Superman has been a field workplace hit, although some followers don’t desire it to be. Regardless of incomes $343 million domestically and $600 million worldwide on the time of writing, some followers think about Superman a disappointment as a result of it fell wanting the divisive Man of Metal‘s 2013 field workplace whole. Despite the fact that Superman has bypassed Man of Metal‘s $291 million home gross, Man of Metal‘s worldwide gross whole of $670 million offers it a slight edge. Then, adjusting for inflation, Man of Metal definitely made extra money on paper. Man of Metal was seen as a disappointment again in 2013, so the logic stands that Superman must also be a disappointment.
Nicely, not fully. Superman and Man of Metal each middle on the identical character, however they have been launched at completely different instances and had completely different expectations positioned upon them. Whereas Man of Metal will probably come out on prime on the field workplace, Superman remains to be the larger hit by way of viewers response. Whereas field workplace success is a major issue for a film, it is not the one one. That $70 million hole is not as drastic as some may suppose. Nonetheless, the response to Superman in comparison with Man of Metal is noteworthy, and like Batman Begins earlier than it, Superman is an funding that can repay.
Nice Expectations for Each ‘Superman’ and ‘Man of Metal’
Each Superman and Man of Metal had nice expectations positioned upon them, becoming given the protagonist’s tremendous power. Each films have been reintroductions of the traditional comedian guide hero that additionally wanted to be the launching level for a cinematic universe. But the 12-year hole between Man of Metal and Superman displays two very completely different instances within the superhero style, and for higher or worse, impacted how they have been seen.
Man of Metal opened one 12 months after each The Avengers and The Darkish Knight Rises grossed $1 billion on the worldwide field workplace. The studio believed Man of Metal would obtain Darkish Knight-level success, contemplating Superman’s world fame and the involvement of Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. The studio wished it to hit a billion {dollars}. When it did not, it was seen as a disappointment.
Now that is not truthful to Man of Metal. In spite of everything, $670 million is nothing to sneeze at, and being the ninth highest-grossing movie of the 12 months worldwide ought to be a great factor. But Warner Bros. positioned plenty of expectations on Man of Metal‘s shoulders coming off each The Darkish Knight and The Darkish Knight Rises (they have been not less than relieved it wasn’t one other Inexperienced Lantern).
Superman, then again, got here out following a string of flops primarily based on DC Comics. The final DC film to be a field workplace success was 2022’s The Batman. Whereas that was solely three years in the past, in that point Warner Bros. additionally launched DC League of Tremendous-Pets, Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Aquaman and the Misplaced Kingdom, and Joker: Folie à Deux. Seven movies primarily based on DC films both dissatisfied or outright flopped on the field workplace. It appeared just like the DC model was changing into field workplace poison. But Superman’s success exhibits that the model nonetheless has some energy. Warner Bros. and James Gunn appeared to set their expectations for Superman to that of Iron Man. Iron Man grossed $585 million worldwide again in 2008, with Superman having simply surpassed it. Issues definitely turned out nicely for Iron Man, and the identical may maintain true for Superman and the DCU.
‘Superman’ Has Higher Phrase of Mouth Than ‘Man of Metal’
The largest distinction between Superman and Man of Metal is the phrase of mouth. Critically, Superman was a lot better acquired with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 83%, whereas Man of Metal has a 57% score. Meaning over 50% of critics appreciated Man of Metal, so it’s above common. Nonetheless, phrase of mouth on the 2 tasks has been drastically completely different.
Following the discharge of Man of Metal, the movie sparked appreciable controversy over its subject material. Followers debated the ending of Superman killing Normal Zod in addition to the large collateral injury within the combat scenes. There have been questions on whether or not the film was too bleak for a personality like Superman, notably one that may alienate the character’s goal demographic of younger children. Zack Snyder’s tackle Superman was controversial. As a substitute of going into Comedian-Con 2013 as champions, Warner Bros. and DC have been on the defensive, saying Batman v. Superman on the conference to get audiences again on board the franchise when it appeared a standard sequel would not. The reality is, the DCEU by no means actually recovered from Man of Metal, because it was an unstable basis to construct a shared universe on, since audiences who did not like that model of the character probably weren’t going to wish to see extra.
