Superman arrives in theaters in three weeks, and finally hit tracking boards last night with an expected haul of $90 million - $145 million during its opening weekend in North America next month.
Most analysts expect it to debut on the lower side of that spectrum, though it's hard to fathom the first DCU movie making less than $100 million, given the sheer amount of excitement surrounding the project. Fortunately, there's some good news from The Wrap today.
According to the trade, Superman has already earned $10 million in ticket presales. Filmmaker James Gunn and the movie's cast are currently travelling the globe to build hype, and the marketing should ramp up another gear as we get closer to July 11.
For context, The Batman earned $7.7 million in presales in 2022, ultimately opening to $134 million. James Gunn has said that, as a DC Studios executive, he simply wants to break even. Whether that will be enough for Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav is another matter.
Asked by Entertainment Weekly how he juggles being a studio head with his role as a filmmaker, Gunn replied, "So the balance isn't between creative and business. The balance is between specific creative and macro creative. Peter Safran, he does all our meetings, he does all the business stuff. For me, it's about writing and directing, but it's also about shepherding other writers and directors."
"It's about trying to come up with other ideas for other shows, other movies that I give to other writers to take care of. So my job is all creative," he continued. "Occasionally, there are other things that you need to do, of course, as any writer/director does, but mostly it's taking care of the creative storytelling across all platforms."
"That said, it's a little bit too much at times. I can't do everything. I've had to try to focus on what I can focus on, which has been part of my learning process over the past couple years of having this job. If I try to do everything, it's too little of any one thing, so I need to really focus on certain pieces of what's happening," Gunn concluded.
A new magazine puts the spotlight on Superman's three leads. You can see that in the X post below.
Superman, DC Studios' first feature film to hit the big screen, is set to soar into theaters worldwide this summer from Warner Bros. Pictures.
In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.
The movie stars David Corenswet in the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.
Also appearing are Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, and Milly Alcock.
Superman arrives in theaters on July 11, 2025.