James Gunn’s Superman recently flew past the total domestic haul of Black Adam. Releasing in 2022, the latter film was intended to revitalize the dwindling DCEU by capitalizing on Dwayne Johnson’s star power and teasing a showdown between him and Henry Cavill’s Superman. Alternatively, Superman reboots the DCEU into the DC Universe, spearheaded by Gunn and his producing partner Peter Safran.
According to Box Office Mojo, Black Adam ended its theatrical run at $168.2 million domestically and $225.3 million internationally, for a total worldwide gross of $393.5 million. Alternatively, Superman is at $337.2 million total worldwide, with a breakdown of $194.4 million and $142.8 million internationally. Having passed Black Adam domestically, Superman will likely pass its total gross within the week.
What Superman Passing Black Adam’s Domestic Box Office Means For The DCU Film
Black Adam was considered a box office flop because—in spite of making $393.5 million total—it had a reported budget of between $195 and $260 million. On top of that, its marketing budget added around an extra $80 million. Given that a film generally requires at least double its budget in ticket sales to break even, this situates it in bomb territory.
Comparatively, Superman has a reported budget of $225 million, with upwards of $125 million or more in marketing costs. As such, it has a steep battle to break even as well. If sales hold well, then it should have no problem reaching the estimated $450 million to recoup its costs.
Related
James Gunn’s Superman Flies Past Man Of Steel’s Opening Weekend Box Office
James Gunn’s Superman officially surpasses Man of Steel’s first-weekend numbers at the domestic box office and aims for new theatrical milestones.
Making up the marketing budget may be a harder challenge, with a gross near $600 million to $700 million needed. Given that The Fantastic Four: First Steps releases next week, Superman may see dwindling returns. However, it has already held its own against Jurassic World: Rebirth, and positive word-of-mouth combined with repeat viewers could keep its numbers steady.
Our Take On Superman Passing Black Adam’s Domestic Box Office
Regardless, it has currently passed the total grosses of Shazam!, The Flash, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, The Suicide Squad, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and Blue Beetle. To put it into perspective, Superman is surpassing many of the poorer-performing DCEU films in only two weeks.
While the film may not be a success just yet, it is overtaking its DC predecessor slowly but surely. The irony here is especially apparent when comparing what each movie set out to do. Black Adam was meant to salvage the DCEU, while Superman wipes the slate clean. It will certainly be interesting to see how the latter’s box office performance develops.
Superman
9/10
- Release Date
-
July 9, 2025
- Runtime
-
130 minutes
