New Superman muscles its way to $278m at global box office

LOS ANGELES – The new Superman movie from Warner Bros has hauled in an estimated US$122 million (S$156 million) to lead weekend box-office charts in the United States and Canada. The strong North American debut kicks off a new era for DC comic book heroes on the big screen.

The movie, which introduces American actor David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, added US$95 million in international markets for global ticket sales to reach US$217 million (S$278 million) through July 13, Warner Bros said.

Superman is a reboot of the movie franchise based on the hero who debuted in comic books in 1938. The film’s performance is critical to the future of Warner Bros and its DC Studios division.

Despite a stable of iconic characters including Batman and Wonder Woman, DC has not been able to match the box-office power of Walt Disney’s Marvel superhero films.

The new Superman was written and directed by James Gunn, the American film-maker known for the three offbeat Guardians Of The Galaxy movies (2014 to 2023) for Marvel. He was tapped as co-chief executive of DC Studios in 2022, alongside producer Peter Safran, and billed as the hero who could bring consistent success to its film and TV projects.

Superman is meant to set the stage for upcoming DC films, including a Supergirl movie in June 2026 and future Batman and Wonder Woman films.

“The DC vision is clear, the momentum is real, and I couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead,” Warner Bros Discovery chief executive David Zaslav said in a statement.

Superman is one of only three films to debut with more than US$100 million in North American ticket sales in 2025, as moviegoing lingers below pre-pandemic levels.

“The domestic number is great. You can’t beat a top three opening of the year,” Mr Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, said of the Superman results.

But he called the international ticket sales “troubling” for a big-budget action movie. The film cost US$225 million to make, said a source with knowledge of the budget.

Mr Jeff Goldstein, president of global distribution at Warner Bros, said the studio was thrilled with the North American response and that the movie about an American icon performed as expected overseas.

“We always knew this would be bigger in the US than internationally,” he said. “Superman has always been very American-centric.”

Gunn’s take on the character earned positive reviews from critics. Eighty-two per cent of reviews collected on the Rotten Tomatoes website gave the film a thumbs up.

Corenswet stars alongside The Marvelous Mrs Maisel (2017 to 2023) actress Rachel Brosnahan, who plays journalist Lois Lane, and English actor Nicholas Hoult as villain Lex Luthor.

After box-office misfires in 2024, including Furiosa and Joker: Folie A Deux, Warner Bros has notched up six No. 1 openings in 2025. It boasts the highest North American opening in 2025 with A Minecraft Movie, which pulled in US$162.8 million over its first three days in April.

The studio has also delivered hits with Sinners, Final Destination Bloodlines and F1.

Some conservative commentators objected to Superman, when Gunn said the movie about a refugee from another planet was an immigrant story. US President Donald Trump posted a meme that showed his face in place of Corenswet’s on a Superman poster.

The director and stars said the film was a tale about kindness, and no political message was intended.

“It’s just a movie, guys,” Canadian-American actor Nathan Fillion, who plays Green Lantern, told Variety magazine at the film’s Los Angeles premiere.

Year-to-date ticket sales for all movies in the US and Canada hovered 15 per cent above 2024’s takings, but are still 24 per cent below pre-Covid-19 levels of 2019. REUTERS