Welcome to a special edition of New Movie Releases. What's so special about it? Well, first it's Wednesday, when most films are released on Fridays, and secondly the new Superman film is here.

Superman Returns gets a head start on the weekend, opening two days earlier than had originally been announced. There is no question that this film will be huge. The question is how huge? It clocks in at over two and a half hours long, which is sure to cut into how many screenings it can have in a day. I am going to go on record and predict that its five day take will be in the $100 million range.

I cannot wait to see Bryan Singer's take. He did such a great job with the X-Men films, I have great confidence this is going to be a first rate film. Not to mention the early reviews that have been popping up around the 'net have all praised it.

The more I see of the cast and the various trailers, I think the casting is going to work. I wasn't sure about Kate Bosworth at first, she just looks so young, but I am revising my initial impression — she looks good on the screen with Brandon Routh. Speaking of Routh, he looks so much like Christopher Reeve, especially when he is in the guise of Clark Kent. Rounding out the main cast is Kevin Spacey as the villainous Lex Luthor.

The film is actually a sequel to Superman II. Just pretend that the third and fourth films never happened. Oh, you already did? Great! After the second film, Superman left for a number of years and has now returned. Why did he return? Why did he leave? I can't wait to find out.

Here are the stats:
Superman Returns. 2006, 157 minutes, PG-13, action, trailer.