‘Superman’ Flies High With Huge Opening, Lands 2025’s Second-Best Box Office Start

Warner Bros. and DC Studios’ new “Superman” movie is off to a strong start, pulling in $56.5 million on its first day, including Thursday previews and early Amazon Prime screenings that began Tuesday.

That makes it the second-biggest opening day of 2025 so far. It came just behind “A Minecraft Movie,” which opened with $57.1 million, and slightly ahead of “Lilo & Stitch,” which made $55.9 million.

This fresh take on the Man of Steel was written and directed by James Gunn, who’s known for the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies. Early projections suggested the film would make around $100 million over its debut weekend, but some were expecting it to go above $140 million.

At this point, it looks like it will land closer to $120 million, helped by the higher ticket prices from IMAX and other premium screens.

It’s a big moment for Warner Bros., especially because “Superman” is meant to launch a brand-new DC movie universe. With a reported budget of $225 million, the movie has a lot riding on it. So far, the box office launch has gone well, and the film has received mostly good reviews from critics. Audiences are also responding well, giving it an “A-” grade through CinemaScore.

David Corenswet stars as the new Superman, with Nicholas Hoult playing Lex Luthor and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Other characters include superheroes like Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, Metamorpho, and Mister Terrific, plus Daily Planet reporter Jimmy Olsen.

While “Superman” is flying high, Universal’s “Jurassic World Rebirth” came in second on Friday with $11.3 million. That movie has now earned more than $200 million in North America and is expected to hit $230 million by the end of the weekend. Even though it’s doing well, it’s showing signs of slowing down compared to earlier entries in the franchise.

In third place is “F1,” a racing thriller from Apple Studios starring Brad Pitt. It brought in another $3.7 million on Friday and has now reached $126.9 million in North America. The movie had a big budget, around $250 million, so whether it turns a big profit is still unclear. But it’s definitely Apple’s biggest hit in theaters so far.

The fourth spot went to “How to Train Your Dragon,” which is still going strong in its fifth weekend. The live-action version earned $2.3 million on Friday and is expected to hit $239 million in total by the end of the weekend. That’s more than the original animated movie made back in 2010.

Rounding out the top five is Disney and Pixar’s “Elio,” which added $1.2 million on Friday. The movie has made about $60.9 million in total. Even though it’s been holding steady from week to week, it’s still struggling to bounce back from its low $20 million opening, the worst ever for a Pixar movie.

Overall, “Superman” is off to a strong start and could be the beginning of something much bigger for DC. Time will tell if it keeps flying high in the weeks to come.

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