Faster than speeding bullet, 'Man of Steel' sets June record

Watson attends premiere of 'This Is the End'

"This is the End," written by star Seth Rogen and his childhood friend Evan Goldberg, collected $20.5 million at theaters in the domestic market comprised of the United States and Canada, according to studio estimates collected by Reuters.

"We're off to a really good start," said Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures' president of worldwide distribution.

Citing "great word of mouth," Bruer predicted the movie "is going to be one of those films that's going to be around for a good part of the summer. It's so fresh and original," he added.

The comedy depicting the end of the world stars more than a dozen well-known Hollywood actors including James Franco, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Emma Watson.

In third place, the comedy heist caper "Now You See Me" continued its stronger-than-expected showing with ticket sales of $10.3 million, bringing its three-week total to $80 million.

"Man of Steel" came out of the gate roaring, with $9 million in midnight showings early on Friday morning, according to the box office division of Hollywood.com, adding $12 million in Thursday showings in association with retailer Walmart.

The film broke the record of $110.3 million held by 2010's "Toy Story 3" for a June opening and was this year's second-biggest debut weekend after "Iron Man 3."

"The Purge," made for $3 million by the producer of the low-budget "Paranormal Activity" series, finished fifth with $8.2 million, behind the speeding car franchise sixth film, "Fast & Furious 6," which took in $9.4 million in its fourth week in release for a total of $220 million since Memorial Day.

Starring Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, "The Purge" is set in 2022 when the US government reduces crime by allowing almost all crime to go unpunished during a 12-hour "purge" period.

"The Internship," a comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson based on the antics of nerds in search of a job at internet giant Google, continued its lackluster box office showing, selling $7 million worth of tickets to finish sixth.

"After Earth," a $130 million post-apocalyptic thriller starring Will Smith and his teenage son Jaden, continued its weak showing at US and Canadian box office with $3.6 million, in ninth place. "After Earth" did perform well overseas, selling $24 million worth of tickets outside the domestic market.

"Man of Steel" was released by Warner Bros. Sony/Columbia released "This is the End." "The Purge" and "Fast and Furious 6" were distributed by Universal, a unit of Comcast's NBC Universal unit. "The Internship" was released by Fox, a unit of News Corp. "Now You See Me" was distributed by Summit Entertainment, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment.