‘Superman’ Aims for Biggest Tuesday of 2025 at U.S. Box Office

James Gunn’s Superman movie is doing better than most people thought it would. After opening in theaters recently, the film is already beating early expectations. According to Box Office Mojo and The Numbers, Superman has earned $137.9 million in the US and Canada by July 14, 2025. It also made about $95 million from other countries. That means the total box office so far is $232.9 million worldwide.

Before the film came out, there were worries about how much it needed to make to be called a success. TheWrap reported back in June that Superman had to earn more than $500 million around the world just to break even. To be seen as a real win, it needed to make closer to $700 million.

Now, Global Box Office says Superman is on track to make more than $15 million today in the US, which would give it the biggest Tuesday of the year at the domestic box office. The final numbers will be released tomorrow morning.

#Superman is potentially heading to the biggest Tuesday of the year at the domestic box office, making over $15M. Super duper big sales today.

Actual numbers tomorrow morning. pic.twitter.com/yjiZYSiDqi

— Global Box Office (@GlobalBoxOff) July 16, 2025

When the film was getting ready to launch, different predictions came in about its possible opening weekend. Some early estimates suggested Superman could bring in between $125 million and $145 million in the US and Canada. Others thought it could reach about $135 million.

That would be better than Man of Steel, which opened to $116 million back in 2013. Warner Bros. and DC Studios were more careful in their guess, thinking it would make between $90 million and $125 million. But there were still hopes it could climb as high as $175 million, which would have beaten Batman v Superman’s opening of $166 million.

Once Superman hit theaters, reports said it made around $2.8 million from Tuesday previews and about $21 million including Thursday previews. Those Thursday screenings alone brought in $22.5 million. This set a new record for 2025 and also became the biggest preview result for a James Gunn movie. Superman even beat Warner Bros.’ earlier record from Barbie previews.

After these strong previews, people thought Superman would make between $115 million and $121 million in its opening weekend across the US and Canada. Worldwide, it was expected to pass $210 million during that time. The movie made $56.5 million on its first full day, the second biggest single-day haul of the year after A Minecraft Movie.

It ended its opening weekend with $125 million in North America. This made it the highest opening weekend ever for a standalone Superman film. It also became the second-best opening for a Superman movie overall, only behind Batman v Superman.

Outside the US and Canada, Superman made about $95 million over its first weekend. The biggest international markets were the United Kingdom with $9.8 million, Mexico with $8.8 million, China with $6.6 million, Brazil with $5.9 million, and Australia with $5.3 million. In China, though, the movie didn’t do as well as hoped. It opened in fourth place there. David A. Gross from FranchiseRe explained why Superman may struggle in certain countries. He said, “Superman has always been identified as a quintessentially American character and story, and in some parts of the world, America is currently not enjoying its greatest popularity.”

Critics have mostly liked the film. On Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of the reviews are positive. The website said, “Pulling off the heroic feat of fleshing out a dynamic new world while putting its champion’s big, beating heart front and center, this Superman flies high as a Man of Tomorrow grounded in the here and now.” Over on Metacritic, the movie has a score that means generally favorable reviews. Audience reactions have been strong too. CinemaScore gave Superman an A− grade, and PostTrak said 86% of people enjoyed the movie.

Reviewers from different outlets said the movie looks colorful, has a good sense of humor, and is full of heart. Some liked how the story didn’t focus on Superman’s origin again and kept the attention on his character instead. Others felt the casting was perfect and said Gunn did a good job of showing Superman’s heroic side without overcomplicating the plot.

Still, not everyone was happy. Some reviewers said the ending had too much CGI and the plot felt messy at times. Others thought the movie’s tone jumped around too much. Even so, some of the critics who didn’t fully enjoy the movie still said it was fun to watch.

For now, Superman is doing well, but it still has a long way to go to hit that $700 million goal and be called a big success.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!