Superman is Marvel’s kryptonite at the box office. The first DC Studios movie, written and directed by Guardians of the Galaxy helmer James Gunn, has grossed $235 million at the domestic box office faster than a speeding bullet, leaping past the domestic hauls of rival Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World ($200 million) and Thunderbolts* ($189 million) in a single weekend. Internationally, Superman has collected $165 million, bringing its global cume to $400.9 million, surpassing Thunderbolts* worldwide total ($382 million).
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The DC Universe-launching blockbuster will lap the global box office of Captain America: Brave New World ($413.6 million) despite competition from Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is tracking to open to $100 million-$110 million domestically — behind Superman‘s $125 million — when it hits theaters on July 25.
Strengthened by strong word of mouth with an A- CinemaScore, the best for a live-action DC movie since 2022’s The Batman, an 83% “certified fresh” approval from critics and an even mightier 92% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, Superman dropped just 54% for a second weekend of $57.2 million.
That’s a stronger hold than Captain America: Brave New World (68%), which flew into theaters over Valentine’s Day with Anthony Mackie in the star-spangled wingsuit, and Thunderbolts* (56%). The fourth Captain America movie overall and the first without Chris Evans received a B- CinemaScore, the lowest of the 36-movie MCU, and was just the third Marvel Studios movie, behind 2021’s Eternals and 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, to be “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes. Thunderbolts*, meanwhile, earned an A- CinemaScore and an 88% on the review aggregator, but finished its theatrical run as the fifth lowest-grossing installment in the MCU.
In North America, Superman‘s box office has already outgrossed the domestic hauls of every DC movie since The Batman ($369.6 million) in 2022, with its mighty $235 million so far overtaking Black Adam ($168.2 million), Shazam! Fury of the Gods ($57.7 million), Blue Beetle ($72.5 million), The Flash ($108.1 million), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ($124.4 million), and Joker: Folie à Deux ($58.3 million).
The Matt Reeves-directed Batman reboot ultimately took in $772.5 million globally, while Superman will easily lap the Aquaman sequel’s $440 million with a worldwide total that will exceed $600 million. Such a number puts DC Studios, headed by Gunn and Peter Safran, and their new DC Universe on strong footing; Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios launched the $32 billion-grossing Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man‘s $585 million global haul in 2008.
Marvel Studios kicks off Phase 6 of the MCU with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is the lone Marvel movie until Spider-Man: Brand New Day next July and which leads directly into Avengers: Doomsday in December 2026. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach all reprise their Fantastic Four roles opposite Robert Downey Jr. as the four’s archnemesis, Doctor Doom. DC studios will follow Superman with TV series Peacemaker (August 21) and Lanterns (2026), and the films Supergirl (June 2026), Clayface (September 2026), and The Batman: Part II (October 2027).
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