‘Wolverine’ Chews Up Box Office With $35M Debut

Going solo has paid off for Hugh Jackman and his “X-Men” spin-off.

Jackman’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” kicked off the summer movie season with a howl by taking in $35 million on its opening day Friday.

According to Hollywood.com box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, that puts “Wolverine” solidly in line with the three previous “X-Men” movies in which Jackman co-starred.

The final chapter of that trilogy, “X-Men: The Last Stand,” was the most successful with $45.1 million on opening day.

But “Wolverine” outdid the first two movies. “X-Men” had an opening day of $20.8 million, while “X2: X-Men United” did $31.2 million on its first day.