The weekend's box office numbers are in, and Superman came in just slightly below expectations domestically with a $122 million debut - but surpassed initial $210 global estimates by some margin.
The movie's domestic tally was still high enough to give it 2025's third-largest bow after A Minecraft Movie ($162 million) and Lilo & Stitch ($146 million), as well as the biggest opening weekend ever for a Superman movie.
With another $95 million from overseas markets, James Gunn's DCU reboot is off to a strong start with a $217 million worldwide debut.
Superman had a reported production budget of $225 million (prior to additional marketing costs), so it still has a ways to go if it's to be considered a success for DC Studios. Positive reviews (82% on Rotten Tomatoes) and word-of-mouth will likely ensure the movie keeps packing them in for at least a couple of weeks, but stiff competition is just over ten days away when Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives.
As Variety notes, "big opening weekends are rarely a problem for comic book movies, especially ones anchored by a hero as universally recognizable as Superman. But the ability to keep drawing crowds over the busy summer season will be a truer test of the property’s cinematic strength."
Superman stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/the Man of Steel, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho.
The cast also Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell as "Ma" and "Pa" Kent, and Milly Alcock's Supergirl has been confirmed to make her debut ahead of her own Woman of Tomorrow movie.
"And that’s a wrap," Gunn posted last year when filming concluded. "God bless our cast and crew whose commitment, creativity, and hard work have brought this project to life. I set out to make a movie about a good man in a world that isn’t always so much. And the goodness and kindness and love I’ve encountered on a daily basis on the set has inspired me and thrust me forward when I felt too spent to move on my own.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. It has been an honor. The destination has been Superman, but the journey has been the toil and the laughter and the emotions and ideas and magic we’ve shared together on set - and for that I am forever grateful."
You can check out a synopsis for the movie below.
"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."