Looking at James Gunn’s Superman which drops on July 11, 2025 we can see how it stacks up against the 11 films that made up the old DC Extended Universe (DCEU). This is the first big film for the new DC Universe (DCU) under James Gunn and Peter Safran. The news breaks down the box office and compares it to previous films like Man of Steel and The Flash. Is the reboot with David Corenswet as a young Clark Kent marking the beginning of the DC Universe with a bang or just riding the hype?
The numbers look good so far. Superman made $120.1 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend which is right behind Man of Steel which opened with $116.6 million. That’s a far cry from The Suicide Squad which made only $26.2 million. Globally the film has passed $300 million in two weeks which is impressive and puts it alongside Wonder Woman’s $821.8 million.
But it has a long way to go to reach Aquaman’s $1.15 billion. ScreenRant says the film’s fun energy – with a young Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor – and Gunn’s ability to tell a good story is what sets it apart. But with the competition and the DCEU’s spotty track record success is far from guaranteed.
So Superman is hot. And a lot of that is due to the audience. It has an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, way better than some of the other DCEU movies like Batman v Superman (29%) and Justice League (40%). Audiences are loving Gunn’s wit, emotional depth and visuals and the self contained story is a nice change of pace from the universe expansion of the DCEU. And with a $200 million budget it’s more fiscally responsible than some of the bigger flops in the DCEU and could be profitable sooner.
ScreenRant is saying it’s laying the groundwork for future DCU movies like The Authority in a way that feels organic not forced.
In short Superman is off to a good start but it’s not quite at the billion dollar level of Aquaman and Joker. It’s passing the less impactful DCEU movies like Shazam! Fury of the Gods ($134 million total) and Blue Beetle ($129 million) but it needs to keep going. The article ends by saying if Superman can keep bringing in audiences and detach itself from the DCEU it could be a big new chapter for the DCU. It’s a fun read with numbers that gets you excited for the future of DC.
Source: ScreenRant
