We finally get a look at the Superman box office as the Thursday numbers become available, and it’s 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. That’s higher than Matt Reeves’ The Batman ($21.6M) which went on to open to over $134M back in 2022. It’s also higher than Barbie‘s $22.3M which opened to over $162M in 2023 and went on to finish with over $1.4 billion.
That’s also lot higher than Man of Steel‘s $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 today’s dollars.
Will Gunn’s 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 Disney’s Lilo & Stitch ($14.5M Thursday, $146M 3-day opening) and Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World ($12M Thursday, $88.8M 3-day).
It’s also higher than Gunn’s 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 doesn’t matter if it’s 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.
— Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) July 10, 2025
"Every man in this movie is WEAK!"
— 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 – just dropped! 👇
📺 https://t.co/ekRTGjo6Sv@piersmorgan | @RealDeanCain | @Nerdrotics | @ThatChrisGore pic.twitter.com/aYv1T65Zlh
Nerdrotic, Tim Pool, and I have also said Gunn’s 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.
— 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
— Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) July 10, 2025
Deadline also adds that the Superman previews have a shot of beating Matt Reeves’ 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 that’s not a solo Superman flick, as they added Batman, DC’s biggest character (and Wonder Woman).
