Why Superman 2025’s International Box Office Performance Has Been Disappointing

by

As a passionate fan of DC films, I can’t help but feel a bit concerned about the international box office performance of Superman 2025. While it’s undeniably impressive that the film has surpassed the $400 million mark within just two weeks since its July 11 release in the US, the fact that over 90% of this revenue comes from domestic sales, amounting to $235 million, against international earnings of $171 million, is a cause for worry.

Typically, big-ticket superhero blockbusters aim to achieve a balanced split between local and overseas sales. The fact that the film seems to be struggling internationally isn’t a promising sign for its long-term success, especially as it strives to surpass DC’s own lofty expectations.

Why box office numbers for Superman 2025 are underperforming overseas

As per director James Gunn, the global ticket sales for Superman 2025 have been disappointing. This is partly because Superman isn’t as well-known outside the U.S. compared to characters like Batman, and also due to a degree of anti-American sentiment currently present worldwide.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gunn was asked why Superman 2025 wasn’t resonating as strongly internationally as it was domestically. Gunn acknowledged that the movie has been more successful domestically and admitted that Superman isn’t well-known in some regions. However, he remains confident about its performance in countries like Brazil and the United Kingdom where he feels it has held up well.

Although some predictions were higher, the film’s performance at the international box office has been relatively modest, according to a report from Variety this week. Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations, a box office analyst, stated in Variety that while Superman had a strong domestic opening weekend, the international numbers have been underwhelming. He went on to say that while we’ll know more as the weeks progress, this is a somewhat lackluster start for DC and WB.

Essentially, The Wrap’s analysis concurs with Gunn’s viewpoint that Superman isn’t as globally popular as Batman, largely due to Christopher Nolan’s successful Dark Knight trilogy. Additionally, it suggests that the decline in the U.S.’s global image under President Trump might have influenced the perception of Superman, who for years symbolized ‘Truth, Justice and the American Way’. A survey by Pew Research Center indicates that opinions about the U.S., particularly from countries like Mexico, Canada, Spain, Japan, Australia, and France, became more negative in 2025 compared to 2024. Yet, it’s challenging to quantify exactly how these shifting sentiments have affected the success of American superhero films.

To put Captain America: Brave New World in perspective with other superhero films from 2025, it garnered $200 million domestically (accounting for 48%) and an additional $214 million internationally (51.7%). Thunderbolts followed suit, earning $189 million domestically (49.7%) and $192 million internationally (50.3%). In contrast, Deadpool & Wolverine, one of the top-performing films in 2024, took in $636 million domestically (47.6%) and $701 million internationally (52.4%). Interestingly, Superman’s box office performance in its initial two weeks saw only 42.2% of its total earnings coming from international markets.

*Note: “Thunderbolts” is a fictional movie used for this example.

One potential reason could be referred to as “superhero burnout,” which refers to audiences losing interest in superhero films due to an excessive number of them being produced, combined with a perceived decline in quality. Actor Paul Dano in the 2021 film The Batman has discussed this issue, stating that Hollywood is focusing too much on producing “content” rather than ensuring quality and coherence. Over the past five years, several Marvel films have necessitated viewers to watch previous movies and numerous TV series in order to fully comprehend the storyline.

In recent years, I’ve noticed that some of the DC Universe’s offerings, such as Joker: Folie à Deux, Shazam Fury of the Gods, and The Flash, have fallen short at the box office. These films, unfortunately, haven’t helped shake off the sense of superhero fatigue that seems to be lingering around DC. Even with the upcoming Superman reboot, it’s hard to ignore the impact these less-than-successful movies have had on the DC brand and overall interest in superhero movies as a whole.

Read More

2025-07-21 22:46