A film, especially one with a large fan base, is bound to face opposition from a segment of its ardent supporters whenever it undergoes any transformation. History has shown us this time and again, whether in politics, economics, or the movie industry.
During the premiere and advance screenings, CinemaScore also received some negative ratings, particularly from a few staunch Superman fans who vehemently criticized "Man of Steel."
"Lacks basic logic, some scenes were nauseating, an alien destroying various buildings, my attention wandered countless times, I massaged my forehead countless times, a waste of my time and money."
"How bad can a superhero movie get? Just look at Murphy Stanton's 'Man of Steel' to find out."
"Murphy Stanton has destroyed Superman, a character full of sunshine has turned into a lost common man in his hands, which is just ridiculous."
Despite it being midnight, CinemaScore's office was brightly lit. Weekends are always their busiest times, with data faxes arriving from all over North America, often keeping the company busy all night.
As dawn broke, two duty managers in the same office received the same set of data. According to CinemaScore's protocols, they both needed to sign off on the data page before the statistics could be officially released.
"Interesting," remarked the older of the two, looking at the statistical report. "Eighty-two percent of our surveyed audience gave it an A+ rating, but there's also twelve percent who gave it a D- rating."
"The reception of 'Man of Steel' might be polarized," said the younger one, adjusting his glasses.
"It's very likely," agreed the older one. "From the data, it seems a small fraction of the audience strongly disapproves of this new Superman film."
He then asked, "What do you think about the box office?"
"It won't be bad," the younger one mused. "Across North America, there are still many who like dark and deep movies."
The older one agreed, noting that Murphy Stanton's previous films like "Gone Girl" also proved this.
This type of film has never lacked an audience, and Murphy's drawing power has been increasing year by year. By Friday morning, Warner Brothers had already conveyed the opening and advance screening box office numbers to him.
On Thursday night, across 3500 theaters, "Man of Steel" had garnered $13.8 million in advance screenings.
These figures were not as high as "Spider-Man 3," which had premiered two weeks earlier, but for Murphy and Warner Brothers, it was a promising start. Most importantly, unlike "Spider-Man 3," which had poor reviews from both media and viewers, "Man of Steel" had generally favorable reviews.
Despite some negative reviews that quickly emerged after the advance screenings, the overall reception of "Man of Steel" was predominantly positive.
Professional critics, led by Roger Ebert, a well-known film critic, largely gave positive reviews, suggesting that the film's tone really suited their taste.
"The film 'Man of Steel', although an adaptation from a comic, is also a dark and highly complex drama," said Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times.
Almost all well-known critics either in their newspaper columns or on their blogs published reviews of "Man of Steel."
"The tight action plot of 'Man of Steel', where Murphy Stanton used a broader perspective and more varied angles, provided nearly perfect visuals that stunned the audience. If you were fortunate enough to see this film last night, you would undoubtedly be more surprised and more thrilled. The film's uniqueness also lies in its portrayal of a hero's growth amidst fears and nightmares," wrote Richard Chris from The New York Times.
"If 'Man of Steel' is called the most seasoned and ambitious film of its genre, it's not an exaggeration. In terms of conceptualization, creation, performance, and direction, it surpasses all the Superman series, even transcending all comic book-adapted superhero movies. This Superman reboot by Murphy Stanton is a dark, complex, and unsettling movie, at least because it grafts comic heroes onto a blueprint of real reality, not just creating a Superman in stretch fabric, although the difference might not seem significant to those eagerly awaiting the knight of the skies," wrote Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times.
This Pulitzer Prize winner not only gave "Man of Steel" a high rating of nine out of ten but also gave it two thumbs up!
Besides film critics, magazines like "Premiere," "The Hollywood Reporter," and "Cinema Weekly" were full of praise.
"'Man of Steel' Viewing Report: Intense debate between humanity and divinity, superheroes enduring the vicissitudes of life, Wonder Woman strikingly beautiful."
