“Superman” Opened with $122 million

In a bid to kickoff a new era for DC Studios, James Gunn’s “Superman” opened with $122 million in U.S. and Canada ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Those are strong ticket sales, enough to rank as the year’s third-largest debut after “A Minecraft Movie” ($162 million) and “Lilo & Stitch” ($146 million).

Warner Bros. and DC Studios have a lot at stake, and not just because “Superman” cost a hefty $225 million to produce and roughly $100 million to promote.

The superhero film is the first entry in the relaunched DC Universe and has the colossal responsibility of igniting a new interconnected comic book universe for the studio.