Time Warner Inc.'s "Man of Steel," the grim reboot of the Superman movies, took in $113.1 million in ticket sales over the weekend, giving the company the year's second-best opening, behind Walt Disney Co.'s "Iron Man 3."
The film set a record for June opening weekends, toppling "Toy Story 3" ($110.3 million) researcher Hollywood.com Box-Office said Sunday.
Sales for "Man of Steel," suggest Time Warner's Warner Bros. studio has found a new superhero franchise to replace the "Dark Knight" Batman trilogy, which ended last year.
Superman's success also could lead to a "Justice League" film uniting heroes from Warner's DC Comics unit similar to Disney's "The Avengers," which brought Marvel characters, including Iron Man and Thor, into a single film.
"The Avengers" is the third highest-grossing movie of all time, with $1.5 billion in global sales.