While James Gunn’s recent rebooted Superman has earned a $595 million at the global box office, the film will likely fail to surpass director Zach Snyder’s 2013 reboot, Man of Steel, according to a recent report from Variety.
Released on July 11, Gunn’s Superman movie took home just $8.4 million globally this past weekend for a total haul of $595 million after six weeks in theaters.
“Over the weekend, Superman added $3.1 million overseas and $8.4 million globally. At this point, “Superman” is unlikely to surpass the haul of the character’s last solo outing, 2013’s Man of Steel, which flew to $670 million (not adjusted for inflation),” noted Variety.
“However, the film’s reception represents a positive step forward for DC Studios, which has greatly struggled in recent years to achieve commercial consistency with its various comic book adaptations,” it added.
Indeed, the aforementioned Variety report came just days after the Hollywood trade described Gunn’s Superman as “proven to be a box office smash hit with $334 million and counting domestically.” Variety Digital News director Zack Sharf’s article, about Superman becoming available early for on-demand streaming, didn’t mention what Warner Bros. take would look like after it splits the box office ticket revenue with theaters in North America. Superman’s $334 million domestic haul will end up closer to half that figure after gross revenue splits between Warner Bros. and the multiplexes.
Gunn’s Superman adaptation boasted a likely production budget north of $325 million after factoring in marketing and promotional costs, meaning it would need a global haul of at least $650 million to turn a profit for the studio. Some have blamed the film’s box office woes on an overall dissatisfaction with superhero films in general, given that Marvel’s Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts also performed poorly at the box office despite rave reviews and positive fan reaction.
“People haven’t stopped loving horror or superhero films, but they stopped loving mediocre entries in those worlds,” exhibitor Mike Barstow, executive VP of Midwest-based ACX Cinemas, told Variety. “There’s a demand for higher quality.”