Box Office Report: ‘This Is the End’ Opens to Impressive $2.2 Million Tuesday Night

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldeberg‘s This Is the End earned a strong $2.2 million as it rolled out in select theaters Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

The R-rated end-of-the-world comedy — marking the directorial debut of Goldberg and Rogen, who also stars — is hoping for a pleasing five-day debut in the low $30 million range, which would recoup the film’s $32 million budget. It opens everywhere in North America on Wednesday.

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In terms of comps, Summit Entertainment’s ensemble magician pic Now You See Me grossed $1.5 million in Thursday night shows late last month on its way to a $29.4 million.  

Also starring Jonah Hill, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera and Emma Watson, This is the End hopes to serve as counterprogramming to Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ Superman entry Man of Steel, which begins rolling out Thursday night in the U.S.

In the comedy, the actors — all playing fictional versions of themselves — are attending a star-studded party at Franco’s house when the apocalypse begins and they’re forced to work together to survive. The feature is based on a short film created by Rogen and Baruchel in 2007 titled Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse. Rogen and Goldberg also co-wrote the scripts for Superbad, The Green Hornet and The Watch.

This Is the End, which will play in more than 2,900 theaters, also features several other cameos during the early scenes at Franco’s house party, including appearances by Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd and Kevin Hart.

In terms of sheer gross, the comedy will be eclipsed once the highly anticipated Man of Steel debuts. Zack Snyder‘s superhero action film, produced by Christopher Nolan, opens in 24 foreign markets, including in South Korea on Thursday.

Among other major markets, Man of Steel opens in the U.K. and Mexico on Friday. The following weekend, the $225 million tentpole opens in 26 additional markets, including China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Spain.

Based on tracking, box-office observers are predicting a North American debut in the $85 million to $100 million range.

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British actor Henry Cavill stars as Clark Kent in the origin tale, which sees his character trying to hide his superpowers and live a normal life on Earth. Amy Adams stars as Lois Lane, and Michael Shannon takes on the role of the menacing General Zod.

With a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, and a script by Goyer, Man of Steel will have a special screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival on Wednesday. It opens in limited release in the U.S. Thursday night, with a wide release on Friday in more than 4,200 theaters.

Warners and Legendary turned to Nolan as a producer on the project after he successfully revived the Batman franchise with his Dark Knight trilogy. In the summer of 2005, Nolan’s Batman Begins opened to $48.7 million and had incredible staying power.

Twitter: @PamelaDayM