Recent reports from entertainment news sources suggest the new *Superman* film is performing very well on streaming platforms. Headlines are celebrating its strong debut on HBO Max, noting it quickly reached the #4 spot on Nielsen’s weekly Top 10 Movies chart within its first few days.
‘SUPERMAN’ debuts at #4 on Nielsen’s Streaming Movie Top 10 after just three days on HBO Max!
— DC Film News (@DCFilmNews) October 16, 2025
However, a deeper dive into the numbers paints a more complex picture. The film had a good start with strong initial attendance, but interest quickly dropped off compared to other superhero movie launches. While *Superman* earned more daily than films like Disney’s *Elio* and *KPop Demon Hunters*, it didn’t perform as well as some major superhero flops, including *Captain America: Brave New World* and even DC’s *Black Adam*.
Nielsen’s report from September 15-21, 2025, shows that *Superman* was streamed for 513 million minutes, making it the fourth most-watched movie. However, it didn’t rank among the top 10 overall, when considering both movies and TV shows.
The new *Superman* movie wasn’t a failure, but it wasn’t a huge success either. Considering it was intended to kick off a whole series of films, simply being ‘good’ might not be enough to build a cinematic universe.
Marvel’s Streaming Edge
As a big fan of superhero movies, I’ve been following the streaming numbers closely. Marvel’s *Captain America: Brave New World* pulled in 750 million minutes watched in its first four days, and *Thunderbolts* got 702 million in five days – both did really well on Nielsen’s charts. Now, *Superman* is doing okay, but when you break down the numbers to look at average daily viewership, *Brave New World* is still ahead.
The numbers are clear: viewers spent 171 million minutes each day watching Gunn’s *Superman*, while *Brave New World* reached 187 million. Because *Superman* premiered on a Friday, its initial weekend popularity likely decreased as the week went on, meaning its average viewership probably dropped even further than Nielsen measured.
People watched *Thunderbolts* for an average of 140 million minutes each day. While *Thunderbolts* had more total viewing time, James Gunn’s *Superman* actually did better when looking at average daily viewership, even though it was only measured for three days.
Beaten by Black Adam
Interestingly, within Warner Bros. Discovery itself, data shows *Black Adam* performed better than James Gunn’s *Superman* during their initial releases on HBO Max. *Black Adam* racked up 632 million viewing minutes in its first three days, a stronger start despite many considering it a box office disappointment.
Interestingly, a movie that James Gunn’s team previously dismissed as a failure actually surpassed his main reboot in viewership by more than 100 million minutes.
It’s important to recall that James Gunn became co-head of DC Studios near the time *Black Adam* didn’t perform well in theaters. Now, the situation is reversed, and it looks like Dwayne Johnson’s film may have actually connected with viewers better than Gunn’s big, promotional reboot.
I was really excited for *Black Adam*, and while it did well, bringing in $393.4 million worldwide, it just didn’t quite reach the heights of *Superman*, which earned a fantastic $614 million globally. It’s a shame, but Superman’s success is still pretty impressive!
A Closer Look: Daily Averages Tell a More Nuanced Story
The initial Nielsen ratings for *Superman* seem disappointing, placing it at number four on the movie chart behind *KPop Demon Hunters* (released a month earlier) and Disney’s *Elio* (which wasn’t successful). However, a closer look at the daily viewership numbers reveals a more nuanced situation – it’s not as bad as some reports suggest.
Last week, *KPop Demon Hunters* was the most-watched show, racking up 828 million minutes of viewing time between September 15th and 21st – an average of 118 million minutes daily. Despite being one of Disney’s lower-performing animated films, *Elio* still achieved 550 million minutes of watch time over five days, averaging around 110 million minutes per day.
In contrast, *Superman* racked up 513 million viewing minutes in only three days, averaging 171 million minutes per day. This means that, during the limited time Nielsen measured, Gunn’s new film actually had more intense, concentrated viewership than both *Elio* and *KPop Demon Hunters*.
Although initial reports about Superman’s viewership numbers seemed negative, a closer look at the data shows a solid start with a good number of people tuning in during its first three days. This detail is important because it suggests that while the new DC Universe reboot led by James Gunn is having trouble keeping audiences engaged long-term, it hasn’t completely lost their attention – at least not right now.
A Troubling Trend for Gunn’s DCU
Honestly, I’m really worried about the direction things are going. The disappointing start for the new *Superman* movie isn’t just a one-off; it seems like a trend since James Gunn took over. We saw *Peacemaker* Season 2 lose almost 40% of its audience before it was even cancelled, and *Creature Commandos* didn’t even register on the Nielsen charts! It’s starting to feel like projects aren’t connecting with viewers, and that’s a real concern.
Despite Warner Bros. Discovery heavily promoting ‘Superman’ as the foundation for a new DC Universe, the movie hasn’t done well in cinemas or on streaming services.
Gunn’s DCU appears to be struggling to find its audience — or worse, to convince them to care.
Theatrical Numbers Tell the Story
Despite not being a financial success in theaters—marketing and distribution expenses meant it didn’t earn enough to cover its costs, as *Forbes* reported—*Superman* still grossed more in cinemas than similar films now available on streaming, like *Captain America: Brave New World* and *Black Adam*.
It’s really interesting to me. While some of the previous DC movies didn’t do great in cinemas, they seem to be finding an audience on streaming – people are actually watching them over and over again. Sadly, James Gunn’s new reboot hasn’t quite managed to do that; it hasn’t kept people engaged after they’ve left the theater.
One reason *Superman* might not have drawn huge streaming numbers on HBO Max is that people may have opted to rent or buy it digitally instead. This is just a guess at this point, but it could explain why the streaming numbers seem lower than expected, even though many people knew about the film.
Audience Fatigue or Leadership Failure?
It’s reasonable to wonder if people are tired of superhero movies in general, or if the issue is with James Gunn’s approach. Since he took over, DC’s marketing has moved away from traditional heroic stories and toward stories that are self-aware, ironic, and focus on political themes – exactly the kind of stories audiences currently don’t seem to be enjoying.
There’s ongoing speculation that James Gunn could lose his position if Warner Bros. Discovery is sold to Skydance, led by David Ellison. This sale could also lead to a complete overhaul of the DC Universe’s plans.
Warner Bros.’ film team, headed by Mike De Luca, has scheduled the *Minecraft 2* sequel for just two weeks after James Gunn’s planned *Man of Tomorrow* movie in 2027. This indicates the studio isn’t focusing on sticking to a strict schedule for its DC Universe (DCU) films.
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2025-10-17 18:59