Superman Just Beat This Controversial Marvel Sequel at the Box Office

Earlier this year, Superman director and DC Studios co-head James Gunn downplayed the notion of a box office rivalry between Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, saying there was plenty of room for both to succeed. Still, that doesn’t stop fans from comparing how Marvel and DC adaptations perform at the box office. Over the course of its theatrical run, Superman has flown past some notable Marvel Cinematic Universe installments, getting the newly established DC Universe off on the right foot. It’s already beaten films starring Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, and now the God of Thunder is once again in the Man of Steel’s sights.

As of this writing, Superman has earned $343.5 million at the domestic box office. That narrowly edges out 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder, which earned $343.2 million in the United States. Internationally, Thor proved to be a greater draw; Love and Thunder‘s global haul stands at $760.9 million, while Superman recently passed the $600 million mark. All of these numbers are unadjusted for inflation.

How Superman‘s Box Office Compares to Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor: Love and Thunder was highly anticipated a few summers ago. Not only did it mark the first time audiences saw Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder since the record-breaking Avengers: Endgame, director Taika Waititi (who helmed the acclaimed Thor: Ragnarok) returned to call the shots. As a result, Love and Thunder posted one of the biggest box office openings of the year, bringing in $144.1 million domestically. That figure was higher than the debuts for billion-dollar hits like Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water.

Superman earned $125 million domestically in its opening weekend, which exceeded initial projections but was still well behind Love and Thunder‘s debut. That can probably be chalked up to the fact that Love and Thunder was the fourth Thor film and Hemsworth’s ninth MCU appearance overall (including an uncredited cameo in Doctor Strange). Established franchises and characters have an easier path to massive openings than first installments. Superman is obviously based on one of the most popular superheroes in the world, but it’s still the first time audiences met this iteration. Ideally, subsequent films starring David Corenswet’s Superman will be even bigger draws.

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Superman was able to pass Love and Thunder‘s lifetime domestic total because hit had much stronger legs. Bolstered by positive reviews and enthusiastic audience word of mouth, Superman fell only 53.2% in its second weekend. Reception to Thor: Love and Thunder was far more mixed, fueling a 67.7% decline. The initial wave of hype brought die-hard fans to the theater in full force on opening weekend, but after that, excitement waned. This illustrates how important it is for studio tentpoles to hold well after a big debut.

Love and Thunder clearly isn’t a box office bomb (it more than recouped its $250 million production budget), but Marvel saw diminishing returns. Thor: Ragnarok made $855.3 million globally — thanks in part to strong legs domestically. Its second weekend drop was in the same ballpark as Superman (53.5%). If Marvel decides to move forward with a Thor 5 after the Multiverse Saga has concluded, it’ll be important to place an emphasis on quality. Then, perhaps, Thor can soar past Superman on the box office charts.