Superman Loses #1 Streaming Spot, Beaten Out By Gory 2025 Horror Movie

Earlier this month, Superman finally made its streaming debut, and according to Warner Bros. was a major hit for the streamer. According to the studio, Superman was able to tally 13 million global viewers across its first 10 days, marking the biggest debut for a movie on the platform in almost two years (of note, it was the biggest since Barbie arrived on Max in December of 2023). In its first week (accounting for only the first three days of Superman‘s streaming), the film managed to become the #1 movie on streaming. In the time sense, though, a new picture emerges, one where another movie has taken the top slot from the DC icon.

According to JustWatch.com, which tracks streaming trends globally and in the US, Superman was able to nearly capture the top streaming spot in the past week with American audiences, its first full week available. That said, the new movie, available only HBO Max, was unable to stay at #1 on the weekly movie charts and peaked at #2. Ahead of Superman was none other than 28 Years Later, the highly anticipated zombie movie sequel that arrived on Netflix the same day that the man of steel debuted on HBO Max.

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There’s one potential reason why 28 Years Later was able to so thoroughly defeat the Last Son of Krypton, and it’s in subscriber counts. Netflix’s last confirmation of subscriber data came at the end of 2024, when the streamer revealed US subscriptions were at 89.6 million. HBO Max, on the other hand, confirmed this summer that, as of June, the streamer had 57.8 million subscribers in the US. Now, obviously, not every Netflix subscriber tuned in to 28 Years Later the minute that it premiered on the service, but already having 30 million more users certainly gives the streamer a huge advantage. Even though that’s clearly not the case, Netflix’s data from the past week confirms 28 Years Later was watched 3.2 million times, the charts tell another really interesting story.

According to JustWatch, not only is 28 Years Later the #1 movie on streaming for the past week, but the success of the film has resulted in audiences seeking out the previous movies in the franchise as well. In the same chart where 28 Years Later is #1 and Superman is #2, 2003’s 28 Days Later sits as the #4 streaming movie for the entire week with 2007’s 28 Weeks Later clocking in at #6 (even though that film is only available on Hulu and AMC+, not Netflix).

On the flipside, Superman‘s debut on HBO Max does not appear to have moved the needle on any other DC movies. This makes sense in the big picture sense as Superman is the start of the DCU’s feature film line-up, meaning no previous Superman or DC movies are actually connected to it. That said, Superman streaming on HBO Max may actually push viewers toward the DCU’s other major production, Peacemaker. According to JustWatch’s TV charts for the same week, Peacemaker sits as the #7 TV show in all of streaming, moving up just one spot from the previous week. Two episodes remain of Peacemaker, though, which could help it on the charts.

Another key piece of information that paints this victory for 28 Years Later in a totally different light is how the two films were able to perform at the box office. Though 28 Years Later brought in over $70 million domestically and over $150 million globally, becoming the biggest film in the franchise to date, its totals were put to shame by Superman. The DCU’s first movie brought in more than $350 million at the domestic box office and over $610 million worldwide. 28 Years Later may have won the streaming battle, but Superman won the box office war.

There is light at the end of the tunnel for Superman, though, and it’s in the audience response to the movie. Even if 28 Years Later proved to be more popular in a week, the reaction from people who have seen it is not entirely positive. As of this writing, 28 Years Later has a 60% Popcornmeter rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which measures audience positivity. On the flipside, Superman has a 90% audience rating. Time will tell, but this could be how the DC movie is able to retake the top spot in the coming weeks and leave 28 Years Later in the dust.