Superman’s response has been largely constructive. Most (however not all) of the criticism of the film comes from the vocal minority of followers of Zack Snyder’s take who went into the film eager to hate it. Superman has had robust phrase of mouth and repeat viewings. Followers have warmly embraced the movie, and the film’s quotes and characters have turn out to be mainstream. “That is the actual punk rock” has turn out to be a brand new slogan, whereas The Teddybears that includes Iggy Pop’s “Punkrocker” grew to become successful on Spotify. Lesser-known characters like Mister Terrific and Metamorpho have gotten family names, simply as Gunn did with the Guardians of the Galaxy. In the meantime, often-overlooked characters in movie, comparable to Jimmy Olsen, have gained a wholly new fanbase.
Extra importantly, audiences appear to be enthusiastic about the way forward for the DCU. Supergirl probably wasn’t on most audiences’ radar, however now, due to Superman and her memorable cameo on the finish of the movie, her solo film can be considered one of summer season 2026’s most anticipated entries. It has additionally raised curiosity in Peacemaker Season 2 and no matter James Gunn has deliberate for a Superman follow-up. Not solely did Superman ship on reintroducing the character to a brand new era, however it additionally arrange a shared universe audiences wish to see extra of, which is undoubtedly a win.
‘Superman’ Will Develop Like ‘Batman Begins’ Earlier than It
Regardless of Man of Metal having to hold the load of The Darkish Knight and The Darkish Knight Rises, Superman really appears to be performing equally to Batman Begins from 20 years in the past. It may be laborious to recollect, however on the time, Batman Begins was seen as a reasonable hit on the field workplace and, to some, a disappointment. It was nicely beneath the franchise heights of Tim Burton’s two Batman movies and even Batman Perpetually, which set a gap weekend file. A sequel with Christopher Nolan directing wasn’t formally introduced till a 12 months after the discharge of Batman Begins. Batman Begins even made lower than Superman Returns worldwide, however no person would argue that Superman Returns was an even bigger hit than Batman Begins, proper?
But the important and viewers response to Batman Begins revived the model following Batman & Robin, and the film grew in appreciation over time as extra audiences noticed it on residence video. Phrase of mouth for Batman Begins was constructive, regaining viewers belief within the franchise and sparking pleasure for the character. That primed its follow-up, The Darkish Knight, to turn out to be a field workplace juggernaut. The identical may maintain for Superman, which carried out even higher than Batman Begins did. Audiences clearly love David Corenswet’s model of Superman and sure wish to see him in additional films. Carrying the luggage of the poor response to Man of Metal in addition to seven DC bombs, Superman has now written a brand new chapter for each the character and the model.
Now placing Darkish Knight-stage expectations on Man of Metal was the place issues acquired tough, so hopefully Warner Bros. does not do the identical with the Superman follow-up. The field workplace panorama has modified considerably since then. Hollywood used to depend on the worldwide field workplace to place their films as much as $1 billion. But that income stream is now not there, or not less than to not the purpose it as soon as was. And it is not only for superhero films; all sorts of Hollywood blockbusters and types that used to do nicely internationally have struggled. It may be time for field workplace pundits and followers to regulate their expectations, realizing that $1 billion could turn out to be a rarity, however not all films want to succeed in that milestone to be thought of successful. A film grossing $600 million worldwide, with greater than 50% of that coming domestically, ought to be seen as a great factor so long as the film does not have a ridiculous price ticket on it.
Until somebody is an investor at Warner Bros., the field workplace between Superman and Man of Metal is pointless. Each variations exist, and they’re going to attraction to completely different followers. Neither goes away, as in Man of Metal‘s case, no person can delete the film, and in Superman‘s case, it appears like there can be extra follow-ups. But the concept Superman is a “failure” in comparison with Man of Metal is unfair, as a result of it ignores key knowledge. The numbers are a part of the story, however they don’t seem to be the entire story. Superman is that can be purchased or lease on Google Play and Fandango.
Superman
- Launch Date
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July 11, 2025
- Runtime
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130 minutes
- Director
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James Gunn
- Producers
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Peter Safran