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pulled in $3.35 million in its midnight launch at 1,810 locations. That was slightly less than's $3.37 million midnight start and a bit more than's $3.25 million, and each of those were also at around 1,800 locations.This weekend,ignites on over 6,500 screens at 3,816 locations (3D count unavailable at this time), whilewaddles onto more than 4,300 screens at 3,338 locations.marks the third comic book superhero movie within a month and a half, followingand(also in 3D) kicked off the summer with $65.7 million, whilelaunched with $55.1 million, and both were ultimately middling as far as big superhero movies go.In general, only the superheroes that have seeped into the mainstream culture have achieved true blockbuster success (Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, X-Men) with one exception in, which was essentially a bright, robo-Batman. No other comic book superhero movie has grossed over $200 million.As prominent as the character may be in the DC Comics universe,is still a B-lister in the mainstream, and it doesn't help thatwas recently released, adding confusion to the uninitiated. To address the general public's unfamiliarity,'s studio Warner Bros. has mounted arguably the most ubiquitous and exposition-laden marketing campaign of the summer so far.While's marketing largely played coy,'s has been full disclosure. A newtrailer seemed to spring up every week, which reeked more of desperation than swagger. Perhaps fearing a total fanboy affair, Warner Bros.' even issued a trailer late in the game that was mostly voiceover explaining what in tarnation was going on, butstill looked like goofy sci-fi fantasy mumbo jumbo, riffing onwith its "force" talk and computer-generated alien characters. Apparently, Green Lantern can conjure whatever he imagines to slam evil and he can fly around like Superman, but he comes off as invulnerable and, hence, not terribly dramatic.One major deficiency in's marketing is the lack of a clear, strong villain, beyond glimpses of an amorphous "yellow" force and a human with a swelled head. A super villain is a key ingredient to a superhero movie reaching the stratosphere.may be following the model from Warner Bros. stable matesandby having weak or unclear villains, saving the juicy ones for a second movie (Joker in, Moriarty in the upcomingsequel).looks most reminiscent ofand, only less grounded. Those movies debuted to $56.1 million (nearly $69 million adjusted for ticket price inflation) and $58.1 million ($66 million adjusted), respectively. Like Chris Evans inand Robert Downey, Jr. in, lead actor Ryan Reynolds provides humor to makeseem less ridiculous, and the movie's likely to have greater kid appeal thanand, given its colorful action and space fantasy.All of this raises the question: If launching a property likeis so laborious and expensive (a reported $300 million or so all in), was it really worth adapting in the first place? The point of an adaptation like this is to have a sizable built-in audience or at least an easily understood and highly appealing premise. The source material just makes it clear to the consumer that's a comic book movie, which can be just as ghettoizing as it is enticing. An original movie would have effectively had the same amount of stock with the general public, only without the baggage. Through sheer force of will, Warner Bros. should get a sizable sampling forthis weekend, but at what price?Despite itsalienated father angle,is shaping up to be a miss for Jim Carrey, who used to knock this kind of movie out of the park. The movie seems like an odd duck for June, and the live penguins aren't as warm and inviting as other critters, anthropomorphized or otherwise. Animated penguins have had some success inand as supporting players in themovies, butwiped out in June 2007. Live-action penguins are untested outside of, butstill is nooror even. The movie has largely had a one-note, slapstick-oriented marketing campaign, aiming for young children, and it's hard to imagine many will follow recent ads' suggestion to "take your pop to" for Father's Day.In's reader polling,'s nearly 40 percent opening weekend score trailed(53.6 percent) and(58.5 percent) at the same point, but it was higher than themovies (36.5 and 38.3 percent).'s comps suggest an opening weekend range from around $40 million to a bit above $60 million. The results forwere downright chilly: its 6.4 percent opening weekend score suggested an opening weekend range of $11-19 million.Also in theaters,gets a barely nationwide release at 610 locations. Meanwhile,'s staying power will be tested after its unspectacular-but-not-too-shabby $35.5 million opening last weekend, but the signs point to a standard drop-off.1.- $59 million2.- $19 million3.- $16 million4.- $11.5 million5.- $10.5 million6.- $9.5 million7.- $8 million8.- $6.5 millionAnything less than $70 million would puton shaky ground to get a sequel. Warner Bros. bet big, so the pressure's on. The bar is high for major June superhero movies: evendebuted to the equivalent of over $73 million, adjusted for ticket price inflation, while's start equaled $81 million adjusted, and they didn't have 3D.