James Gunn’s Superman: Did It Actually Turn a Profit?

Superman has wrapped its domestic run, and the final worldwide haul is $615,784,465. Big number. The question is whether that actually made Warner Bros. any money.

The money part, minus the spin

Superman was not cheap. The reported production budget was $225 million, and global marketing piled on another $125 million. You are looking at roughly $350 million all-in just to get the movie made and seen.

Per Forbes, if you use the basic industry shorthand that theaters and studios split ticket sales about 50-50, the studio’s theatrical take would land around $308 million. That is a hair under the reported $350 million cost, and that $308 million does not include various extra expenses that tend to pop up, so the real net is probably lower.

Now, that 50-50 split is a simplification. Revenue shares are a sliding deal: studios usually claim a bigger cut in the early weeks, and exhibitors take more as the run goes on. It varies by studio, chain, and territory. Even with that nuance, the ballpark result does not change much here: Superman likely did not turn a profit from theatrical alone.

Where this gets better for WB is everything after theaters. VOD, streaming, merchandising, and all the usual home-viewing revenue streams should push the film into the black long-term. A brand like Superman tends to have legs once it hits living rooms.

What’s next in the DCU

The season two finale of Peacemaker drops on HBO Max tomorrow and is expected to tee up the newly announced Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow. And for those wondering: despite a certain cameo tease, Superman himself is not showing up in Peacemaker season two.

Man of Tomorrow details

Man of Tomorrow is dated for July 9, 2027. James Gunn has already sketched out the core idea on The Howard Stern Show: Lex Luthor and Superman are forced to team up to some degree against a bigger threat. He says it is as much a Lex story as it is a Superman story, and, yes, he relates to Lex. Gunn sounds very high on the script.

'It’s a story about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together to a certain degree against a much, much bigger threat... It’s as much a Lex movie as it is a Superman movie. I relate to the character of Lex, sadly... I really wanted to create something extraordinary with the two of them. I just love the script so much.'

Before that, Supergirl hits theaters

The next DCU movie on the big screen is Supergirl, arriving June 26, 2026. Here is who is playing who:

• Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El
• Eve Ridley as Ruthye
• Matthias Schoenaerts as Krem of the Yellow Hill
• David Krumholtz as Zor-El
• Emily Beecham as Alura
• Jason Momoa as Lobo, a role he has wanted for years