As it stands,Supermanlooks set to make one major $3 billion milestone a realityunless its box office somehow fully dies only one week in. The release of theDCU’sSupermanhas been exciting for a range of reasons, including both the film’s story itself, and the anticipation of seeing where the movie’s box office lands amongst its peers.
Superman’s live-action movie historyincludes some considerable hits - with his debut inthe DCEU timelinebeing one of the most notable examples of this - which naturally means conversations about its box office tend to lean into this comparative direction. However,Superman’s box officeis also already encroaching on hitting a huge $3 billion movie milestone that’s easier to miss.
Superman’s Box Office History Has Been Consistently Solid
Man of SteelGrossed $667 Million At The Worldwide Box Office
It’s fair to say that the Man of Steel’s movie catalog isn’t all universally-adored wins, even if the hero himself has remained one of the most important figures in the superhero genre throughout the decades. That said,Superman’s box office roster is a largely successful one, with the character relatively consistently garnering film successes.
With a reported $55 million budget, the 1978Superman’s $300 million worldwide box office (viaThe Numbers) is a notably healthy one. This is still true to a lesser extent forSuperman II’s $54 million budget and $190 million results, which further demonstrated the long-term potential for the hero back in 1980.
ThoughSuperman IIIandSuperman IV: The Quest For Peaceare some of Superman’s more infamous film fare, even they didn’t do as staggeringly badly financially as it might initially seem.Superman III’s $80 million result is over twice its reported budget, and the same is true forSuperman IV, as its lower budget helps its $36 million results.
However, it’s the modern day that holds the biggest box office hits for the hero - a concept that isn’t all that surprising given inflation. WhileSuperman Returns' $391 million budget doesn’t compare all that well to its reported $232 million budget, bothMan of SteelandBatman V Superman: Dawn Of Justicepaint a different picture.
Man of Steelwas the last solo Superman movie to release before 2025’sSuperman, and debuted in 2013.
Man of Steelmanaged to bring in a $667 million worldwide box office result, with cinemagoers flocking to see the first DCEU movie.Batman V Supermanwas able to add the Dark Knight to the mix for a whopping $874 million box office, with this overarching cinematic history seemingly reinforcing the idea DCU’sSupermanwill hit one notable milestone.
Superman’s Box Office Results Are Set To Take Its Director’s Record To New Heights
Gunn Is Nearing The $3 Billion Milestone In His Directing Career
Currently,Superman’s recorded box office sits at $250-261 million (as perVarietyandThe Numbers/Box Office Mojo). This is interesting not only because the DCU movie is very much still being actively seen in the cinema - meaning this number is set to grow over time - but also because of what it means for the film’s director.
Over the course of his career, James Gunn has directed several films, with the Guardians of the Galaxy MCU trilogy being his most financially successful thus far.Thanks to the $2.4 billion results of the Guardians trilogy, the overall box office of Gunn’s collected directorial credits sits at $2.96 billion (viaThe Numbers), including the current box office forSuperman.
As such,ifSupermanis able to net itself another $40 million, the overall box office of the movies James Gunn has directed will reach the $3 billion mark, which is a pretty major number to reach, and a nice bonus achievement for the 2025 film. This also ties Gunn’s MCU & DC releases together in a nice way, since they both play important roles in this result.
83%
93%
WithSuperman’s official release date now being only a week ago, it seems very much possible for the movie to reach this mark. While there will be other metrics that take a focus when it comes toSuperman’s box office, the way in which the 2025 film’s results affect Gunn’s overarching results as a director are undeniably interesting to note.
Superman’s Results Already Bode Well For The DCU
The Initial Picture Is A Promising One
A movie netting a quarter of a million in a week certainly doesn’t seem to be a bad sign for the prospective franchise that is set to form from it. Even if other films have no doubt seen more tremendous short-term success in history,Supermanhas already garnered itself the sixth place in the hero’s live-action movie catalog box office-wise in one week, and is already closing in on higher spots.
Pushing Gunn’s directorial catalog into the $3 billion mark would also be a nice sign, if only because it reinforces the history the DCU architect has with the movie world.
Pushing Gunn’s directorial catalog into the $3 billion mark would also be a nice sign, if only because it reinforces the history the DCU architect has with the movie world. The Guardians trilogy’s success over the years certainly suggested that the creator could work as a central figure behind the DC reboot, and these numbers only further cement that idea.
Though only time will tell what final numberSupermanends up at in box office terms, it certainly seems the initial picture is a promising one, and one that could seeSupermangarner far more overall in the long term. Whatever happens on this side of things, though, the film obtaining the $3 billion result for Gunn’s overall directorial box office seems very much achievable.
