Warner Bros. Execs Will Celebrate If “Superman” Hits $500 Million, But Will That Be Enough?

The new Superman movie brings a fresh take on the classic DC hero. Written and directed by James Gunn, the film stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent, better known as Superman. This movie is the first live-action installment in the new DC Universe, called the DCU.

Alongside Corenswet, the cast includes Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, and Isabela Merced. In the story, Superman has to prove he’s a hero after billionaire Lex Luthor tries to turn people against him.

The road to this film began years ago. After the 2013 Man of Steel movie with Henry Cavill, there were plans for a sequel. But things changed after Justice League’s difficult production in 2017. By 2020, the Man of Steel sequel was no longer happening.

James Gunn started working on a new Superman film in 2022. Later, he became co-CEO of DC Studios with Peter Safran. Gunn confirmed he was writing the film by the end of 2022. The movie was first called Superman: Legacy, but dropped the subtitle early in 2024 when filming began in Norway. Most of the shooting took place in Atlanta, Georgia, and other spots in Georgia and Ohio. The movie was inspired by the comic All-Star Superman.

Superman had its premiere at the TCL Chinese Theater on July 7, 2025, and opened in U.S. theaters on July 11. Critics gave mostly positive reviews, and the movie earned $40.3 million at the box office to start.

Warner Bros. executives are hoping Superman will earn over $500 million worldwide, according to the Wall Street Journal. While that’s a huge amount, it’s much less than the billion-dollar hits Marvel movies sometimes make. Still, making $500 million would be a win for Warner Bros. What matters even more is that fans enjoy the movie and want more. Superman is just the beginning of a bigger plan for the DC Universe. Upcoming projects include a Supergirl spinoff, a Green Lantern TV show, and several new Batman movies.

Before the release, TheWrap and The Hollywood Reporter said the movie needed to make at least $500 million worldwide to break even, but $700 million would be a true success. Some even guessed Superman could reach over $1 billion worldwide, thanks to high online interest in the trailers. The total cost of making and promoting the movie was about $400 million.

Three weeks before the release, experts expected the U.S. opening weekend to be between $125 million and $145 million, which would beat Man of Steel’s $116 million debut. However, DC Studios and Warner Bros. were more cautious and predicted $90 million to $125 million. Still, there was hope for a $175 million opening, which would be the biggest for any DC movie, beating Batman v Superman’s $166 million debut.

When the movie started preview screenings, it earned $2.8 million on Tuesday and $21 million including Thursday previews. The total $22.5 million from previews set a record for 2025 and was the biggest preview for any James Gunn movie. It also beat Warner Bros.’ previous preview record with Barbie.

So far, Superman looks promising, but will it make enough money to cover its high costs and launch the new DC Universe? Only time will tell. If it does well, fans can expect more exciting stories from DC in the near future.

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