Man of Steel 2013: Superman Reboot Film Could Break June Record, Earns $21 Million Before Friday Shows Begin

Man of Steel is on its way to a super opening weekend and could set a new record for the month of June at the box office.

The Superman reboot directed by Zack Snyder and starring Henry Cavill hauled in $21 million before regular Friday shows started, according to Box Office Mojo. The movie earned $12 million for Wal-Mart's screening program on Thursday night and $9 million from midnight showings.

The site reports that this is an extremely strong start for a non-sequel film and it is "very likely" that Man of Steel could earn at least $100 million through Sunday. Toy Story 3 set the record for an opening weekend in June in 2010 with $110.3 million, though Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen hauled in $127.8 million in its three-day opener.

The movie opened in 4,207 locations, the second widest release in history for a non-sequel film. Box Office Mojo reports that the film should easily earn first place at the box office ahead of Seth Rogen's comedy This Is The End, which opened Wednesday and took in $7.8 million on its first night.

Man of Steel has several factors working in its favor. The Superman character is one of the most iconic in the history of pop culture, which makes him recognizable to almost everyone. Secondly, Man of Steel brought in Christopher Nolan, known for his work on his extremely popular trilogy of Batman movies, as a producer.

For comparison, Superman Returns, the last feature film based on the character, earned $84.6 million in its five-day opening weekend in 2006. It made a little more than $200 million in total, a somewhat low number for a movie based on a character as popular as Superman.