"This is an absolute template for Hollywood superhero movies, representing the highest standard of Hollywood filmmaking art, Murphy Stanton has brought a fascinating work."
"This film continues the consistently excellent elements of Murphy Stanton's works: the gloomy atmosphere, the dramatic story, interesting characters, making this over two-hour
epic, a very thrilling watch."
"'Man of Steel' is a dark and heavy film, it carries far beyond what a superhero movie can bear, its global box office might not catch up with 'Spider-Man 3,' but it might be the best superhero movie. Compared to the flaws and weaknesses of heroes discussed in 'Man of Steel,' 'Spider-Man 3' is really just child's play."
"Through 'Man of Steel,' Murphy Stanton for the first time makes us believe that a plot from popular culture can possess a charm comparable to Greek mythology."
On Friday during the day, as a newly released film, "Man of Steel" easily surpassed both "Spider-Man 3" and "Shrek the Third" in terms of audience numbers and occupancy rates, becoming the most popular film of the day.
As one of Murphy's staunch supporters, Daisy actively posted in IMDb discussion groups, urging members to support "Man of Steel" in theaters as much as possible.
"This is a film worth watching repeatedly. Not only is it possible, but it's also necessary. Given the film's design, the adrenaline-pumping stimulation can't be fully satisfied in just one viewing. The racecar-like pacing, the stunning sound effects, the blood-pumping background music, and the rollercoaster-like plot—I believe no one could remain unmoved on their first viewing!"
Like "Titanic," a blockbuster that drew large audiences, it's crucial to attract new viewers, but getting repeat viewers back into theaters is also vital.
Warner Brothers' marketing was relentless, and internet astroturfing, now an indispensable part of Hollywood movie promotions, undeniably influences some people's perceptions.
By Friday evening, Murphy had received various rating data; though "Man of Steel" faced resistance and extremely low ratings from a portion of the audience, the overall reception was still predominantly positive, showing a trend of starting high and going higher.
On IMDb, 18,957 users participated in rating, averaging an impressive 8.8; the professional critic reception on Rotten Tomatoes was 85% fresh with a composite score of 8.2, and the popcorn index was 92%; CinemaScore's Friday data, despite many D- ratings, maintained a high audience score of A+...
All these indicators suggested that "Man of Steel" was set to be a box office hit, at least in the initially released North American region, where box office results were strong.
Indeed, this was the case.
Early Saturday morning, Warner Brothers conveyed to Murphy the North American first-day box office statistics for "Man of Steel," which opened in 4,250 theaters across North America. Including the $13.8 million from Thursday's advance screenings, "Man of Steel" amassed a total of $46.2 million on its first day.
This figure was notably lower than the North American first-day box office of "Spider-Man 3," but Warner Brothers was exceptionally excited, as in just one day, "Man of Steel" nearly matched the entire opening weekend North American total of "Superman Returns"!
The $46.2 million North American total essentially guaranteed that "Man of Steel" would meet or exceed Warner Brothers' lowest weekend box office expectation of one hundred million dollars.
From this perspective, "Man of Steel" had already achieved a significant portion of success.
Warner Brothers inevitably used "Man of Steel's" reviews and first-day box office numbers as a promotional stunt, which indeed attracted some casual viewers. The film's excellent performance also exhilarated DC's hardcore fans who, in recent years, had seen DC Comics continuously falter in the movie adaptation arena, losing their absolute dominance and even being surpassed by their arch-rival, Marvel Comics.
Online, Marvel fans often mocked DC enthusiasts.
This time, DC fans finally had a reason to celebrate and certainly didn't miss the chance to counterattack Marvel fans.
"Look at the depth of 'Man of Steel' compared to 'Spider-Man 3.' They are not on the same level. Just take the action scenes, in front of Superman and Wonder Woman, what are Spider-Man, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four? They are just like kids squabbling in an elementary schoolyard!"
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