James Gunn’s Superman has again failed to hit the $600 million mark at the box office after 38 days, something Matt Reeves’ The Batman achieved in only 18 days.
Superman box office fallout: Will Pattinson’s Batman join the DCU?
You have to wonder if Reeves was waiting to see how Gunn’s Superman performed at the box office and with fans before deciding whether to merge Robert Pattinson’s Batman into the DCU. The answer seems clear: Reeves’ Batman universe will remain separate. That’s unlikely to change unless Zaslav steps in after The Batman: Part II is released, is my guess.
And if Pattinson ever does join Gunn’s DCU, Warner Bros. will have to pay him far more than the embarrassing $750K David Corenswet got—especially since Gunn paid himself $15 million for Superman on top of his DC Studios executive salary.
Superman box office numbers
Back to the Superman box office report, with 38 days of release, the film has brought in $340,918,636 domestically, $253,600,000 internationally, and the worldwide box office is presently at $594,518,636.
Gunn’s Superman hasn’t actually been doing too badly domestically, and as I went over, that 35 digital release window doesn’t really look to have hurt the box office (and Gunn’s excuse is ridiculous). The Batman only made around $20M after 35 days, so…
#3 at the 2025 domestic box office
Superman is presently the #3 highest domestic movie of 2025, only trailing Lilo & Stitch ($421,706,354) and Minecraft ($423,949,195).
Foreign fans didn’t show up
However, what is really hurting Gunn is that the international audience hasn’t showed up (see below).
For comparison, Lilo & Stitch brought in $606,713,752 internationally, and Minecraft $531,200,000.
Gunn’s Superman, while beating the following domestically, is also getting crushed internationally, by Jurassic World Rebirth ($496,474,000), How To Train Your Dragon ($361,989,000) — and look at F1’s foreign gross of $407,200,000.
Gunn left a lot on the table
There’s no doubt Gunn’s Superman left a lot on the table when it comes to foreign fans. Whether it’s because foreign fans aren’t interested in the “American” Superman, or because of Gunn’s decision to go with a divisive movie with lots of messages, there’s no doubt that for the DCU to be a success, it’s going to have to do better internationally.
It will be interesting to see how Supergirl does and if Jason Momoa’s Lobo can pull in any more fans than Gunn did (because let’s be honest, Superman was ALL ABOUT GUNN).
Compared to The Batman
Compared to The Batman internationally ($402,973,732), Gunn’s Superman particularly underperformed in China, where The Batman brought in a hefty $25.3M but Gunn’s Superman absolutely bombed in the Middle Kingdom, so much so that Warner Bros. hasn’t reported any Chinese Superman box office numbers, according to Box Office Mojo.
Gunn’s Superman also underperforms internationally compared to The Batman:
- UK: $34,991,954 vs $53,668,958
- France: $11,876,474 vs $22,742,475
- Germany: $6,530,295 vs $19,930,212
- Italy: $6,144,063 vs $10,750,112
- Poland: $2,057,937 vs $4,531,461
- Mexico: $20,973,141 vs $31,332,638
- Brazil: $16,000,000 vs $22,700,000
- Australia: $15,403,005 vs $26,080,496
- Japan: $5,890,345 vs $8,937,741
No comparison to Man of Steel
Man of Steel ($379,100,000 internationally) – without even adjusting for inflation – crushes Gunn’s Superman. Foreign fans love Snyder’s DCEU:
- UK: $46,198,857
- France: $20,914,412
- Germany: $9,806,671
- Mexico: $21,127,388
- Brazil: $16,006,429
- Australia: $22,342,258
- Japan: $8,993,829
- China: $63,440,000
The Future of DC: Gunn’s Superman vs. Reeves’ Batman
At the end of the day, Gunn’s Superman may hold its own domestically, but internationally it’s been a bust.
Reeves’ The Batman proved there’s still a massive audience for DC when the right creative vision is behind the project.
The contrast between the two couldn’t be clearer, and it raises the question: will fans stick with Gunn’s DCU moving forward, or are they still waiting for the Batman universe—and maybe even Snyder’s legacy—to show them what DC can really deliver?
We’ll find out more if/when Peacemaker Season 2 charts on Nielsen, something Gunn has said is the sequel to Superman, sets up the DCU going forward, and is the reason he claims for the 35-day digital release.
