In a surprising turn, James Gunn’s rebooted Superman leapt into theaters Thursday night with a powerful $22.5 million box office from preview showings—flying in the face of industry projections and making it one of the biggest Thursday debuts in DC history. This has ignited fresh optimism for its box office future.
Once rumored to make somewhere between $90 and $120 million for its opening weekend, new projections have pushed the box office potential for James Gunn’s first at bat up as high as $140 million, nearly reaching the very optimistic initial projections from several weeks ago.
Rahcel Brosnahan as Lois Lane in Superman – YouTube, DC
It’s a strong start for Warner Bros. and the first official film under Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios banner. But even with Thursday’s momentum, the question remains: Will Superman actually beat 2013’s Man of Steel—and if so, by how much?
A Surprise Super Start
With $22.5 million from Thursday previews, Superman now ranks as the third-biggest Thursday debut for any DC film—behind only The Dark Knight Rises ($30.6M) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($27.7M).
Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel – HBO Max
It also easily tops Man of Steel’s Thursday performance, which was reported as $9 million from late-night showings. However, when you include Walmart-exclusive screenings held on Wednesday (which Warner Bros. counted at the time), Man of Steel’s total preview gross was actually $12 million.
For the sake of fairness, we’re using Man of Steel’s full opening weekend haul of $128.7 million, which includes those early previews, to compare against Superman’s projected total.
Revised Projections
Thanks to the stronger-than-expected Thursday box office numbers, analysts now expect Superman to earn between $130 million and $140 million domestically by the end of its first Sunday.
Superman in the trailer for James Gunn’s Superman – YouTube, DC
That would put it just ahead of Man of Steel in unadjusted dollars, potentially making it the biggest opening for a solo Superman film.
But there’s a catch.
Inflation Tells a Different Story
While $130M+ would look good on paper, Man of Steel’s $128.7 million opening came back in 2013. When adjusted for inflation, that number is worth roughly $174.5 million in 2025 dollars. That means Gunn’s Superman would still fall $35–45 million short of truly matching the performance of its predecessor.
Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel – YouTube, Warner Bros.
And that’s significant—especially for a film meant to launch an entirely new cinematic universe.
Context Matters: The Snyderverse Was a Bust
It’s also worth remembering that Man of Steel launched what became the Snyderverse—a cinematic universe that, while initially promising, collapsed under critical backlash, studio interference, and inconsistent storytelling. No direct Superman sequel ever followed (and no, Batman vs Superman doesn’t count!).
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Warner Bros. Pictures
So the fact that Gunn’s fresh reboot, armed with critical goodwill, a marketing blitz, and IMAX/PLF screens, might still underperform against a film that kicked off a failed franchise is a red flag. If this is DC’s big comeback moment, it’s not a slam dunk—it’s a cautiously optimistic opening.
Of course the industry has dramatically changed. Tickets are far more expensive which often prevents repeat viewings. Additionally, with tight digital and streaming turnaround some fans who might have seen Man of Steel three or four times in the theater might be alright with seeing Superman just the once before waiting for its HBO Max release.
Can Superman Keep Soaring?
To its credit, Superman is benefiting from a softer competitive field. Jurassic World Rebirth, while still a box office force, is expected to dip 50% in its second weekend. And while that film overperformed during its July 4th opening with $147.3M (5-day total), it also faced stiffer critical headwinds than Superman, which currently holds an 83% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 52% on Criticless.
Nicholas Holt as Lex Luthor in Superman – YouTube, DC
If families and general audiences turn out over the weekend, Superman could push even higher than the current $140M ceiling. But barring an unexpected surge, it will still land comfortably below the inflation-adjusted “butts in seats” benchmark set by Man of Steel—a reminder that goodwill alone doesn’t always translate to record-breaking success.
Final Thought
There’s no question that $22.5 million in Thursday previews is a major win for Warner Bros. and James Gunn. It gives Superman the momentum it needs to possibly outpace Man of Steel in raw dollars. But in the bigger picture—where inflation, expectations, and legacy comparisons matter—it still has ground to cover.
Superman withstands fire in the trailer for James Gunn’s Superman – YouTube, DC
Gunn and Safran may be steering DC into a new era, but as of opening weekend, they’re still chasing a ghost in a red cape.
What do you think about the Superman Thursday box office? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
A strong start is often followed by a complete stall these days. Two of the most common complaints about the movie I keep hearing are “messy” and “frantic.” The plot is all over the place and the movies goes at such a frenetic pace that viewers have no time to absorb what’s going on. The Superman name might have drawn people in but word of mouth is not looking good so far. One coworker who keeps getting disappointed by these movies said “my nephew with ADHD might like it but I couldn’t figure out what was going on.”
It’s still too early to tell given how the viewing masses are so willing to accept mediocre these days. But we’ll likely know by Monday if the movie’s going to do well or if it’s going to flop.
Just saw it. It wasn’t all that bad in terms of frenetic pacing, though it noticeably dispenses with long transitions. It doesn’t feel too rushed though, and everyone enjoyed it.
Having seen the movie, I can’t say I’m feeling any better about DC’s future under Gunn that I was before I went in.
Gen Z Supergirl makes me sad and shows, more than anything, Gunn’s vision is flawed.
And if they do a Justice Gang movie, I’ll have to skip it just to avoid the Hawkgirl scream attack as much as I like Guy Gardener and Nathan Fillion. That noise…
Is anyone else have a sense of fascination for China? Like, they killed millions of people, literally killed with a bioweapon. They made at least 6 billion people poorer, forcing hundreds of millions on the brink of poverty.
And everyone just forgot what they did. How is this possible. Literally, everyone of us except for maybe
top 5% got poorer, life got more expensive. And the country responsible for it did not even get a formal
warning. What does it take for people to take action? Do they have to wipe half the population
with a better, less sloppy, more effective virus? No, I bet even in that case people will be like:
sh*t happens, carry on.
Whenever I see these predictions that compare dollar value now from back then, I feel disdain, both for
CCP and our own inability to act.
Indeed. And, the mRNA vaccines did most of the killing, they put it down to Covid.
I’m seeing a ton of negative reviews online. There is no buzz at all on X (apart from shill-accounts, and bot-accounts that all look alike). This movie is shaping up to be a flop. And it needs to make nearly a billion to break even (due to cinemas’ cuts of ticket sales). Foreign cinemas keep more of the sales prices.