James Gunn Says Anti-American Sentiment Could Impact Superman’s International Box Office

July 24, 2025

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Supermandirector James Gunn has suggested that the international box office results of the DCU’s inaugural movie will be affected by “anti-American sentiment.” This statement comes at a time whenSuperman is soaring both critically and financially, launching the nascent franchise onto a positive trajectory as next year’s Supergirllooks to continue that momentum.

Praise for Superman tends to focus on its rich and colorful aesthetics, the stellar cast, and its willingness to delve into political parallels. The lattermost facet is what has also earned Superman its fair share of detractors, with some lambasting what they consider to be “woke” messaging at a particularly tumultuous juncture in global politics.

This geopolitical context may also affect Superman‘s performance overseas, according to James Gunn, who stated in an interview with Rolling Stone that “anti-American sentiment” may dissuade some international audiences from buying into a traditionally all-American superhero. Nevertheless, this doesn’t seem to be concerning for the director, who stresses that Superman is performing well domestically. His full quote is as follows:

We’re definitely performing better domestically than we are internationally, but internationally is also rising and having really good weekday numbers in the same way we are. So obviously the word of mouth is very positive both here and everywhere else. Which is the thing that we needed to do the most. At the same time, there are certain countries in which it’s really performing well. Brazil and the U.K.

Superman is not a known commodity in some places. He is not a big known superhero in some places like Batman is. That affects things. And it also affects things that we have a certain amount of anti-American sentiment around the world right now. It isn’t really helping us. So I think it’s just a matter of letting something grow. But again, for us, everything’s been a total win. Having the movie come out and be something that has been embraced by people everywhere — this is just the seed of the tree that Peter and I have been watering for the past three years. So to be able to have it start off so positively has been incredibly overwhelming.

Gunn also states that Superman isn’t as well-known in some corners of the world as, say, Batman. With that in mind, he is hopeful that Superman’s popularity will grow overseas in the absence of the same level of star power that he has in the United States, Brazil, and the UK.

Various Factors May Have Stoked Anti-American Sentiment

There are distinct parallels between James Gunn’s statements and the wider conversation around Superman at the moment. At the heart of this debate is the notion that Superman is a pro-immigration story being told at a time when immigration is at the forefront of the political discourse in the United States, on which DC’s world is based.

It is worth noting that Superman doesn’t particularly lean into patriotic messaging, which is partly responsible for some of the ire it has received.

This discourse has affected citizens of other countries in myriad ways, from the policies being implemented by the USA to the general attitudes it has stoked towards non-US citizens – particularly those dwelling within the USA. This, in addition to certain effects of America’s foreign policy, is bound to generate some level of anti-American sentiment to which Gunn refers.

James Gunn’s Superman is finally here, featuring a wide collection of incredibly fun Easter eggs, references, and cool ties to the original comics.

This could affect Superman‘s international box office in two ways. The first is that potential audiences with anti-American sentiments may wish to boycott American products, which Superman technically is. The second concerns Superman’s inherent relation to the country, with the character traditionally embodying American ideals and sporting the colors of the American flag.

Superman’s original motto was “Truth, Justice, and the American Way,” although DC changed this to “Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow” in 2021.

It is worth noting that Superman doesn’t particularly lean into patriotic messaging, which is partly responsible for some of the ire it has received. Considering Superman has been performing so well, this could help James Gunn’s hopes that the IP will grow overseas come to fruition.

James Gunn May Be Fighting An Uphill Battle

James Gunn may have a point. Whether Superman veers into pro-American messaging or not feels somewhat moot in the face of the fact that Superman is so inexorably tied to the nation. It seems as though the best James Gunn can hope for is that the true message of Superman will win over international audiences in time.

David Corenswet as Superman looking to the side on a sunny, leafy street in Superman 2025

Superman officially launched the DCU to a positive reception, meaning audiences may now be wondering whether Superman 2 is on the cards.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to ameliorate a more general aversion to American productions, particularly when tariffs are causing some chaos in global markets. In these instances, it is unlikely that Superman will be the only casualty within the DC Universe when it comes to international box offices.