One of the most anticipated superhero films of the last five years, despite controversial reviews, has achieved success at the box office in its first weekend. The total global box office of the «Superman» relaunch is currently $217 million.
The North American domestic gross was around $122 million, making it the third biggest debut for a film in 2025, behind the live-action adaptation of Minecraft ($162 million) and the live-action version of «Lilo and Stitch» ($146 million). The total also surpasses the debut figures for Zack Snyder’s «Man of Steel», which grossed $116.6 million upon opening.
Internationally, it was slightly more modest than expected, with $95 million from 78 countries.
Despite the high opening numbers, «Superman» still has a lot of work to do to break even. The film’s production budget amounted to $225 million, while advertising took another $100 million — figures that require about three times higher earnings. It is worth noting that superhero films often failed at the box office after a successful debut — think of «Ant-Man» 2023 and this year’s «Captain America: Brave New World». James Gunn himself, by the way, stated that the sum of $700 million was not necessary for the movie to be considered successful.
«Is there any dependence on this? Yes, but not as much as people think,» Gunn said. «They hear that a movie will only be successful if it makes 700 million dollars or something, and that’s just complete nonsense».
The new «Superman» is the first film in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s relaunched DC Universe, which casts David Corensworth in the lead role instead of Henry Cavill. The story tells of a sincere superhero who tries to prove to the world that he is doing something good after the villain Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) turns society against him. At Clark’s side are reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and his faithful superdog companion Krypto. Gunn, best known for the films «Guardians of the Galaxy» and «Suicide Squad», directed.
After the first reviews leaked, it seemed that the new «Superman» finally put the nail in the coffin of superheroics; however, official estimates have denied this. Currently, the movie has 83% from critics and 93% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of «A-» in CinemaScore exit polls.
«As the start of a new universe, Superman is cautiously hopeful. As a summer superhero blockbuster, the film works quite well, although it does get a little too loose», — with ITC reviews.
As for the rest of the box office receipts for «Jurassic World: Revival», who last week made Scarlett Johansson the highest-grossing actress in the world, has earned $529 million in total box office so far; in «Formula 1» with Brad Pitt a record $393 million for Apple; while the live remake «How to tame a dragon» stopped at $560 million, and «Lilo and Stitch» is heading for the billionaires’ club with $994 million.
Source: Variety, Screen Rant, IGN