DC Studios' Superman has had an interesting trajectory toward success. It made a respectable amount of money at the box office, raking in over $600 million. It also connected with audiences, scoring an impressive 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. After that, it hit home video, and it was there where it truly shined. In August, Superman reached the #1 spot on iTunes' Top 10 Movies in the US.
Then, in its first 10 days on HBO Max, the film racked up 13 million views, making it the biggest 10-day debut on the platform since Greta Gerwig's Barbie. Now, the first DC Studios feature is celebrating another milestone. On its blog, The Keyword, Google published an article highlighting the biggest successes on Google TV of the year.
There, the company revealed its three most-watched films of 2025, and they are: James Gunn's Superman, Ryan Coogler's Sinners, and The Pickup, an Amazon action-comedy starring Eddie Murphy, Keke Palmer and Pete Davidson. So, there you have it, now, the DC Studios production has another impressive success under its belt.
The movie has also been performing well in terms of post-theatrical revenue. In November, Forbes revealed the project had already made a staggering $100 million in profit through ancillary markets, and was on its way to make $150 million by the end of the year. On a side note, Superman's post-theatrical success may also serve as stronger evidence that audiences are leaning more toward consuming their entertainment at home, rather than in theaters.
It's a natural result of the shift experienced by the industry in recent years. Prior to the pandemic, streaming was already becoming the preferred method of entertainment for many. Once the pandemic hit, studios essentially began training audiences to stay at home. Multiple high-profile projects were made straight to streaming, had a hybrid release (streaming and theatrical at the same time), or were given extremely short theatrical windows.
Such an approach has been heavily criticized. Though that perspective is completely valid, the route studios took was also understandable. The pandemic was uncharted territory for the industry, and it threatened to end the theatrical experience altogether. As such, studios needed to adapt and test the waters to see what could work. Fortunately, things ultimately went back to normal. Yet, the effects of the pandemic on release strategies remained long after it came to an end. In fact, they're felt to this day through shortened theatrical windows.
As such, Superman's home video success may show that audiences are indeed interested in the products offered by studios. However, they've been given a method to consume them that better suits their needs. From here, a controversial argument that's nevertheless worth discussing arises: Superhero fatigue. While the success of Superman could be seen as proof that such a concept isn't real, it's important to consider that the James Gunn film had special circumstances around it.
Superman was a reboot of a classic, highly recognizable character. A character who's largely underperformed financially throughout the decades, yes, but a significant cultural personality nonetheless. By the time it came out, it had been 12 years since the last standalone Superman movie, Man of Steel, had released. As such, there was built-up interest and anticipation, not only from comic book fans, but also from the general population.
The movie was colorful, the reviews were great, and it was made by a beloved director. It was the perfect blend of elements to get it to succeed. As such, it's not surprising that people were excited to experience it. It felt like an event, in a similar fashion to the likes of Barbie or Oppenheimer. To truly determine whether comic book fatigue is real, we will have to wait for the financial performance of projects like Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Supergirl and Avengers: Doomsday.
The good thing is that with Superman, DC Studios is off to a very good start.
Superman is available to stream on HBO Max. Its follow-up, Man of Tomorrow, will hit theaters on July 9, 2027.
What do you think about this new milestone for Superman? What was your favorite part of the film? Let me know in the comments!