Why comparing Superman’s box office to Man of Steel doesn’t make sense

James Gunn’s Superman is a hit. However, it may not make as much as Man of Steel – and if you’re obsessing over that, you’re missing the point. 

Nobody should envy Gunn’s job. Alongside Peter Safran, he killed one of the most polarizing franchises of the past 15 years and rebooted it, complete with a new Big Blue and plans to introduce a new Wonder Woman and Batman, among other DC characters.

This has all unfolded during an all-time low downturn for comic book movies: the MCU has underperformed since Endgame without the crutch of nostalgia (*cough* Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine *cough*), the DCEU floundered until it died, and there’s been a nagging sense of ‘superhero fatigue’ (or, as Gunn and others have put it, “mediocre movie fatigue”).

Whether or not Superman (and Fantastic Four) properly reignite the public’s interest remains to be seen. Gunn’s film may not be on track to be a billion-buster (it’s made $406 million so far), but it is a success – which is why people need to stop citing Man of Steel’s box office like it’s something to brag about.

Man of Steel still failed where Superman succeeds

Here’s the thing: on paper, Man of Steel should have been a huge win. It was released in the heyday of superhero movies, coming a year after The Avengers made over $1.5 billion and The Dark Knight Rises raked in $1.084 billion.

It had Snyder at the helm, a director who struck gold with 300 ($456 million) and made a high-profile, big-budget, and divisive adaptation of Watchmen – even if you weren’t a fan, there was good reason to be curious about what his version of Superman would look like.

Christopher Nolan, who directed three of the best superhero movies of all time, was on board as a producer, and his name and “the Dark Knight trilogy” were plastered across the film’s marketing. The trailers were spectacular and still revered to this day (look up “Man of Steel Trailer 3” on YouTube and you’ll find thousands of recent comments).

And then… it came out and made just over $670 million worldwide. It’s still the highest-grossing Superman movie of all time (for now), but it wasn’t especially well-reviewed. Yes, it’s built a passionate following in the 12 years since its release, but it still has a 57% Rotten Tomatoes score, and its audience rating is 75% – lower than Superman’s 92% Certified Hot score.

In response to its underperformance, Warner Bros green-lit Batman v Superman instead of a standalone Supes sequel, attempting to capitalize on the caped crusader’s popularity to build (and perhaps recover) the public’s hype for the DCEU.

Despite its $874 million haul, that didn’t work. It suffered a historic 81.2% drop on its second Friday in theaters (in short, very bad) and received a 28% Rotten Tomatoes score. 

It was outplayed by Captain America: Civil War’s acclaim and $1.15 billion haul that same year, and it paved the way for 2017’s ‘Josstice League’, a cinematic disaster that caused irreparable damage to the brand.

Superman appears to have connected with audiences, and for the first time in years at DC, there’s palpable excitement for what’s next; just look at social posts about Supergirl, many of which have tens of (if not hundreds of) thousands of likes and millions of views. Even if it doesn’t happen, the idea of a crossover with Robert Pattinson’s Batman and speculation about The Batman Part 2 is fervent every day online.

Superman may bow out with less money than Man of Steel, but years down the line, its financials will play second fiddle to its legacy: the launchpad for a nascent DCU that also happened to be a really good movie on its own.