Welcome to Hollywood, one of the few places on Earth where making $100 million in a week can be considered a disappointment.
"Superman Returns" made $108 million in its first five days of business, which makes it the eighth film this year to break the century mark. But the movie had a reported production budget nearing $260 million — which includes an estimated $210 million-$220 million in actual production costs and $40 million in development costs from all those earlier derailed versions of the project.
That would make "Superman Returns" the most expensive single-film production in the industry's history.
If you buy into Hollywood's economics formula, the studios have to spend as much in promotion and advertising as they do in a film's production, which means the new "Superman" may need to make as much as $500 million just to break even.
However, at this point, it doesn't look like the film will even make the $300 million that was expected from early projections.
Still, it should make $200 million within its first few weeks of business. And it's on track with another superhero movie reboot from last year, "Batman Begins," which grossed $205 million.
But given the massive pre-opening hype, that's considered a disappointment.
Only in Hollywood. . . .
IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE MARKETING KRYPTONITE. Everyone seems to have an opinion about why the opening for "Superman Returns" wasn't as "super" as expected. But it certainly didn't help that the film opened in a market that's already oversaturated with several potential blockbusters, some of which are continuing to do big business.
This year has already seen one superhero movie, "X-Men: The Last Stand," crack the $200 million mark. And with $230 million, it's the year's biggest film so far.
Some pundits have problems with the way Warner Bros. marketed the film. The ads and trailers seemed to play up the romantic aspects of the plot and some of the humor, downplaying the action. But that's a pretty accurate picture of the film, which is not wall-to-wall action.
Also, the studio waited a long time to unveil the film's first trailer and ads. Though Warners did release a brief teaser last Christmas, the first trailer didn't appear until late spring. By then, most of the competition had already been everywhere.
Compare that strategy with Columbia , which has already released a teaser for next summer's "Spider-Man 3." They're certainly making sure people know about that movie.
Speaking of which, the "Spider-Man 3" trailer, which is playing in front of "Superman Returns," looks pretty nifty, with glimpses of Topher Grace as Eddie Brock, the news photographer nemesis of Peter Parker; Flint Marko, or Sandman, played by Thomas Haden Church; and someone using the Green Goblin's glider and pumpkin bombs. And the final shot shows a black-suited Spidey dangling upside-down and seeing his red-and-blue reflection.
Unfortunately, we have to wait nearly a full year for that movie.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com