{"id":62708,"date":"2025-07-13T16:57:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T16:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/62708\/"},"modified":"2025-07-13T16:57:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T16:57:08","slug":"james-gunn-reboot-opens-to-124-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/62708\/","title":{"rendered":"James Gunn Reboot Opens to $124 Million"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSuperman<\/a> can lift up collapsing buildings, Godzilla-sized monsters and, now, the box office.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSuperman,\u201d the newly rebooted comic book adventure starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, flew to $122 million in its first weekend of release. Those are strong ticket sales, enough to rank as the year\u2019s third-largest debut after \u201cA Minecraft Movie\u201d ($162 million) and \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d ($146 million). <\/p>\n

\n\tTurnout was slightly softer-than-expected at the international box office with $95 million from 78 markets, bringing its global tally to $217 million. Box office watchers say they aren\u2019t surprised that \u201cSuperman\u201d started stronger in the U.S. compared to overseas because the character \u2014 whose motto is \u201ctruth, justice and the American way\u201d \u2014 is the quintessential star-spangled hero. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSuperman\u00a0has always been identified as an American character, and in some parts of the world, America is currently not enjoying its greatest popularity,\u201d says David A. Gross, who runs the FranchiseRe movie consulting firm.<\/p>\n

\n\tWarner Bros. and DC Studios have a lot at stake, and not just because \u201cSuperman\u201d cost a hefty $225 million to produce and roughly $100 million to promote. The superhero film is the first entry in the relaunched DC Universe and has the colossal responsibly of igniting a new interconnected comic book universe for the studio. (\u201cSupergirl,\u201d featuring the caped hero\u2019s cousin, arrives in summer 2026 while new takes on \u201cWonder Woman\u201d and \u201cClayface\u201d are in the works.) James Gunn and Peter Safran took over the leadership of DC Studios in 2022 after its last iteration of superhero movies imploded with the epic losing-streak of \u201cThe Flash,\u201d \u201cAquaman and the Lost Kingdom,\u201d \u201cShazam: Fury of the Gods\u201d and \u201cBlue Beetle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGunn, best known for \u201cGuardians of the Galaxy\u201d and \u201cThe Suicide Squad,\u201d directed \u201cSuperman. The story follows the earnest hero as he proves to the world that he\u2019s trying to do good after the villainous Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) executes a plan to turn public opinion against Supes. In Clark Kent\u2019s corner is reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosanhan) his faithful companion Krypto the Superdog. Critics and audiences have embraced the film with an 82% average on Rotten Tomatoes and \u201cA-\u201d grade on CinemaScore exit polls. That reception is a start in terms of earning back the confidence of DC fans. It also seems to be an endorsement of Gunn\u2019s lighter and escapist vision after director Zack Snyder\u2019s dark and dour take on characters in the DC Extended Universe with 2016\u2019s \u201cBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice\u201d and 2017\u2019s \u201cJustice League.\u201d Attendance for \u201cSuperman\u201d skewed younger with moviegoers under the age of 25 account for 28% of opening weekend crowds.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGunn chose not to rely on big stars. Storytelling and filmmaking are doing the work here,\u201d Gross says. \u201cThis is the original, comic book hero story about a flawed and reluctant every-man who uses his special powers to fight evil. That arc is reliable and relatable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPositive word-of-mouth will be vital for \u201cSuperman\u2019s\u201d box office staying power. That\u2019s because big opening weekends are rarely a problem for comic book movies, especially ones anchored by a hero as universally recognizable as Superman. But the ability to keep drawing crowds over the busy summer season will be a truer test of the property\u2019s cinematic strength. Just look at what happened to Disney\u2019s recent Marvel Cinematic Universe installments like 2023\u2019s \u201cAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania\u201d ($106 million debut) and this year\u2019s \u201cCaptain America: Brave New World\u201d ($100 million debut over the Presidents Day holiday). Those big-budget tentpoles started strong at the box office, only to completely collapse in subsequent weekends. Meanwhile Superman\u2019s last solo outing, 2013\u2019s \u201cMan of Steel\u201d with Henry Cavill, managed to generate $116 million in its opening weekend before ending its run with $670 million globally (not adjusted for inflation). It seems reasonable for Warner Bros. to want the newest film to exceed that figure since more than a decade has passed. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSuperman\u201d benefitted from Imax screens, which accounted for $19.1 million in North America (15.6% of its haul) and $30.4 million globally. Imax has become a boon for special effects-driven films because those tickets are more expensive and the larger-than-life screens offer a distinctly out-of-the-house experience.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c\u2019Superman\u2019 makes excellent use of Imax technology to deliver the scale and spectacle audiences expect from this iconic hero, and audiences turned out to Imax in droves as a result,\u201d said the company\u2019s CEO Rich Gelfond. \u201c\u2019Superman\u2019 continues the most consistent trend we\u2019ve seen at the global box office this summer \u2014 filmmakers lean into Imax, audiences turn out to Imax in outsized numbers, and Imax overdelivers in the worldwide results and drives continued growth in its global network.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSuperman\u201d continues a stellar box office streak for Warner Bros. following the back-to-back-to-back hits of \u201cA Minecraft Movie,\u201d \u201cSinners,\u201d \u201cFinal Destination Bloodlines\u201d and \u201cF1: The Movie.\u201d Those blockbusters arrived after the studio\u2019s painful string of commercial flops including \u201cMickey 17,\u201d \u201cThe Alto Knights\u201d and \u201cJoker: Folie \u00e0 Deux.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tWith those successes and other recent winners<\/a>, overall box office revenues are 15% of the same point in 2024, according to Comscore. However, they are still roughly 24% behind 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThough there have been some casualties, this highly competitive summer movie marketplace has been great for most films,\u201d says senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. \u201cThe depth and breadth of titles from every genre has driven one of the best summer movie seasons ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs \u201cSuperman\u201d soared to the top of domestic box office charts, the Last Son of Krypton likely took a massive bite out of ticket sales for last weekend\u2019s champion, Universal\u2019s \u201cJurassic World Rebirth.\u201d The dinosaur epic added $40 million from 4,324 venues in its second weekend of release, a painful 57% drop from its debut. Even with a substantial second-weekend decline, \u201cJurassic World Rebirth,\u201d which rebooted the long-running series with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali, has sunk its teeth into a mighty $232 million domestically and $529 million worldwide to date.<\/p>\n

