"Superman" Soars to $122 Million at Box Office

“Superman,” the newly rebooted comic book adventure starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, soared to $122 million in its first weekend of release. 

The ticket sales were strong enough to rank as the year’s third-largest debut after “A Minecraft Movie” ($162 million) and “Lilo & Stitch” ($146 million).

Turnout was slightly softer than expected at the international box office with $95 million from 78 markets, bringing its global tally to $217 million. 

Box office watchers say they aren’t surprised that “Superman” started stronger in the U.S. compared to overseas because the character, whose motto is “truth, justice and the American way,” is the quintessential star-spangled hero.

“This is an outstanding domestic opening. If there’s any softness here, it’s overseas,” said David A. Gross, who runs the FranchiseRe movie consulting firm. “Superman has always been identified as an American character, and in some parts of the world, America is currently not enjoying its greatest popularity.”

Warner Bros. and DC Studios have a lot at stake, and not just because “Superman” cost a hefty $225 million to produce and roughly $100 million to promote. 

The superhero film is the first entry in the relaunched DC Universe and has the colossal responsibility of igniting a new interconnected comic book universe for the studio. 

“Supergirl,” featuring the caped hero’s cousin, and “Clayface” arrive in 2026, while a new take on “Wonder Woman” is in the works.

James Gunn and Peter Safran took over the leadership of DC Studios in 2022 after its last iteration of superhero movies imploded with the epic losing-streak of “The Flash,” “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” “Shazam: Fury of the Gods,” and “Blue Beetle.”

“Three years ago, I hired James Gunn and Peter Safran to reimagine and unify the creative direction of DC under one leadership team,” said David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, in a statement. “The DC vision is clear, the momentum is real, and I couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.”

Gunn, best known for “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Suicide Squad,” directed “Superman.” The story follows the earnest hero as he proves to the world that he’s trying to do good after the villainous Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) executes a plan to turn public opinion against him. In Clark Kent’s corner is reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and his faithful companion Krypto the Superdog. Critics and audiences have embraced the film with an 82% average on Rotten Tomatoes and “A-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls. 

This reception is a start in terms of earning back the confidence of DC fans. It also seems to be an endorsement of Gunn’s lighter and escapist vision after director Zack Snyder’s dark and dour take on characters in the DC Extended Universe with entries like 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and 2017’s “Justice League.” 

Attendance for “Superman” skewed younger, with moviegoers under the age of 25 accounting for 28% of opening weekend crowds.

“Gunn chose not to rely on big stars. Storytelling and filmmaking are doing the work here,” Gross noted. “This is the original, comic book hero story about a flawed and reluctant everyman who uses his special powers to fight evil. That arc is reliable and relatable.”

Positive word-of-mouth will be vital for “Superman’s” box office staying power. That’s because 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. Just look at what happened to recent installments in Disney’s comparatively more popular Marvel Cinematic Universe, like 2023’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” ($106 million debut) and this year’s “Captain America: Brave New World” ($100 million debut over the Presidents Day holiday). 

Those big-budget tentpoles started strong at the box office, only to completely collapse in subsequent weekends. Meanwhile, Superman’s last solo outing, 2013’s “Man of Steel” with Henry Cavill, generated a healthy $116 million in its opening weekend (not adjusted for inflation) but didn’t inspire the kind of lasting enthusiasm that spawns an enduring cinematic universe.

“Superman” benefited from IMAX screens, which accounted for $19.1 million in North America (15.6% of its haul) and $30.4 million globally. IMAX has become a boon for special effects-driven films because those tickets are more expensive, and the larger-than-life screens offer a distinctly out-of-the-house experience.

“’Superman’ makes excellent use of Imax technology to deliver the scale and spectacle audiences expect from this iconic hero, and audiences turned out to Imax in droves as a result,” said the company’s CEO, Rich Gelfond. “‘Superman’ continues the most consistent trend we’ve seen at the global box office this summer — filmmakers lean into Imax, audiences turn out to Imax in outsized numbers, and Imax overdelivers in the worldwide results and drives continued growth in its global network.”

“Superman” continues a stellar box office streak for Warner Bros. following the back-to-back-to-back hits of “A Minecraft Movie,” “Sinners,” “Final Destination Bloodlines,” and “F1: The Movie.” Those blockbusters arrived after the studio’s painful string of commercial flops, including “Mickey 17,” “The Alto Knights,” and “Joker: Folie à Deux.”

With those successes and other recent winners, overall theatrical revenues are 15% of the same point in 2024, according to Comscore. However, they are still roughly 24% behind 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. Upcoming releases like Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Liam Neeson’s “The Naked Gun” reboot, and “Freakier Friday” hope to help set a post-pandemic box office record.

“Though there have been some casualties, this highly competitive summer movie marketplace has been great for most films,” says senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “The depth and breadth of titles from every genre has driven one of the best summer movie seasons ever.”

As “Superman” soared to the top of domestic box office charts, the Last Son of Krypton likely took a massive bite out of ticket sales for last weekend’s champion, Universal’s “Jurassic World Rebirth.” 

The dinosaur epic added $40 million from 4,324 venues in its second weekend of release, a painful 57% drop from its debut. Even with a substantial second-weekend decline, “Jurassic World Rebirth,” which rebooted the long-running series with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali, has been a box office heavyweight. 

The film has so far sunk its teeth into a mighty $232 million domestically and $529 million worldwide.

Third place went to Apple’s “F1” with $13 million from 3,412 theaters in its third lap around the track, marking a 50% decline from the prior weekend. 

The film, which Warner Bros. is distributing theatrically, has generated $136 million in North America and $393 million worldwide. Though “F1,” starring Brad Pitt as a has-been Formula One driver, carries a massive $250 million price tag (and requires many laps around the track to justify its cost), these are notable ticket sales for an adult-skewing tentpole that’s not part of an existing film franchise. It’s by far Apple’s highest-grossing movie to date.

Two kid-friendly tentpoles, Universal’s “How to Train Your Dragon” reboot and Disney’s Pixar adventure “Elio,” rounded out box office charts.

In the No. 4 spot, “How to Train Your Dragon” collected $7.8 million from 3,285 theaters in its fourth weekend on the big screen. The live-action remake of 2010’s “How to Train Your Dragon” has powered to $239 million domestically and $560 million globally to date.

“Elio” landed in fifth place with $4 million from 2,730 screens in its fourth outing. The intergalactic tale has grossed just $63 million in North America and finally surpassed the $100 million mark globally after a month of release. 

With $117 million in worldwide ticket sales, the $150 million-budgeted tentpole will end its theatrical run as a major money loser for Disney and Pixar.

Disney isn’t hurting too much because “Lilo & Stitch” is imminently joining the billion-dollar club. The live-action remake has grossed $414.6 million in North America and $994 million globally after eight weeks of release. Since “Lilo & Stitch” is practically minting money for the studio (box office returns are nothing compared to Stitch-related consumer product sales), it’s no surprise a live-action sequel is already in the works.