Earlier this month, Superman became available for streaming, and Warner Bros. reports it was a big success for the platform. The studio says Superman attracted 13 million viewers worldwide in its first 10 days, making it the biggest movie debut on the platform in nearly two years (specifically, the largest since Barbie arrived on Max in December 2023). During its first week-considering only the first three days of Superman’s streaming availability-the film reached the #1 spot. However, looking at the bigger picture, another movie has now taken over the top position from the DC hero.
According to JustWatch.com, a site that follows streaming popularity around the world and in the US, Superman almost reached the #1 spot with American viewers in its first week of release. However, the new movie-which is exclusively on HBO Max-didn’t quite make it to the top of the weekly movie charts, peaking at #2. The movie that beat Superman was 28 Years Later, the long-awaited sequel to the zombie film, which premiered on Netflix the same day Superman became available on HBO Max.
Superman Fails to Beat 28 Years Later in the Streaming Charts
There’s a likely explanation for why 28 Years Later outperformed the Last Son of Krypton, and it comes down to how many people subscribe to each streaming service. Netflix last reported its subscriber numbers at the end of 2024, stating they had 89.6 million US subscribers. HBO Max, however, announced this summer that it had 57.8 million US subscribers as of June. While not every Netflix user immediately watched 28 Years Later when it became available, having 30 million more subscribers gives Netflix a significant edge. Despite this, Netflix’s recent data shows 28 Years Later was viewed 3.2 million times in the past week, and looking at the viewing charts reveals an even more compelling story.
According to JustWatch, 28 Years Later has been the most popular movie on streaming services for the last week. Its success has also led viewers to revisit earlier films in the series. On the same chart, where 28 Years Later is ranked #1 and Superman is #2, the original 2003 film, 28 Days Later, is the #4 streaming movie for the week. The 2007 sequel, 28 Weeks Later, comes in at #6, despite being available only on Hulu and AMC+, and not Netflix.
Interestingly, while Superman finally landing on HBO Max was a big deal, it doesn’t seem to have boosted viewership for other DC movies. Honestly, that makes sense to me. This new Superman is the *start* of the DCU’s film lineup, so it’s not connected to any of the older Superman or DC films. However, I’m hoping that having Superman available on HBO Max will get people interested in another major DC production, Peacemaker. According to JustWatch’s TV charts from the same week, Peacemaker is currently the #7 show across all of streaming, which is just a slight bump from the week before. With only two episodes left, though, I think Peacemaker still has a chance to climb even higher in the charts.
A crucial factor that changes how we view the success of 28 Years Later involves comparing the box office performance of both films. While 28 Years Later earned over $70 million domestically and more than $150 million worldwide – making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise so far – its numbers were significantly lower than those of Superman. The first movie in the DCU brought in over $350 million domestically and over $610 million globally. So, while 28 Years Later may have performed better on streaming platforms, Superman clearly dominated at the box office.
There’s hope for Superman, thanks to how audiences are reacting to the film. While 28 Years Later quickly gained popularity, the feedback hasn’t been completely positive. Currently, 28 Years Later has a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter, which gauges audience enjoyment. In contrast, Superman boasts a 90% audience rating. It remains to be seen, but this positive reception could help the DC film climb back to the number one spot and surpass 28 Years Later in the weeks ahead.
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2025-09-30 22:10