I think it’s safe to say that Warner Brothers has found a new franchise to take the place of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy as Man of Steel opened to an estimated $113 million over the weekend ($125 million including Thursday night screenings). That sets a new record for best opening weekend in June, toppling the previous record holder Toy Story 3, although it remains behind Iron Man 3 for the biggest debut of 2013 thus far. It was a significant improvement on Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, which made just $52 million back in 2006, and also Batman Begins, which earned $48 million in 2005. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s This is the End came in second with a slightly disappointing $20.5 million although it did open on Wednesday, bringing its five-day total to $32.5 million. Now You See Me had a surprisingly strong third weekend, holding at #3 above both Fast & Furious 6 and The Purge (which dropped a disastrous 76% from last week). Next weekend Pixar should prove to be a worthy opponent for Superman.

1. Man of Steel — $113M
2. This Is the End — $20.5M
3. Now You See Me — $10.3M
4. Fast & Furious 6 — $9.43M
5. The Purge — $8.2M
6. The Internship — $7M
7. Epic — $6M
8. Star Trek Into Darkness — $5.66M
9. After Earth — $3.75M
10. Iron Man 3 — $2.91M