James Gunn has been discussing the release of his forthcoming Superman movie, saying forecasts that the movie has to hit $700 million to be successful are way off the mark.
It’s a big week for James Gunn, as not only does he have a new movie in cinemas, but that film has to kick-start a huge multimedia universe of features, TV shows, cartoons, rides, toys, games, and the like.
Gunn is writer and director of the new Superman movie, but he’s also co-CEO of DC Studios, through which he’s overseeing movies like Supergirl, Clayface, and The Authority on the big screen, and shows Creature Commandos, Peacemaker, and Lanterns on television.
The DC Universe had a soft launch through Season 1 of the animated Creature Commandos, but when it comes to live-action, Superman is where it all begins. Meaning the pressure is on. Or not, according to Gunn himself…
James Gunn plays down pressure on his Superman to succeed
In an interview with GQ about Superman star David Corenswet, the magazine suggests that Gunn’s movie has to “dominate the box office” to be a hit. Gunn counters with: “This is not the riskiest endeavor in the world. Is there something riding on it? Yeah, but it’s not as big as people make it out to be.
“They hear these numbers that the movie’s only going to be successful if it makes $700 million or something and it’s just complete and utter nonsense. It doesn’t need to be as big of a situation as people are saying.”
This isn’t the first time that Gunn has spoken about Superman numbers. When asked if the Superman budget was $364 million – as was being reported back in February of 2024 – Gunn hit back with “Absolutely not. How in the world do they think they know what our budget is?”
More recently, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that DC was estimating a $225 million budget, after incentives and tax breaks. The film will obviously have a huge marketing budget – with THR predicting $200 million – but that still means Superman could turn a profit before hitting that $700 million number. And that’s not counting the masses of Man of Steel merchandise that will sell this summer.
Plus, success is obviously relative, as if fans like the movie, Superman will provide a solid base on which to build the new universe, which paves the way for Gunn and DC’s future endeavors.
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