With $52 million, Green Lantern flew into the top spot at the weekend box office, which is what we expected (and predicted) back on Friday. It wasn’t hard to see this coming, though, considering the summer’s other major superhero films (Thor and X-Men: First Class) both opened up at number one, though Green Lantern did earn less than its two predecessors. Meanwhile, the week’s other major release, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, did not have enough to freeze out the competition, despite funnyman Jim Carrey in the lead role. It finished third (behind Super 8) with $18.2 million. X-Men: First Class ($11.5 million) and The Hangover Part II ($9.63 million) rounded out the top five.
Part of the reasons why Green Lantern didn’t do as well was because of the reviews, which really came down hard on the DC superhero movie, calling into question whether or not Warner Bros. will take chances on additional sequels (the final box office tally will answer that question). Then again, fans seemed to really like Green Lantern (read one fan’s take over at Movies.com), and so perhaps the film didn’t do enough to satisfy critics, but definitely lived up to fan expectation.
Of course, the reason why we write this post each week is to get your reaction to the weekend’s new releases, so sound off below and let us know what you really thought of these movies.
