Superman Box Office Unlikely to Top Man of Steel’s Global Total
When it comes to cinematic portrayals of the Man of Steel, few debates ignite as much passion as the showdown between Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013) and James Gunn’s Superman (2025). Fans have taken sides in a battle over style, tone, and the very essence of what Superman should represent, and the box office has become more than just a financial scoreboard—it’s become a symbolic battleground for two competing visions of the iconic hero. With Snyder’s brooding, mythic approach still sparking fierce loyalty and Gunn’s hopeful, classic take poised to reboot the entire DC film universe, the numbers behind each film offer a fascinating lens into a divided fandom and the ever-evolving legacy of Superman on the big screen.
Which film is going to win the battle of the box office, provide its fans with bragging rights, and what will the numbers tell us when the dust has settled?
Domestic Versus Foreign Box Office Prediction
With Superman now 25 days into its run, my prediction is that Superman is going to max out between $584 and $596 million worldwide. I have a feeling it’s not going to cross the $600 million mark. If it does, it won’t be by much.
Domestically, it’s leading Man of Steel by about 16%. If that holds, it should wrap up its U.S. run with around $339 – $345 million. A very solid number that would suggest American fans, at least, were indeed happier with a less broody Superman.
Globally, it’s averaging 74% of its domestic haul, which would land it between $245 – $251 foreign, whereas Man of Steel’s international number was 1.3 times that of its domestic.
Superman needs another $116.8 million within the next 73 days to match Man of Steel’s closing total of $670.1 million. With no major markets left to open, that’s a huge hill to climb. For comparison, Man of Steel only made $20 million domestic in its final 73 days and Aquaman made $46 million. Even if Superman manages to do Aquaman-level numbers domestically in those 73 days and its international percentage holds, that would only put it around $622.8 million, which is $47.3 million less than Man of Steel. When Man of Steel is adjusted for inflation ($903+ million), that gap gets even wider with Man of Steel leading domestically by $85 million, and internationally by $349.7 million.
What This Means for Superman
On the surface, Superman’s performance in the U.S. suggests some American fans may have wanted a lighter, happier Superman, but the rest of the world didn’t seem to get the memo. If the foreign markets had embraced Superman the way they did Aquaman in 2018, it would likely have already been at $775 internationally at this point. One major difference is the Chinese market, where Man of Steel raked in $65 million, whereas Superman bombed hard with only around $10 million.
In the end, Superman delivered solid box office numbers in the United States—likely strong enough to keep James Gunn’s vision for the DC Universe on track, but not quite the blockbuster smash that would silence critics or settle old scores. Talk of it potentially becoming a billon dollar movie quickly shifted to explanations for why it didn’t perform as well as expected overseas and debates as to how much it needed to make to earn a profit. If it doesn’t top Man of Steel’s final worldwide total, that will open the door for Snyder fans to say, “I told you so.” A $349.7 million difference in box office, when adjusted for inflation, would mean that more than 21 million fans showed up for Man of Steel and didn’t come back for Superman.
While the film’s performance likely ensures that Gunn’s rebooted universe will move forward as planned, it stops short of providing his supporters with the definitive financial win they might have hoped for. The rivalry between Snyder loyalists and Gunn enthusiasts lives on, with both camps finding just enough fuel in the results to keep the debate burning.
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