James Gunn Clarifies Superman Box Office Success Amid $650M Break Even Rumors

James Gunn comments on the DC Universe box office commentary surrounding the new Superman movie. 2025 finally marked the year of Krypton’s last son getting reimagined for the big screen through the Superman movie from DC Studios, starring David Corenswet as the titular hero in Gunn’s DCU franchise.

Gunn’s Superman film marks a pivotal installment for the DCU’s Chapter 1: “Gods and Monsters” slate, with more films and TV shows on their way from DC Studios. As Superman has had a positive reception, the box office journey has been another crucial element of the film’s performance.

A fan recently asked Gunn on Threads about Superman’s box office, stating, “People online keep saying that Superman needs to make $650 million to break even and be a success. Is that true or would you say it’s already a success. Huge fan of the movie btw.” Gunn responded with the following statement:

In regards to how much Superman needs to make commercially, Gunn called it “Absolutely false,” before following up with, “Anyone saying that doesn’t have an understanding of the film business – and we would be idiots to make a first-in-a-franchise film that would need to make that much to be profitable.” As of August 10, Superman has grossed $569.5 million at the worldwide box office.

When it comes to what is considered a box office hit, there are a lot of comparisons to the Marvel Cinematic Universe when it comes to the superhero movie genre. Even though Superman always needed to be a hit, it’s worth taking into account that the DCU movie is doing what Iron Man and other early MCU films did for Phase 1.

DC’s Superman movie is also the highest-grossing superhero film for 2025, as it has already passed Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World, while The Fantastic Four: First Steps only opened in theaters two weeks ago. Gunn’s comments also showcase the realistic expectations from DC Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery, as Superman is just the beginning.

Gunn’s comments make perfect sense, especially as Superman’s box office results have already been incredibly successful for DC Studios and the DCU franchise. Per industry standards, when it comes to a breakeven point, a film has to make 2.5x the budget at the box office, which Superman has at this point.

Following the Superman movie ending, it remains to be seen how long it will be until Corenswet reprises the role, which will hopefully not be a long wait. With Superman still playing in theaters, time will tell what the final box office numbers will be for the DCU movie after its run.