Superman proved to be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap over accusations of “wokeness” and bound into box office records in its opening weekend.

Directed by DC Studios co-chair James Gunn, the reboot of Superman scored $123 million in the U.S. over its first weekend in theaters, and a further $95 million internationally for a total worldwide take of $217 million. It has now grossed the highest take ever for a solo Superman movie open.

But that’s not all. Superman is now the third-biggest movie opening of the year, behind A Minecraft Movie and Jurassic World Rebirth, and is the highest-grossing superhero movie opening this year, well ahead of Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*. Typically the Marvel franchise films outperform the DC superhero movies.

Gunn took to social media to express his gratitude to the audience that made this happen. “I’m incredibly grateful for your enthusiasm and kind words over the past few days. We’ve had a lot of ‘Super’ in Superman over the years, and I’m happy to have made a movie that focuses on the ‘man’ part of the equation – a kind person always looking out for those in need,” Gunn wrote on Threads.

“That that resonates so powerfully with so many people across the world is in itself a hopeful testament to the kindness and quality of human beings. Thank you,” he concluded.

Par for the course for blockbuster comic book/action movies these days, grousing about the newest take on the story about a “Superwoke” illegal alien making it big in America was underway well before the movie’s release. But that pre-emptive backlash was not Superman‘s Kryptonite, at least not in its opening weekend.

The critical response to the movie was positive overall. Superman‘s Rotten Tomatoes score from critics is 83% fresh, and it has a solid score of 68 on Metacritic. Audiences rated it much higher, with a A- CinemaScore, a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes’ audience-powered Popcornometer, and a rating of 4.0 on the movie lovers’ network Letterboxd.