"Superman" may not have outperformed the opening weekend box offices for "Man of Steel" and other DC projects, but box office data shows it was still one of the biggest releases so far in 2025.Watch the trailer for "Superman" in the player above"Superman" debuted with an opening domestic box office of $122 million, making it the third highest weekend in 2025 behind the releases of "A Minecraft Movie" and "Lilo & Stitch."The release comes as the two largest comic book movie studios go head-to-head in the same month. Marvel will release its adaptation of Fantastic Four on July 25. "Superman" launches a new universe by director James Gunn, who also directed Marvel’s "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy. Marvel, on the other hand, is rebooting Fantastic Four, a franchise previously owned by 20th Century Fox before it was acquired by Disney in 2019.Gunn’s “Superman” also outperformed recent comic book movies from both studios. Marvel’s last release, "Thunderbolts*," debuted at $74.3 million in May, and before that, “Captain America: Brave New World” premiered at $88.8 million.The last big box office opener was Marvel’s "Deadpool & Wolverine," which premiered with $211.4 million opening weekend in 2024.For DC Comics as a whole, it was the ninth-best opening weekend, the Hearst Television Data Team found in an analysis of movies released since 2000 when adjusting for inflation. Box office data comes from The Numbers. The data team adjusted for inflation to make box office earnings comparable across all years analyzed. For example, when "Catwoman" was released in 2004, it earned $16.7 million on its opening weekend. The data team used the average consumer price index for that year and the consumer price index for May 2025 to calculate the value of the film's earnings in the present day, which would be $28.5 million.The last time DC had this large of an opening weekend was the release of "The Batman" in 2022, which earned $147 million, adjusted for inflation. There have been seven movies released in between, including the 2024 sequel "Joker: Folie à Deux" and "The Flash."Among the eight DC movies that performed better than Superman on opening weekend were other Superman films, including “Man of Steel” and “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.”Box office earnings have declined over time, data shows. A steep decline right at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 never fully rebounded. The annual domestic box office earnings in 2019 were around $13.9 billion, according to The Numbers, after adjusting for inflation. In 2024, the box office earnings were $8.6 billion. So far in 2025, the domestic earnings are on track to be about the same as the past two years.But even prior to the pandemic, annual domestic box office earnings were declining when data were adjusted for inflation.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
WASHINGTON — "Superman" may not have outperformed the opening weekend box offices for "Man of Steel" and other DC projects, but box office data shows it was still one of the biggest releases so far in 2025.
Watch the trailer for "Superman" in the player above
"Superman" debuted with an opening domestic box office of $122 million, making it the third highest weekend in 2025 behind the releases of "A Minecraft Movie" and "Lilo & Stitch."
The release comes as the two largest comic book movie studios go head-to-head in the same month. Marvel will release its adaptation of Fantastic Four on July 25. "Superman" launches a new universe by director James Gunn, who also directed Marvel’s "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy. Marvel, on the other hand, is rebooting Fantastic Four, a franchise previously owned by 20th Century Fox before it was acquired by Disney in 2019.
Gunn’s “Superman” also outperformed recent comic book movies from both studios. Marvel’s last release, "Thunderbolts*," debuted at $74.3 million in May, and before that, “Captain America: Brave New World” premiered at $88.8 million.
The last big box office opener was Marvel’s "Deadpool & Wolverine," which premiered with $211.4 million opening weekend in 2024.
For DC Comics as a whole, it was the ninth-best opening weekend, the Hearst Television Data Team found in an analysis of movies released since 2000 when adjusting for inflation.
Box office data comes from . The data team adjusted for inflation to make box office earnings comparable across all years analyzed. For example, when "Catwoman" was released in 2004, it earned $16.7 million on its opening weekend. The data team used the average consumer price index for that year and the consumer price index for May 2025 to calculate the value of the film's earnings in the present day, which would be $28.5 million.
The last time DC had this large of an opening weekend was the release of "The Batman" in 2022, which earned $147 million, adjusted for inflation. There have been seven movies released in between, including the 2024 sequel "Joker: Folie à Deux" and "The Flash."
Among the eight DC movies that performed better than Superman on opening weekend were other Superman films, including “Man of Steel” and “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
Box office earnings have declined over time, data shows. A steep decline right at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 never fully rebounded.
The annual domestic box office earnings in 2019 were around $13.9 billion, according to The Numbers, after adjusting for inflation. In 2024, the box office earnings were $8.6 billion. So far in 2025, the domestic earnings are on track to be about the same as the past two years.
But even prior to the pandemic, annual domestic box office earnings were declining when data were adjusted for inflation.
