Superman beat Batman at the box office. But he was only half as strong as Spider-Man.
“Superman Returns” took in $21.04 million on opening day, making it No. 8 on the all-time list of movies that debuted on a Wednesday, according to distributor Warner Bros.
The No. 1 Wednesday premiere was for “Spider-Man 2,” which took in $40.4 million in its first day just before the Fourth of July in 2004. “Superman Returns” came in just behind the No. 7 movie, last year’s Fourth of July offering “War of the Worlds,” which took in $21.3 million.

Jose Pekerman quit as Argentina coach Friday, minutes after it lost to Germany in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Pekerman, whose contract was up after this year’s tournament, announced he was stepping away after Argentina played Germany to a 1-1 tie and lost the shootout 4-2. “For sure I am not going to continue,” said the 56-year-old Pekerman, who took over the team in September of 2004 from Marcelo Bielsa.