Only 1 DCEU Movie Made More Than Superman at the Box Office (& It’s Not What You Think)

The newly launched DC Universe is off to a great start thanks to Superman‘s impressive box office start. Superman‘s success at the box office comes after the DC Extended Universe saw multiple failures near the end of its run. However, while many are quick to compare Superman‘s global box office earnings to Man of Steel, there’s only one movie from the DC Extended Universe that has outearned Superman at the domestic box office as of now. To date, Superman has earned $346.9 million at the domestic box office (which, when combined with its $257.5 million internationally, accounts for a worldwide total of $604.47 million).

The first Wonder Woman movie, released in 2017, was a massive hit for Warner Bros. and DC overall, receiving praise from fans and critics alike, but also beating box office expectations. Whereas Wonder Woman earned $412.5 million domestically and $410.4 million internationally for a worldwide haul of $822.96 million. While other films did better internationally than Superman, namely Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with $544 million internationally, and Aquaman with $816.9 million worldwide, neither did as well as Wonder Woman domestically. Superman may not be doing great internationally, but the film continues to perform well stateside, suggesting a $400 million finish is possible.

How High Will Superman‘s Box Office Soar?

Of course, nothing is guaranteed, especially as the movie continues to face stiff competition at the box office. With the New Line horror movie Weapons continuing to overperform, and Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters becoming a massive box office hit during a special release, Superman‘s box office returns will continue to dwindle. Weekend estimates had Superman in seventh place with $3.43 million in its seventh week in release. While there’s no huge competition for Superman this week, it’s doubtful the film will remain in the top ten for much longer, especially as it’s not the only superhero flick out right now. Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four: The First Steps, now in its fifth week, is still within the top four at the box office.

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With that in mind, it’s unclear where Superman will end its box office journey. Movies typically stay in theaters for three months, depending on their performance. This means the movie is already halfway there. With the returns now in the single digits, it’s possible Superman won’t have the momentum to surpass Wonder Woman‘s impressive domestic box office haul. Especially as the movie has already done better than most superhero films as of late. Comic book adaptations haven’t been the surefire box office hits they were back in 2017. It’s rare for them to hit $600 million worldwide, let alone $800 million worldwide, so Superman is already a relative hit as it is.

Written and directed by James Gunn, Superman stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult. Also appearing in the movie are Isabela Merced, Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi, Skyler Gisondo, Frank Grillo, María Gabriela de Faría, and Wendell Pierce. 2017’s Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, stars Gal Gadot as the titular character, along with Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen, Saïd Taghmaoui, and Lucy Davis.

Superman is now playing exclusively in movie theaters everywhere.