Despite facing fresh competition from Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps this weekend, director James Gunn’s Supermanpassed a massive global box office milestone. The superhero movie has now joined the $500 million club, having overtaken a string of past blockbusters. It’s also on the verge of passing director Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel at the domestic box office, where it slipped to the number two spot this weekend because of The Fantastic Four. The MCU movie opened to a similarly positive response, with audiences comparing the film’s vibrant tone to that of Superman.
With just under $290 million domestically and another $213 million from overseas markets, the movie has grossed a cumulative total of $502 million at the worldwide box office. In passing the $500 million mark, Superman also overtook films such as Venom: The Last Dance, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Released in 2021, Venom 2 grossed a hair over $500 million in its theatrical run, having earned a franchise-best 58% Rotten Tomatoes score. Directed by Andy Serkis and starring Tom Hardy, Venom 2 paved the way for last year’s Venom 3, which fell slightly short commercially.
All three Venom films offered a goofy alternative to the more somber superhero cinema out there. Superman is aimed at the same audience. Unlike Snyder’s Man of Steel and its sort of sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the movie’s hopeful tone seems to be connecting with a broader audience. It holds an excellent 92% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Pulling off the heroic feat of fleshing out a dynamic new world while putting its champion’s big, beating heart front and center, this Superman flies high as a Man of Tomorrow grounded in the here and now.”
‘Superman’ Is Projected to Overtake ‘Man of Steel’
Starring David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, the film is currently sitting at an 83% score on RT, and is delivering stronger-than-expected holds at the box office. However, its international numbers aren’t as strong as its stateside grosses, which could eventually become an issue. Produced on a reported budget of $225 million, Superman is projected to gross over $700 million in its global box office run, which would put it ahead of Man of Steel. You can watch the film in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
