One other day, one other win for Superman and James Gunn’s DCU, because the franchise’s first function movie flew to the highest of the HBO Max streaming charts. Superman debuted on HBO Max on September 19, 2025, slightly over two months after its theatrical launch, having grossed $354 million domestically and $615 million worldwide. The superhero movie has been a field workplace and significant hit, with a sequel, Man of Tomorrow, already slated for July 9, 2027.
Selection reviews that Superman drew 13 million viewers in its first ten days on HBO Max. That makes it the most important debut on the streaming platform since Barbie again in 2023, which was the highest-grossing film of that 12 months. Superman seemingly noticed a lift to many different titles related to the Man of Metal throughout the streaming platform, main as much as and after its debut. Throughout the week of September 15–21, the documentary Tremendous/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story elevated by 670% in streaming views in comparison with the prior week. Christopher Reeve’s Superman: The Film jumped by 155%, whereas the Brandon Routh-led Superman Returns jumped up by 120%. Even the DCEU’s Man of Metal, which followers have pitted in opposition to the DCU’s Superman, elevated 40% throughout the identical week.
‘Superman’ Places the DCU on High (For Now)
Superman‘s reputation on HBO Max could also be attributed to a number of components. One group was made up of viewers who did not see the movie in theaters and will now watch it at house, whereas there have been additionally many followers who needed to rewatch it to arrange for one more impending DCU venture. Superman‘s debut was completely timed for Peacemaker Season 2’s sixth episode, which featured a cameo that tied immediately into that movie. Audiences are clearly embracing David Corenswet’s Superman and this new shared universe, which pulls consideration to how the MCU is performing.
Given the character of DC and Marvel being two rival publishers, each side of their media are usually framed in opposition to each other, even when the creators of those tasks are usually followers of each other. Though the MCU dominated the DCEU for practically a decade, Superman marks the primary time that DC can have the highest-grossing superhero movie of the 12 months, each domestically and worldwide, since 2008’s The Darkish Knight, not counting the COVID-19 pandemic. DC virtually got here shut in 2017 with Surprise Girl, which received the home field workplace race however misplaced to Spider-Man: Homecoming, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Thor: Ragnarok worldwide.
It’s value noting that the MCU continues to be not out for the depend, as Thunderbolts* and The Implausible 4: First Steps truly carried out higher with critics than Superman on Rotten Tomatoes, although not by a large margin. Thunderbolts* holds an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, whereas The Implausible 4: First Steps has 87% in comparison with Superman at 83%. Metacritic is a little bit of an equalizer, as Thunderbolts* and Superman are tied with a 68 score, with The Implausible 4: First Steps touchdown at 63. It will likely be attention-grabbing to see how First Steps compares when it arrives on Disney+, however it’s clear that each the DCU and MCU are doing nicely for themselves after a really tough couple of years.
- Launch Date
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July 11, 2025
- Runtime
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130 minutes
- Director
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James Gunn