James Gunn’s Superman Overtakes Iron Man, Captain America & Thor at the Box Office

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The film version of James Gunn’s Superman is steadily climbing up the list of highest-grossing movies, recently surpassing three significant releases from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At present, Superman has earned approximately $316 million within U.S. borders, outpacing both Iron Man 2 ($312.4 million) and Thor: Ragnarok ($315 million). Superman currently sits just outside the top 100 highest-grossing movies ever made, and it won’t be long before it overtakes Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to secure a place on that list.

Before surpassing the box office earnings of both “Iron Man 2” and “Thor: Ragnarok,” Superman had already outperformed “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” ($259.7 million). In other words, Superman from the DC Universe has now surpassed all three Avengers from Marvel’s Infinity Saga in terms of box office success. Superman is predicted to overtake the original Iron Man ($319 million), which was released in 2008 next. Additionally, it’s close to outperforming this summer’s “Jurassic World Rebirth” ($317.6 million).

Kicking off the DCU canon a year ago with the animated series “Creature Commandos”, Superman officially made his grand entrance on the silver screen, signifying the formal start of the franchise. Although director James Gunn downplayed the film’s box office expectations for Superman, there was still much at stake. Luckily, backed by positive critical reception and enthusiastic audience buzz, “Superman” surpassed box office predictions, raking in $125 million domestically during its opening weekend. It has now grossed over $500 million worldwide.

Despite its undeniable success, it’s important to note a few points when discussing the box office earnings of Superman. To begin with, these numbers don’t take inflation into account. Additionally, the movie hasn’t performed as strongly in foreign markets, which could prevent it from surpassing the global earnings of Man of Steel, amounting to $670.1 million. Nevertheless, Superman has proven to be a hit that promises an intriguing future for the DCU. The franchise is set to release two new films next year, namely Supergirl and Clayface, and James Gunn is currently working on a sequel to Superman, which won’t be just another version of Superman 2.

In recent years, most DC Comics movies, excluding “The Batman” in 2022, have underperformed at the box office. Films like “Black Adam”, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”, “The Flash”, “Blue Beetle”, and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” failed to reach $200 million domestically, with some not even making it past $100 million in the US. Therefore, “Superman” is a much-needed success for DC overall, especially since they needed a hit that wasn’t related to Batman. Even without a new shared universe, the company was in need of a victory. The release of “Superman” has set the DC Universe off on a positive note, and it will be intriguing to see how the franchise progresses from here.

It’s unlikely that Superman will surpass the earnings of Lilo & Stitch and A Minecraft Movie in the 2025 domestic box office, but it’s expected to end the year as the highest-grossing comic book adaptation. So far, Superman has comfortably outperformed Thunderbolts and Captain America: Brave New World, and it now seems certain that it will outperform The Fantastic Four: First Steps, following the latter’s significant drop in earnings during its second weekend.

*Note: Thunderbolts is a fictional movie in this context.

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2025-08-05 17:40