Superman's Box Office Stakes Just Got a Lot Lower
James Gunn's Superman opens this week, and if it feels like the entire future of DC is riding on it… that's because, for once, it actually might be.
This is the first film under the freshly rebooted DC Studios label, now co-run by Gunn and Peter Safran. They've promised a new interconnected universe — "Gods and Monsters" is the official title for Chapter One — and Superman is the first domino. Whether the rest fall gracefully or collapse into another cinematic faceplant depends largely on how this thing performs.
Gunn, for his part, is pretending not to sweat it. In a GQ interview, he waved off the idea that Superman needs Marvel-sized numbers:
"Is there something riding on it? Yeah, but it's not as big as people make it out to be. They hear these numbers that the movie's only going to be successful if it makes $700 million or something, and it's just complete and utter nonsense."
That quote would be a lot more comforting if superhero movies weren't currently dying on the vine. The past two Marvel releases haven't exactly helped calm nerves:
- Captain America: Brave New World made $415 million worldwide — but reportedly needed $425 million just to break even.
- Thunderbolts was critically liked and packed with setup for the next Avengers movie. It still managed to lose Marvel Studios money.
Over in DC land, Shazam: Fury of the Gods flopped hard in 2023, and the post-Endgame era has been littered with box office duds on both sides of the superhero aisle. But Gunn insists the problem isn't "superhero fatigue." In a Rolling Stone interview, he put it this way:
"It has less to do with superheroes, and more to do with the kind of stories that get to be told, and if you lose your eye on the ball — which is character."
That's a noble sentiment, but The Suicide Squad also had character — and a $55 million domestic run. Sure, that was during peak post-COVID weirdness, and it dropped same-day on HBO Max, but the point stands: goodwill doesn't always translate into money.
On the flip side, Gunn's final Guardians of the Galaxy movie was Disney's top-grossing film of 2023, so there's that.
For now, early tracking for Superman's opening weekend is strong — but that means nothing if audiences don't show up again in week two. A steep drop, soft word of mouth, or even just a "meh" critical consensus could derail this "new era" before it even starts.
And if that happens? It's back to the drawing board for DC. Again.