X-Men: The Last Stand is the third film adaptation of the Marvel Comics' X-Men superhero
comic books, following X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003). Brett Ratner directed, having taken
over when Bryan Singer dropped out to direct Superman Returns. The movie revolves around
a "mutant cure" that causes serious repercussions among mutants and humans, and on the
mysterious resurrection of Jean Grey, who appeared to have died in X2. The film is loosely
based on two X-Men comic book story arcs: writer Chris Claremont's and artist John Byrne's
"Dark Phoenix Saga" in The Uncanny X-Men (1980) and writer Joss Whedon's and artist John
Cassaday's six-issue "Gifted" arc in Astonishing X-Men (2004).The film was released
May 26,2006 in the United States and Canada, and one or two days earlier in approximately
22 other countries. Despite mixed reviews from critics and fans of the comic book series,
the film did well at the box office. Its opening-day gross of $45.5 million is the
fourth-highest on record while its opening weekend gross of $103 million is the fifth highest
ever.The film is sometimes colloquially referred to as X3, XIII, X-Men 3, or X-Men 3:The Last
Stand.Its $210 million budget[citation needed] was the highest of any movie until
Spider-Man 3 (2007), with its budget of $258 million.
