Superman has transformed into a bonafide crowd pleaser at the box office in a much-needed inaugural win for the Warner Bros.-owned DC Studios, which is run together by James Gunn — also the film’s director — and producer Peter Safran.
The big-budget tentpole was all but assured of staying atop the domestic box office in its second weekend, but estimates were all over the place as to how it would hold up.
But, buoyed by strong word-of-mouth and reviews, it declined a less-than-expected 54 percent to $57.2 million for a pleasing 10-day domestic tally of $235 million through Sunday. That’s a narrow decline for the struggling superhero genre. Overseas — where Superman has always faced challenges because of the comic book character’s pro-American traits — the film earned another $45.2 million for an internationally tally of $171.8 million and $406.8 globally in a major win for DC and Warners, which has passed up Disney to rank No. 1 in domestic marketshare for the year to date.
The male-skewing superhero pic is facing fierce competition internationally from Universal’s Jurassic World Rebirth and Apple Original Film’s first box office hit, the Brad Pitt-starrer F1: The Movie, which Warners is helping to market and distribute. In a double win for Warners, F1 zoomed past $460 million at the worldwide box office over the weekend after finishing Sunday with a domestic total of $153.6 million domestically and $307.2 million overseas.
After years of rival Marvel Studios largely dominating the superhero landscape, DC is smiling. In only its second weekend, Superman has already passed up the entire lifetime run of Marvel’s Thunderbolts*, which topped out at $383 million globally earlier this year. And it’s only days away from overtaking Marvel’s other 2025 entry, Captain America: Brave New World, which earned a meek $415 million worldwide.
Superman stars David Corenswet in the titular role, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Rounding out the cast are Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho and Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific.
Marvel hopes to begin to turn its fortunes around when Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters a week from now on July 25. That means Superman only has a few days left to itself before facing direct competition, in addition to losing Imax screens and other premium-large format screens to Fantastic Four, which is tracking to open to $130 million to $140 million.
Elsewhere at the box office this weekend, holdover Jurassic World Rebirth also remained a powerful competitor in its third weekend as it crossed $600 million globally. It stayed safely parked in second place domestically with an estimated $23.4 million for a North American total of $276.2 million. Overseas, it came close to matching Superman in adding another $40.3 million to its coffers for a dino-impressive foreign cume of $371.8 million and $647 million globally.
Columbia and Screen Gem’s R-rated horror reboot I know What You Did Last Summer came in third with an estimated $13 million, in line with modest expectations. (Rivals think it will come in slightly lower when Monday actuals are released). Overseas, it launched to $11.6 million for a global start of $24.6 million.
While Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Brande and Sarah Michelle Gellar and Brande reprise their roles from the original film and subsequent sequel, the new installment is anchored around a host of franchise newcomers, including Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Sarah Pidgeon and Gabbriette Bechtel. d
Set three decades after the 1997 original film of the same name, the storyline — much as the first movie — follows a group of friends who try to cover up an accidental death for which they were responsible only to find themselves being pursued by a menacing killer one year later. Soon, they turn to two survivors of the legendary Southport Massacre of 1997, played by Hewitt and Prinze.
Critics haven’t exactly embraced the reboot, which currently has a 38 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences gave the film a C+ CinemaScore, which isn’t unusual for a horror title. It’s audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes is 68 percent.
Paramount’s Smurfs opened in fourth place with $11 million, in line with tepid expectations. It started off with $22.6 million overseas for a global debut of $33.6 million.
The animated family film likewise hasn’t impressed reviewers — its RT critics’ score is an even-worse 22 percent, but it did earn a B+ CinemaScore from moviegoers. The voice cast features an all-star lineup led by Rihanna in her first turn as a Smurf and followed by Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Alex Winter, Billie Lourd, Maya Erskine, John Goodman, Kurt Russell and Jimmy Kimmel.
Directed by Chris Miller, Smurfs is the first installment in the theatrical franchise in eight years. The music-infused movie follows Smurfette, played by Rihanna, leading a mission that takes them into the real world, including Paris, Munich and the Australian Outback, where the Smurfs meet up with feathered, Minion-like creatures named Snooterpoots. Their leader is voiced by Natasha Lyonne.
F1: The Movie, directed by Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer, rounded out the top five chart domestically with $9.6 million. Starring Brad Pitt, the pic dropped a mere 26 percent in its fourth outing. Overseas, it earned another $29.5 million for a worldwide total of $460.8 million — a number no one could have imagined considering.
A24 and filmmaker Ari Aster’s divisive Western Eddington opened in sixth-place domestically with $4.3 million, slightly behind expectations despite plenty of buzz and an all-star cast led by Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal.
More to come.
#DCs #Superman #Soars #400M #Globally
