We've heard repeatedly that the DCU's future hinges on Superman's success. Lanterns and Supergirl are far enough into production that we're getting them whatever happens, but if Superman bombs, will Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav pull the plug on the DC Studios experiment?
Some would have you believe so, but Superman director and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn maintains that's not the case. Talking to GQ, the filmmaker maintained that the reboot is "not the riskiest endeavor in the world."
He added, "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."
It's been widely reported that Superman cost upwards of $330 million to produce and market. However, after what proved to be a disastrous 2023 for the DCEU, Zaslav may be content with a $400 million - $500 million blockbuster that receives positive reviews and restores faith in a tarnished brand.
After all, Superman will eventually be a big draw on HBO Max and we'd imagine Supergirl cost quite a bit less. Clayface is also going to be a lower-budgeted project, so if this is all about reviving a superhero universe that's running on fumes, then Gunn is likely right that there's more at play than Superman needing to be a $700 million hit.
The Man of Tomorrow's biggest challenge is likely to be superhero fatigue, a problem even Marvel Studios has struggled with over the past few years. Thunderbolts* received rave reviews, but flopped, so can Superman overcome this apparent lack of interest in the genre from moviegoers?
"I think there is such a thing as superhero fatigue," Gunn acknowledged in 2023. "I think it doesn’t have anything to do with superheroes. It has to do with the kind of stories that get to be told, and if you lose your eye on the ball, which is character."
"We love Superman. We love Batman. We love Iron Man. Because they’re these incredible characters that we have in our hearts. And if it becomes just a bunch of nonsense onscreen, it gets really boring."
Box office tracking for Superman has ranged from a $90 million opening weekend to $200 million, and we're likely still a few days away from having a clearer idea of how things will go for the reboot. As of now, though, most seem to believe it will be somewhere around the $100 million - $120 million mark.
Superman arrives in theaters on July 11, 2025.