There has been a lot of discussion about how James Gunn’s Superman performed at the box office over its opening weekend – and, more specifically, how it compares to Man of Steel.
After Green Lantern bombed with critics and fans, Zack Snyder was tapped to start the DCEU with a realistic, gritty take on Superman: Man of Steel. It was a moderate yet polarizing success, grossing $670 million worldwide and earning a 57% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Unfortunately, it was a sign of things to come: Batman v Superman underdelivered, ‘Josstice League’ was a disaster, and the DCEU is dead. Now, James Gunn and Peter Safran have launched the rebooted DCU – and once again, Superman is leading the charge.
Even if there weren’t a fervent, toxic war between Snyder and Gunn fans, people (journalists and normal moviegoers alike) would be comparing the two films. So, let’s cut through the narratives on social media and present the facts.
How much has Superman made at the box office?
Superman has grossed $217 million worldwide, with $122 million coming from the US and $95 million coming from international markets.
This is the third-biggest domestic debut of the year behind Lilo and Stitch ($146 million) and A Minecraft Movie ($162 million).
David A. Gross, who runs the FranchiseRe movie consulting firm, told Variety: “This is an outstanding domestic opening. If there’s any softness here, it’s overseas.
“Superman has always been identified as an American character, and in some parts of the world, America is currently not enjoying its greatest popularity.”
As a character, Superman doesn’t have as much international appeal as Batman or Spider-Man; for example, The Batman opened with $124.2 million outside North America, and that’s with age restrictions in some markets (in the UK, you couldn’t see it in cinemas if you were under 15).
However, it’s already broken a few records. It scored Gunn’s best preview box office haul ($22.5 million), and (not adjusted for inflation, which we’ll get to shortly) its domestic debut makes it the biggest launch for a solo Superman movie ever. It’s also the first time a DC movie has made $100 million domestically in its opening weekend since Wonder Woman’s $103.3 million in 2017.
Did Superman beat Man of Steel?
Superman made more money in its opening weekend than Man of Steel… if you don’t include its Thursday previews and don’t adjust for inflation.
Man of Steel opened with just over $200 million worldwide in 2013, with $116.6 million coming from the US. However, that figure doesn’t include the $12 million it made from its Thursday previews, unlike Superman’s box office reporting, which not only includes the Thursday sales but also the early Prime Video screenings.
If you add that figure to Man of Steel’s domestic debut, it made $128.6 million.
If you adjust Man of Steel’s box office opening for inflation and include the previews, it’d be around $170 million in today’s money.
However, the omission of Man of Steel’s preview performance in several articles is a more compelling argument than citing inflation. If we do that, then Richard Donner’s Superman (which grossed $300 million worldwide) made well over $1 billion in today’s money.
How much money does Superman need to make?
It’s been reported that Superman needs to make $700 million to be considered a success, but James Gunn said this is “utter nonsense.”
A movie’s break-even point is generally considered to be around 2.5 times its budget – in Superman’s case, it cost an estimated $225 million.
“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,” Gunn told GQ.
“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.”
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav also seems buoyed by Superman’s opening weekend. “This weekend, we watched Superman soar as James Gunn’s passion and vision came to life on the big screen,” he said in a statement.
“Superman is just the first step. Over the next year alone, DC Studios will introduce the films Supergirl and Clayface in theaters and the series Lanterns on HBO Max, all part of a bold ten-year plan. The DC vision is clear, the momentum is real, and I couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.”
Superman is in cinemas now. Find out where Superman will be streaming, how long it is, details about its post-credits scenes, and our ranking of the Superman movies.
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