LOS ANGELES ¨C In Warner Bros.¡¯ ¡°Man of Steel,¡± Superman tries to save the world from powerful villains. His real-life task is no cakewalk either: Turn the studio¡¯s DC Comics into a hit factory like Walt Disney Co.¡¯s Marvel.
Warner spent an estimated $225 million making the film in a bet that ¡°Man of Steel,¡± starring British actor Henry Cavill, can make a profit and be the start of a new Superman franchise. That could pave the way to movies based on the ¡°Justice League¡± comics that bring DC heroes like ¡°Batman¡± and ¡°Wonder Woman¡± together to fight a common enemy.
Marvel used the ¡°Iron Man¡± films, starring Robert Downey Jr., to introduce ¡°The Avengers,¡± which became the third- highest grossing movie of all time. In ¡°Man of Steel,¡± Time Warner Inc.¡¯s studio is taking a chance with the lesser-known Cavill and a brooding take on Superman ¡ª who projected an earnest, wholesome image in earlier films ¡ª from producer Christopher Nolan and director Zack Snyder.
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