James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ Soars to Record-Breaking Opening Weekend for Franchise

James Gunn’s new Superman movie is off to a flying start at the box office, pulling in a strong $123 million in its first weekend, according to early estimates from industry sources. That number includes a $37 million Saturday, dropping about 34% from its Friday total of $56.5 million (which also included $22.5 million in previews).

Warner Bros. hasn’t confirmed these figures yet, but if they hold, it’s a big win for DC Studios and Gunn’s first chapter of the “Gods and Monsters” phase.

This would be Warner Bros.’ second movie of the year to open above $100 million, following A Minecraft Movie, which launched with $162 million. It’s also now the second-best opening for any Superman movie, just behind Batman v Superman ($166 million), and beats the $116.6 million that Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel made in its first three days back in 2013.

Some early predictions thought the film might hit as high as $140 million or even $150 million because of the strong Thursday previews, but that didn’t quite happen. Still, sources say political chatter, like Gunn’s “immigrant” comments or MAGA reactions, hasn’t played a role in the performance.

The movie’s doing as expected across red and blue counties, with red areas turning out at normal rates for a PG-13 superhero movie. According to EntTelligence, 34% of ticket sales so far have come from red counties, which is right in line with the usual 33% average for this type of movie.

The drop from Friday to Saturday is actually pretty normal. Man of Steel dropped 35% between its Friday and Saturday ten years ago. It earned $36 million that Saturday and $36.2 million on Sunday, which was almost unheard of at the time. The new Superman movie is following similar patterns, which suggests solid staying power.

One thing that stands out is that almost half the people who bought tickets, 49%, did so on the same day they saw the movie. That’s a strong number. It means a lot of people made last-minute decisions to go see it, which is a good sign of word-of-mouth and interest. By comparison, only 41% did sthe ame-day ticket buying for Deadpool & Wolverine, and 57% for A Minecraft Movie.

The new Superman has gotten very strong reactions from audiences. CinemaScore gave it an A-, and PostTrak reports show that 86% of viewers had a positive opinion of it, with 74% saying they would definitely recommend it. One source summed it up by saying, “If it was just all beefcake grosses and so-so audience sentiment, there would be pause for concern.”

That was the problem with Batman v Superman, which had a huge opening but only earned a B from CinemaScore , a warning sign that people weren’t fully into the dark, heavy tone.

This time around, fans seem happier. Gunn’s movie matches the A- score Man of Steel got, and it did better than Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns (B+), and way better than the 1987 flop Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.

At $123 million, the film is also Gunn’s second-best U.S. opening ever, right behind Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which made $146.5 million. The movie is doing well across the country, with strong numbers in the West, South, and East. AMC Burbank is currently the top-grossing location in the U.S., already bringing in close to $170,000.

Right now, Rotten Tomatoes has Superman at 82% with critics and a strong 94% audience score. That kind of reception helps keep people coming over the next few weekends.

And the box office overall is feeling the love. The second weekend of July is bringing in about $197 million across all movies, which is the best performance for this time of year since the pandemic. That’s 60% better than last year, when Despicable Me 4 was leading the charts, and 40% higher than 2023’s high mark.

So far, Superman is sitting comfortably at number one, followed by Jurassic World Rebirth and F1. Even if it didn’t hit the very top of the prediction charts, this is a very strong opening for a new chapter in DC’s future, and a clear sign that Superman still matters.

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