The box office dominance of Batman has allowedSupermanto achieve an amazing feat in 2025. As the first installment of theDCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters,Superman’s box office has always been important. Although James Gunn has insisted that the failures of theDCEU movie timelinehave no bearing onSuperman’s success, it is still the start of a new franchise.
This meant that, to ensure the continued output of the DCU beyond 2026,Supermanneeded to be a box office hit. For the most part,Superman’s box officehas proven it to be exactly this. After crossing a recent milestone,Supermanhas achieved a staggering feat for the first time in almost a decade for DC, aided by properties relating to Batman.
Batman Has Been DC’s Main Movie Attraction In Recent Film History
Gotham’s Characters Continue To Have Box Office Dominance
Since 2018, Batman properties have been the main DC attraction at the box office. 2019 saw the release ofJoker, a Batman-adjacent movie, which grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office on a relatively small $70 million budget. 2022’sThe Batmanthen earned $770 million at the worldwide box office, ensuring part of the character’s cinematic future.
These two properties are the only DC films that have earned over $500 million since 2018, proving just how big a draw Batman still is at the box office. The last DC property that was not linked to Batman to pass this milestone was 2018’sAquaman.Besides that, 10 other DC movies have failed at the box office.
$100,000,000
$367,800,000
$205,500,000
$200,000,000
$169,000,000
$185,000,000
$168,700,000
$260,000,000
$393,500,000
$125,000,000
$134,100,000
$220,000,000
$271,000,000
$131,000,000
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
$215,000,000
$440,200,000
$207,500,000
This is certainly an interesting trend. OnlyBatmanproperties, besidesJoker: Folie à Deux, have managed to earn more than $500 million at the box office since 2018. Of course, some of the above releases, likeWonder Woman 1984andThe Suicide Squad,were mid-COVID, but the trend remains nonetheless, proving Batman’s box office pulling power.
Superman’s Box Office Record Breaks This Trend For The First Time In Years
With that in mind,Supermanbecomes the first DC movie to break this trend sinceAquaman.Superman’s third weekend at the worldwide box office saw it hit $503 million, the first time in seven years that a non-DC movie has managed to do so. By the end of its theatrical run,Supermanis expected to gross around $600-700 million worldwide.
This is not only a big boost for the DCU, but DC as a brand. Having a movie that can succeed in a way only Batman-centric projects have managed for almost 10 years means that, hopefully, future movies of the same ilk will manage this. Be that 2026’sSupergirlor any of the other DCU projects planned for the coming years,Supermanhas paved the way for non-Batman projects of the future.
