James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ Poised to Break a Record That MCU Has Dominated for 17 Years Straight

James Gunn’s Superman is turning into one of the biggest box office wins DC has had in years. The movie opened a few weeks ago to strong reviews from critics and a huge opening weekend, even though it faced some controversies before its release.

According to box office numbers as of August 3, 2025, Superman has earned $316.3 million in the United States and Canada, plus $235 million from other countries. That’s a worldwide total of $551.3 million.

It stayed at number one in theaters for two straight weeks. In its second weekend, the movie made $57 million, which was a 54% drop from opening weekend. For a superhero movie, that’s actually pretty good. For comparison, Captain America: Brave New World fell 68% in its second weekend, and Thunderbolts* dropped 56% with The Fantastic Four: First Steps dropping 80%.

By the third weekend, Superman finally slipped to second place when The Fantastic Four: First Steps premiered. Even then, it pulled in $24.9 million, dropping only 57% from the previous weekend. The movie has already made more than $300 million domestically, making it the first DC movie to do that since The Batman in 2022.

What’s even more impressive is that, excluding the pandemic year of 2020, Superman is set to be the first DC movie since The Dark Knight in 2008 to end the year as the highest-grossing comic book film. For nearly two decades, that spot has always gone to a Marvel movie.

One reason DC might pull this off is because Marvel’s 2025 lineup has struggled. The Fantastic Four: First Steps started with decent numbers but quickly lost momentum. It has made $198.4 million in North America and $170.3 million overseas, for a total of $368.7 million. The problem is, it had one of the biggest second-Friday drops ever for a comic book film—80%. That’s the worst drop this year.

Speaking of Brave New World, it ended its theatrical run with $200.5 million domestic and $214.6 million international for a total of $415.1 million. Reviews and audience reactions were mixed at best, and it never gained the kind of buzz it needed.

Then there’s Thunderbolts*, which struggled even more. It finished with $190.3 million domestic and $192.2 million international for $382.4 million total. Variety reported it would have needed $425 million just to break even, something the movie never came close to hitting.

For DC, Superman is more than just a hit, it’s a major turnaround. After years of watching Marvel dominate the superhero box office, Gunn’s fresh take on the Man of Steel is giving DC a chance to stand on top again. If trends hold, 2025 could be the first year since 2008 that a DC movie beats every Marvel release in both box office numbers and audience excitement.

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