We finally get a look at the Superman box office as the Thursday numbers become available, and itâs blasting off.
Friday am update: Including the Tuesday Amazon screenings of $2.8M and Thursday, the trades are now reporting previews are at $22.5M per WB. Thatâs higher than Matt Reevesâ The Batman ($21.6M) which went on to open to over $134M back in 2022. Itâs also higher than Barbieâs $22.3M which opened to over $162M in 2023 and went on to finish with over $1.4 billion.
Saturday afternoon update: Box office seems to be slowing down, playing out similar to Man of Steel.
Thatâs also lot higher than Man of Steelâs $9M (not adjusted for inflation; if adjusted, would be $12.42M). Man of Steel went on to open to over $116.6M or $160.9M in todayâs dollars.
Will Gunnâs flick hit that high of a number? Early projections actually offered $175M, with the latest projections now said to be north of $130M, from a previous $100M-$115M, thanks to those strong preview box office numbers.
The Superman previews are also the highest of 2025, beating out Disneyâs Lilo & Stitch ($14.5M Thursday, $146M 3-day opening) and Marvelâs Captain America: Brave New World ($12M Thursday, $88.8M 3-day).
Itâs also higher than Gunnâs Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($17.5M Thursday, $118.4M 3-day) and is a record for the director.
What remains to be seen is whether Superman is front-loaded with the hardcore fans or if the audience will continue to show up over the weekend.
As I went over, word-of-mouth will be a key factor. So far, there is a lot of talk about Superman. It doesnât matter if itâs good or bad, as just having people discuss the movie is a benefit. Currently, it has a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes from the fans, which is the highest for any Superman movie.
Regarding the talk, the woke feminists are blasting Gunn for his depiction of women. At the same time, led by former Superman actor Dean Cain, the right-wingers are blasting the flick for being woke.
â Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) July 10, 2025
“Every man in this movie is WEAK!”
â Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) July 10, 2025
Has James Gunn turned Superman woke?
Piers Morgan assembles a super-panel for their take on the new movie â just dropped! đ
đș https://t.co/ekRTGjo6Sv@piersmorgan | @RealDeanCain | @Nerdrotics | @ThatChrisGore pic.twitter.com/aYv1T65Zlh
Nerdrotic, Tim Pool, and I have also said Gunnâs Superman is not woke. Pool and I like the flick and give it the exact same rating (8/10); however, Nerdrotic blasted it in their heavy-handed politically-themed review.
â Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) July 11, 2025
I’m like 10 minutes in, when does the review actually start and what was the point of all that other stuff??? https://t.co/RMDHJogYrU
â Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) July 10, 2025
Deadline also adds that the Superman previews have a shot of beating Matt Reevesâ The Batman which did $21.6M back in 2022.
For the record, Batman v. Superman in 2016 holds the record for the best previews ever for a Superman movie with $27.7M ($166M 3-day), but thatâs not a solo Superman flick, as they added Batman, DCâs biggest character (and Wonder Woman).
