I'm expecting Man of Steel to open to $100 million and have longer legs than Iron Man 3, which will have some heavy competition in May. It has to deal with Star Trek later in the month. I think it'll be front loaded like part 2.

I voted Man of Steel to win. Superman Returns came out 7 long years ago. It wasn't hated like Batman & Robin was, so I don't expect the grudge to last as long. SR still managed to reach $200 million and had to deal with Dead Man's Chest in weekend #2 in which it got clobbered.

Man of Steel doesn't have that tough of competition after it opens.

RichC2

My thing is why would there be a sudden surge of interest in another Superman movie right now?

Mr. Cinema

Boxoffice.com have released their early US projections for both films.

Iron Man 3 opening at $151 mil, $375 mil total

Man of Steel opening at $108 mil, $325 mil total

hanshotfirst1138

"Naturalistic" or "believable" might be better terms to use than "realistic." Still, given that we're talking about a superhero movie, the fact that the guy doesn't fly and travel through time sort of qualifies as realistic. Sort of. Enough.

I've heard decidedly mixed things about most of his work. The stuff of his I've seen that I have like has almost uniformaly been because of the other people involved changing it. Nolan rewrote Batman Begins, and Goyer's lines still stick out, del Toro and Norrington both changed his Blade scripts substantially. As far Snyder goes, not a single thing of his I've seen has given me the idea he understands anything besides pretty picture. What was good about Watchmen was a handful of interesting visuals and some of the still- intelligent stuff left over from the comic. 300 was loud and stupid, Sucker Punch was garish, adolescent, and stupid, Dawn of the Dead was pretty but empty.

That's because all of the battles in Power Rangers take place in Angel Grove's "abandoned warehouse district," you silly fool .

What's most frustrating about it is that Singer had just finished the phenomenal X2 and probably would've made a badass X3, but instead Fox refused to wait for him, so we got a mediocre Superman movie and a god-awful X-Men movie for the price of what would've been one great X-Men movie.

fumanstan

It's been referenced in every trailer, hasn't it?

RichC2

I can't remember, I've seen all the trailers but have forgotten them

superdeluxe

Yes, Because IM3 people are going to feel a positive buzz with Avengers.

DthRdrX

I believe IM3 will make more but it will have more competition because May is pretty stacked.

Star Trek, Fast and Furious, Hangover 3, Great Gatsby will provide a lot of different options in May.

Superman is primarily going against Monsters Uni and World War Z in June.

d2cheer

That guy is all over the board with his projections usually.

No way does MOS open that big.

Paul_SD

Iron Man will open big and enjoy a healthy haul. But it isn't anything new, in fact the whole schtick is beginning to get overly familiar (just as Depps wonderfully conceived Jack Sparrow eventually did). And in a way it's anti climactic. To think it will dominate grosses just because it follows another movie that did, reminds me of the way 1981, 1984 and 1989 played out. All had sequels to previously huge movies opening and all were expected to be 'the big one' that summer- yet all were eclipsed by something else that was newer and fresher.
Superman may be a familiar property, but a generation (in terms of child/teen audiences) has passed since it's last poor theatrical presentation in 2006 and this interpretation isn't going to be anything like the previous ones. It may have some tonal similarities to the original film, but then we are talking a difference of 35 years.
In any case, it has to feel a little fresher than seeing the same actor essaying the same property for the fourth time in nearly as many years. I don't know if it will gross more than IM3, but I get the feeling more good will is going to get lobbed it's way and I have no doubt it will have much longer legs.

Mike86

I think the difference though is that Marvel/Disney and Robert Downey Jr./the Iron Man franchise is that it isn't to the point yet where people are tired of the character. I do however think that if Marvel/Disney keeps it up they eventually run the risk of overexposing these franchises and people are going to tire of them.

mhg83

I wouldn't be surprised if they kill off Iron Man in Avengers 2. That would make it five movies for RDJ I think by then he'd get too old to play him.