The DC Universe has made a robust debut at the box office with the release of James Gunn’s Superman movie, setting it up to potentially end a nearly 20-year trend of underperformance. As of now, the film has earned approximately $578 million worldwide, with $331 million coming from domestic sales. While this figure is lower than the $670 million grossed by Man of Steel in 2013, it’s important to consider the context. Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel was released during a time when comic book movies were incredibly popular, just one year after the release of The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, both of which surpassed $1 billion in sales. As such, its success wasn’t unexpected. In contrast, Superman has been launched after several years of DC disappointments and during a period where concerns about superhero movie saturation are prevalent, so the expectations for its performance were more modest.
It’s clear that Superman has outshone most other superhero movies this year, including Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) titles like Captain America: Brave New World ($415m), Thunderbolts* ($382m), and The Fantastic Four: The First Steps ($434m). Unless The Man of Steel gets outshone by Marvel’s Family at the box office, which seems unlikely given the time difference between the two films, Superman will be the first DC superhero movie to top the yearly earnings since The Dark Knight in 2008.
*Note: Thunderbolts is a fictional team from the Marvel Comics universe and as of now, there is no confirmed upcoming film with that title.
Since Christopher Nolan’s monumental film surpassed Iron Man’s success back then, when the Marvel Cinematic Universe was merely a concept, it has become the norm for the highest-earning superhero movie each year to be from Marvel Studios. The exception occurred in 2009 with the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which wasn’t part of the MCU. Apart from that instance, the Marvel Studios dominance has been nearly uninterrupted. DC has experienced its own successes during this period, like The Dark Knight Rises, Wonder Woman, and The Batman, but has yet to dethrone Marvel in terms of box office revenue.
One important point to note is that the year 2020 presents some unique circumstances. Most theaters were closed for much of it due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which means any box office earnings from that period carry a significant disclaimer. If we focus on comic book adaptations, DC movies would lead, with “Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn” earning $205 million – no Marvel film was released in 2020. However, when considering overall earnings, the highest-grossing superhero movie of 2020 wasn’t from either DC or Marvel, but rather “Sonic the Hedgehog,” which brought in $319 million.
| Year | Movie | Gross (worldwide) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Dark Knight | $1bn |
| 2009 | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | $373m |
| 2010 | Iron Man 2 | $623m |
| 2011 | Thor | $449m |
| 2012 | The Avengers | $1.5bn |
| 2013 | Iron Man 3 | $1.2bn |
| 2014 | Guardians of the Galaxy | $773m |
| 2015 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $1.4bn |
| 2016 | Captain America: Civil War | $1.1bn |
| 2017 | Spider-Man: Homecoming | $880m |
| 2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | $2bn |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | $2.7bn |
| 2020 | Sonic the Hedgehog | $319m |
| 2021 | Spider-Man: No Way Home | $1.9bn |
| 2022 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | $955m |
| 2023 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | $845 |
| 2024 | Deadpool & Wolverine | $1.3bn |
In simpler terms, the impressive performance of Superman at the box office in 2025 doesn’t only highlight the challenges faced by the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but also suggests a comeback for DC. James Gunn’s reboot not only aimed to create an excellent film about Superman, but also needed to establish the credibility of his new DC Universe, given the shortcomings of the previous DCEU. He succeeded in making a well-received movie, as indicated by the positive reviews from critics (83%) and audiences (91%) on Rotten Tomatoes, along with its box office success. The proof of concept for the entire DC Universe will require more time and more films, but if this initial performance is any indication, the DC Universe seems to be on a strong path moving forward.
It might take some time before DC can set another such record, as they’ve got “Supergirl” and “Clayface” slated for 2026, followed by the second part of “The Batman” in 2027. The latter is expected to be successful, while we hope the same for the former two. However, both years also see the release of new Avengers films – “Doomsday” and “Secret Wars” respectively – which are likely to outshine even Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. DC certainly seems to be on an upward trajectory, but they have even higher peaks to conquer.
At the moment, Superman is showing in cinemas. Supergirl is set to premiere on June 26th, 2026, with Clayface following suit on September 11th. The sequel of The Batman, titled Part II, is scheduled for release on October 1st, 2027.
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2025-08-11 00:14