David Corenswet stars are Superman in Warner Bros.’ “Superman.”
Warner Bros. Discovery
“Superman” soared into theaters this weekend, snapping up an estimated $122 million in domestic ticket sales and launching a new era of DC superhero flicks.
The film marks the first theatrical debut of James Gunn and Peter Safran since they became co-heads of Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC Comics film and TV unit in late 2022. The pair has developed a 10-year plan to reinvigorate the studio’s franchises across TV and film, including fresh spins on Superman and Batman.
“The road to success for DC has been a circuitous one over the years and now under the auspices of James Gunn and Peter Safran, the impressive opening weekend performance of ‘Superman’ allows DC Studios to hit the reset and chart a new course with this film providing the spark to ignite future success for the storied brand,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
The domestic haul of “Superman” ranks as the best performance of a solo-billed Superman film ever, outpacing 2013’s “Superman: Man of Steel,” which took in $116 million during its first three days in theaters, according to Comscore data.
Only four DC films have performed better during their first three days in theaters — “Batman v. Superman” opened to $166 million, “The Dark Knight Rises” captured $160 million, “The Dark Knight” brought in $158.4 million and “The Batman” tallied $134 million.
“Superman is fulfilling its promise as another welcome hit for the summer box office, while also serving as an effective launch pad for James Gunn’s new era of DC Studios,” said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory.
Internationally, “Superman” generated $95 million in ticket sales, bringing its estimated global opening to $217 million.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Fandango.