Ahead of its premiere later this week, Superman gets an encouraging update concerning its box office projections. However, the presence of Jurassic World Rebirth could present some problems for the superhero reboot. According to The Wrap, Superman‘s box office estimates haven’t changed from the initial figures that came out a few weeks back. The DC Universe’s first feature film is still poised for a debut in the range of $125-145 million domestically. That’s a good sign for the movie’s commercial prospects since it indicates interest/demand for the tentpole hasn’t decreased despite the marketplace just getting a high-profile blockbuster over Fourth of July weekend.
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Jurassic World Rebirth grossed $323 million globally in its extended, five-day debut, and it should hold well in its second weekend. The Wrap notes that that Jurassic franchise remains a healthy draw overseas. 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion outperformed the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Batman in Asian territories, including Japan. If the same holds true for Rebirth, then Superman could be facing some stiff competition at the international box office.
Superman‘s box office has been a hot talking point throughout the year. Months ago, there was fear that the film’s performance could determine the fate of Warner Bros. as a whole. That speculation seems to have subsided in the wake of WB releases like A Minecraft Movie and Sinners becoming hits, but Superman is still highly important for the studio considering it marks the true beginning of a new shared universe. Director and DC Studios co-head James Gunn has downplayed the amount of pressure Superman is under, saying he’ll be “very happy” as long as it recoups its budget.
Jurassic World Rebirth has been the center of some interesting box office conversations of its own. For a while, the film was projected to have the lowest opening of the four Jurassic World movies — a slight concern considering it opened over a five-day holiday weekend (the previous three installments opened over normal, three-day weekends). However, it exceeded expectations and posted $147.8 million domestically, a new Fourth of July weekend record. Its debut is also slightly higher than Jurassic World Dominion‘s $145 million.
While Jurassic World Rebirth wasn’t a critical darling (52% on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing), audience word of mouth was significantly more positive. That implies moviegoers are still excited about what the franchise has to offer, and it’ll be interesting to see how that impacts business for Superman. Comic book adaptations have arguably lost some of their luster since the genre’s heyday in the 2010s (two Marvel movies this year lost money at the box office). However, Superman is a different beast, offering viewers a new take on one of the world’s most famous superheroes. Gunn is also a fan-favorite filmmaker thanks to his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and The Suicide Squad, so his involvement will encourage viewers to come out to the theater, especially if Superman earns positive reviews.
Ideally, this will be a case of there being enough room at the box office for two high-profile releases to coexist. Even if Jurassic World eats into Superman‘s overseas box office a bit, the DCU should still get off to a strong start. If Superman‘s box office projections had gone down following Rebirth‘s debut, then there would have been cause for concern, as that would have indicated audiences didn’t have the appetite for another big studio blockbuster so soon. All in all, this bodes well for “Super Fantastic World” because the first two of July’s tentpoles are set to be massive hits.
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Image Courtesy of Ufotable
