But here’s the rub: the five-day Wed-Sun debut of Superman Returns, which was $83 million back in July, 2006, would be around $103 million today adjusted for inflation and about $118 million adjusted for a normal 3D/IMAX bump. As such, the much-anticipated, heavily-marketed, etc. etc. Man Of Steel sold 14.2 million tickets, or just a bit more than the 12.9 million tickets that Superman Returns sold in its official Wed-Sun debut weekend. So what seems like a massive improvement on its face is partially merely seven years of inflation and the aforementioned 3D/IMAX advantage. Truth be told, it’s not a slam on Man Of Steel (because a $125 million debut is an unmitigated triumph for pretty much anything outside of a The Avengers 2 or Avatar 2) but just reinforces that Superman Returns, which earned $200 million domestic and $395 million worldwide, wasn’t so much a bomb as a massively over-budgeted tent-pole which couldn’t deliver record-breaking numbers to justify its $270 million budget.