\n\tThird place went to \u201cF1\u201d with $13 million from 3,412 theaters in its third lap around the track, marking a 50% decline from the prior weekend. So far, the Apple film has generated $136 million in North America and more than $393 million worldwide. Though \u201cF1,\u201d starring Brad Pitt as a has-been Formula One driver, carries a massive $250 million price tag (and requires many laps around the track to justify its cost), these are notable ticket sales for an\u00a0adult-skewing tentpole that\u2019s not part of an existing film franchise. <\/p>\n

\n\tTwo kid friendly tentpoles, Universal\u2019s \u201cHow to Train Your Dragon\u201d reboot and Disney\u2019s Pixar adventure \u201cElio,\u201d rounded out box office charts. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn the No. 4 spot, \u201cHow to Train Your Dragon\u201d collected $7.8 million from 3,285 theaters in its fourth weekend on the big screen. The live action remake of 2010\u2019s \u201cHow to Train Your Dragon\u201d has powered to $239 million domestically and $560 million globally to date. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cElio\u201d landed in fifth place with $4 million from 2,730 screens in its fourth outing. The intergalactic tale has grossed just $63 million in North America and finally surpassed the $100 million mark globally after a month of release. With $117 million in worldwide ticket sales, the $150 million-budgeted tentpole will end its theatrical run as a major money lose for Disney and Pixar.<\/p>\n

\n\tDisney isn\u2019t hurting too much because \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d is imminently joining the billion-dollar club. The live-action remake has grossed $414.6 million in North America and $994 million globally after eight weeks of release. Since \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d is practically minting money for the studio (box office returns are nothing compared to Stitch-related consumer product sales), it\u2019s no surprise a\u00a0live-action sequel<\/a>\u00a0is already in the works. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Superman can lift up collapsing buildings, Godzilla-sized monsters and, now, the box office. \u201cSuperman,\u201d the newly rebooted comic…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":47684,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[171,9180,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-62708","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-superman","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114846987100529385","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}