The numbers don’t lie: a lot of people went to go see Superman this weekend.
Per the Hollywood Reporter, James Gunn’s reboot of the DC hero earned an estimated $217 million in its three-day debut. Of that, $122 million came from North America, making it the first superhero movie in the territory since 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine to cross $100 million. Compared to other DC films, it’s the brand’s first movie to cross that milestone in North America since 2022’s The Batman ($134 million), and it beat out Man of Steel’s $116.7 million as the best-ever domestic launch for a Superman movie.
Warner Bros. has been marketing Superman like mad in recent months with cover stories and the cast (and Gunn) doing plenty of interviews about the film to get people on board with what the studio hopes can its DC movie plans. Reception-wise, critics have been generally positive, while audiences have come out of it fairly high. According to analyst Luiz Fernando, it’s got an A- CinemaScore from audiences, higher than the general B+ or B- range cape movies usually elicit. (Early screenings days before its official release probably didn’t hurt, either.)
Word of mouth may give it some legs in the weeks ahead, as it has with from the month’s other blockbusters. Universal’s How to Train Your Dragon remake and Jurassic World Rebirth made $560.8 million and $529.5 million worldwide in their respective fifth and second weekends. Meanwhile, the Lilo & Stitch remake is at $994.3 million worldwide, according to Fernando, and will likely hit $1 billion the following weekend. No wonder Disney’s already talking sequel.
The big perceived competition for Superman is Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 25), which also lands during San Diego Comic-Con weekend. Otherwise, our genre flicks for the rest of the month include the reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer (July 18), Ick (July 24), The Home (July 25), and Together (July 30). Fantastic Four will almost certainly eat up some attention from Superman, but maybe they’ll make for a superheroic double feature.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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